I AM OUTRAGED! — ‘The Takeaway’ Canceled by WNYC, PRX

I am outraged! "The Takeaway" is one of the few remaining programs on NPR of great integrity and whose content is not confined to those that large corporate interests seek to further indoctrinate us into. It has been a vital resource highlighting normally marginalized voices and issues rarely covered in any kind of depth, if at all, by corporate funded American media. And now The Takeaway is going away. Yes, this is indeed “institutional cruelty and abuse.”

My concern is also that so many people are unaware of the depth of dark money influences on NPR and PBS — which more often than not prioritize the needs of corporate interests over those of We the People to be informed in-depth of the most vital issues of our times. 

 

It is also true that this hasn’t always been the sad reality for public broadcasting. Many years ago there were voices of great truth, wisdom, and integrity on NPR/PBS — among them were Bill Moyers and the countless excellent interviews done by David Barsamian on his “Alternative Radio” program. Now of the few remaining great programs left, in June there will be one less. 

 

Bill Moyers also warned us of the increasing influence of powerful moneyed interests infiltrating PBS and NPR when he left. And because of my long awareness of the dark money overtaking public broadcasting, it has been many years now that I have been donating to independent media resources rather than corporate funded American media like NPR/PBS. 

 

Please join me in voicing your outrage that the voice of Melissa Harris-Perry and all that she brings to The Takeaway is now going to be silenced. Not okay! Thank you.

 

AND PLEASE BEWARE of the resources that you turn to for your information. 

“The most violent element of society is ignorance.” 

— Emma Goldman

 

Melissa Harris-Perry, host of "The Takeaway."

The Takeaway will go off the air in June, WNYC and PRX announced to stations Friday.

The news program, which launched in 2008 as an alternative to NPR’s Morning Edition, has seen declining carriage and audience, according to leaders at WNYC, which co-produces the program, and distributor PRX. 

The decision to cancel the program “was not a decision made lightly,” they said in a memo, but The Takeaway’s “decline in audience as well as the financial challenge of producing a daily show––a situation made more challenging this year by the headwinds facing many across media––has led us to this decision.” 

The show airs on 241 stations, according to a WNYC spokesperson, who said carriage has declined by about 13% over the past several years.   

In a tweet, host Melissa Harris-Perry called the decision “an act of institutional cruelty and abuse” by WNYC executives. “The producers, editors, directors and team of @TheTakeaway deserve SO MUCH BETTER than this,” she said.

In a memo to New York Public Radio staff, COO Andrew Golis and Kenya Young, SVP of WNYC Studios, said that all Takeaway employees will be paid through June. The program has 11 full-time staffers, according to WNYC. 

“It is a credit to the talent and dedication of the many team members over the years that this show has been such an important part of the public radio landscape and NYPR for so long,” they said. “We especially want to thank the current production staff for their incredible work and Melissa Harris-Perry for her gracious leadership of The Takeaway team since 2021.”

Harris-Perry took over as host on an interim basis in 2021 when former host Tanzina Vega resigned. She was named permanent host later that year.

Please go here for the original article: https://current.org/2023/02/the-takeaway-canceled-by-wnyc-prx/