On Air: The Triumph and Tumult of NPR

by Steve Oney, Stephen Graybill (Narrator)

An “engrossing and entertaining…major work of media history” (The New York Times Book Review) that reveals the unlikely story of one of America’s most celebrated but least understood media empires.

Founded in 1970, NPR is America’s most powerful broadcast news network. Despite being overshadowed by the larger and more glamorous PBS, public radio has long been home to shows such as All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and This American Life that captivate millions of listeners in homes, cars, and workplaces across the nation. NPR and its hosts are a cultural powerhouse and a trusted voice, and they have created a mode of journalism and storytelling that helps Americans understand the world in which we live.

In On Air, a book fourteen years in the making, journalist Steve Oney tells the dramatic history of this institution, tracing the comings and goings of legendary on-air talents (Bob Edwards, Susan Stamberg, Ira Glass, Cokie Roberts, and many others) and the rise and fall and occasional rise again of brilliant and sometimes venal executives. It depicts how NPR created a medium for extraordinary journalism—in which reporters and producers use microphones as paintbrushes and the voices of people around the world as the soundtrack of stories both global and local. Featuring details on the controversial firing of Juan Williams, the sloppy dismissal of Bob Edwards, and a $235 million bequest by Joan B. Kroc, widow of the founder of McDonald’s, On Air also chronicles NPR’s daring shift into the digital world and its early embrace of podcasting formats, establishing the network as a formidable media empire.

Fascinating, revelatory, and irresistibly dishy, this is a riveting account of NPR’s chaotic ascent, cultural triumph, and imperiled future.

Genres: Nonfiction, History, Politics, Journalism, Audiobook, Business, American History

Audible Audio

First published March 11, 2025

Reviews

[Dave Reads · Rating 5 out of 5]

It's rare that I read a book where I can personally verify the accuracy of its details. But I can say that Steve Oney’s On Air: The Triumph and Tumult of NPR is both insightful and fair. This is especially true in the section covering controversies and challenges during my time as chair of NPR’s Board of Directors. Oney interviewed me twice, and I can confirm that he quoted me accurately.

The book tells the story of National Public Radio. He covers NPR’s wild early days, its biggest scandals, and its lasting influence on media.

NPR began in 1970 with a group of young, ambitious reporters. Many were idealists shaped by the era’s social movements. They worked together, loved together (including adult activities in editing rooms) and did drugs together.

Women played a major role, a rarity in media of the time, breaking barriers in journalism. Susan Stamberg, Nina Totenberg, Cokie Roberts, and Linda Wertheimer—known as NPR’s “founding mothers” (a term I personally hate) helped change the industry.

The network covered major events like the Vietnam War protests, the Watergate hearings, and the Jonestown massacre. Programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered became daily habits for millions.

But it nearly ended in 1983 when CEO Frank Mankiewicz, spent recklessly, pushing the network toward bankruptcy. Only support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and congressional Democrats saved it. This crisis led to NPR relying more on corporate sponsors, a shift that still causes debate.

NPR faced criticism as its staff and audience largely reflected a specific type—liberal, well-educated, and white. Oney highlights tensions over race and class, especially in the careers of Black and Hispanic journalists like Adam Clayton Powell III, who headed the news division and political commentator Juan Williams. Williams’s firing in 2010 sparked national controversy, exposing NPR’s struggles with bias and internal politics. Unfortunately, this happened during my tenure on the Board.

Oney spent years researching the book and it tells many stories that listeners and loyalists my find surprising. Despite its effective narrative, there are parts that seem out of place. Theres an entire chapter on Ira Glass and his This American Life show. It's a good story, but it's not an NPR offering. There are many other popular NPR programs that receive no mention.

The book concludes that while the founding generation shaped the network’s identity it has been slow to step aside. Oney compares NPR to an aging rebel who refuses to adapt.

Key Excerpts

“We were all in bed with each other,” Deborah Amos recalled. “Everybody,” Bill Drummond added, “was fucxxng everybody else.” The proximity of so many young, single journalists, most of them new to Washington and everyone caught up in Mankiewicz’s adventure, turned 2025 M Street into a hothouse.

Along with the sex at National Public Radio came the drugs. “Damn near everybody in the organization was doing coke,” recalled John McChesney. All Things Considered producer Chris Koch was more emphatic: “There was an epidemic.” Astonishingly, many users were out in the open, placing their orders over 2025 M Street’s intercom.

Disturbing signs had been appearing all along, although they were hard to spot. Mankiewicz, for all of his vigor and skill, had never paid attention to NPR’s books, and at the moment he was unveiling the grandest business undertaking in network history, he was running the operation with a heedlessness that bordered on negligence.

Several weeks after learning of the $3.4 million shortfall, Mankiewicz received another call from Warnock—the deficit was nearly twice that amount. The NPR chief’s reaction was to demote his vice president.

Juan Williams was a rarity in the national press: Fox commentator, NPR senior news analyst, successful author (Eyes on the Prize, the companion volume to the Emmy-winning PBS documentary series; an acclaimed biography of Supreme Court justice Thurgood Marshall), and Black. On this mid-October evening in 2010, Bill O’Reilly needed him. “Look, Bill, I’m not a bigot,” Williams began. “You know the kind of books I’ve written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on a plane, I gotta tell you, if I see people in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they’re identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous.”
Executives at NPR were furious at Williams. “This crossed the line for us at NPR,” recalled Vivian Schiller, at the time the network’s CEO.

In early November, several weeks after Williams’s dismissal, Slocum advised the NPR board to open an investigation. Typically, she would have led the probe, but because she was angry that Schiller and Weiss had ignored her advice to let the commentator’s contract expire, she didn’t feel she could be a fair judge. She suggested that the network hire the New York–based law firm Weil, Gotshal & Manges to dig into the management style of the two responsible executives and the back-and-forth between them. “They had done these kinds of reports for other organizations,” recalled Dave Edwards, manager of WUWM in Milwaukee and the newly installed chairman of the NPR board. Which meant that a battery of lawyers would scrutinize the network’s upper echelons. Since Weiss appeared to be the principal in the firing of Williams, most of the scrutiny would focus on her. Which meant the law firm would be examining the individual many felt was responsible for the successes that had taken the network to the journalistic heights.

Dave Edwards, the chairman, believed that Weiss and Schiller had been justified in dismissing Williams. “I’ve always been concerned when you have journalists appearing on programs, whether that be Meet the Press or something on Fox, and they’re asked to give their opinions,” he said later. “I think Williams’s departure was probably warranted.” Edwards also held a high opinion of Weiss. “I had known Ellen for a long time in her various capacities at NPR, and I had always respected her.” Yet as Yvette Ostolaza and her associates began to talk—and talk was all they did; fearing that a written report would leak, the firm did not distribute one—Edwards changed his mind. “It became very clear that certain things were not done in the way that you want to manage a news organization,” he later said. “The conversations that took place, the things that were said—there were just a lot of things going on that I was not aware of. I was surprised.”

There was more. As Edwards confirmed subsequently, the Weil report reviewed “other situations that had happened in the newsroom.”

[Michelle Flash · Rating 2 out of 5]

The author’s focus on the personal and professional failings of all the leading women at NPR without any reflection on whether those perceived failings were due to the constant and pervasive tendency to describe women in leadership in the negative is extremely frustrating.

This book would have been better labeled as “The NPR Gossip column”

[Billy · Rating 4 out of 5]

You know that red flag "We're a family here" statement employers put in job postings? In this case, NPR is one of the most dysfunctional families I've ever read about. Now, don't get me wrong: I love NPR. I believe in its mission and that it does good work. And every organization that big is going to have ups and downs, but god damn, after reading this book it seems like a miracle this network is still going. For every triumph in here, there's multiple institutional and personal failings happening simultaneously. It makes for compelling reading, but the dives aren't as deep as one might hope, which kind of turns this into a 500+ page tale of stumbling but not quite falling. The insights into prominent members of the NPR family are fun though; I'm sure the stories will come into fore next time one of the "Founding Mothers" or Ira Glass come through the speakers.

This might be the most chaotic non-fiction I've ever read, and I will foist it on everyone I know who values public radio.

[Ryan Lenney · Rating 2 out of 5]

Getting through this book was a labor of love. I bought it thinking of the Sunday mornings I spent sitting outside listening to Wait, Wait Don’t Tell Me while my dad mowed the lawn and the sound of Click and Clack howling through our car radio on the way to school. I wanted to know more about the ethos of an organization that has managed to maintain such origional, authentic content over the years — content that has become a mainstay in many liberal households like my own. Having stumbled into an internship with my local station a few summers ago, I also wanted to see how my view of NPR (quirky, youthful, yet surprisingly serious) fit with the broader organization’s esprit de corps over the years.

This book satisfied few of those wants. Genuinely interesting stories about NPR’s funding woes, fights over the organization’s mission, and the emergence of flagship shows were lost in a morass of unnecessary details and asides. The acknowledgments section mentions that the author spent 14 years writing this book, and it shows. Pages upon pages are dedicated to telling the life stories of associate producers who stayed with NPR for just a year or two in the 70s, their lasting impact unclear. A few chapters in, I found myself needing a flowchart to keep track of all of the names and roles the author introduced. Aside from an interesting interlude about NPRs’s cocaine problem in the 80s (their offices became a hotbed for dealing in the DC area) and an engaging chapter about Ira Glass’ path to public radio preeminence (and the trail of disgruntled former co-hosts, ex-girlfriends and NPR executives he left behind), I thought that this book missed the forest for the trees. As my own editor at NPR often said to me, “stop clearing your throat and get to the story!”

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

On Air by Steve Oney mines the depths of the history of NPR, America’s last remaining news juggernaut. Newspapers have lost that power given their capitulation to Dear Leader Musk and his puppet, Tr*mp. It’s a fascinating story and Oney does not shy away from NPR’s sins. It’s a complex history, well told.

[Alessia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Olney is an unfocused and unstable storyteller. While the history of NPR is fascinating, I often struggled with Olney's discordant change in pace or presentation of events. Olney also falls into writing traps, especially source-quoting conventions. Occasionally, Olney writes in a brilliant and compelling manner reminiscent of Bill Siemering and Ira Glass, but then he loses his way. I have also never found as many typos in a book as this one, which is the blame of a poor editor. But. NPR's history is entertaining enough that it can make this book worth reading to some.

[Sam Maloney · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really liked this read. The book is incredibly gossipy, but Oney's original research on NPR comes through, and there is a lot packed in these pages about NPR that seems not to be published anywhere else. That novelty is worth a five star review, even if I wish Oney's editor disciplined out some of the gossipy complaints about NPR's corporate politics (or even contextualized them?). Still, highly recommend to anyone interested in journalism; it's fun and has some novel tidbits that are very important (and many that are just funny).

[Anna · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 rounded up - I may be biased, but I wish this talked more about program development, especially recently. Employee gossip is great but there’s so much more meat that wasn’t touched. There was little to no mention of podcasts, COVID (avoiding layoffs for as long as possible), Tiny Desk, or other more recent events. The book was started in 2011 and it looked like a lot of interviews were in the early 2010s, but given that it’s 2025 and podcasts have been part of NPR since 2008, it felt like more could be said than just a few sentences about Planet Money. I also don’t think we needed an entire chapter on Ira Glass - while he is a very influential figure in the public media space, he’s not NPR. I did learn a lot about the early days of NPR and I found it super interesting overall.

[Richard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very informative history of NPR. Just too long.

[Riq Hoelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was difficult to put down. A really thorough, in-depth look at the inner goings-on at NPR, very tough, but also fair. If you've been a listener, you'll probably get a lot out of this book.

And it does more than just reveal how and why various personalities came and left. It also throws light on how radio works that will make you listen in different ways. How are they covering this particular story? Is there a reporter on the scene? Or are they talking to a newmaker over the phone? Or are they talking to another reporter about the newsmaker? There are reasons for these various approaches.

My thoughts are that NPR appears here as a very idealistic organization, from its founding by Bill Siemering, who like Solon set things up and left, NPR has kept much the same ethos throughout its existence. Thus it has attracted many idealistic individuals to work there. Even so, there are naturally plenty of differences in opinion - in approach, in what to present, in how to present it, and so on. The thing I noticed is that attitudes tend to the Manichaean. Instead of seeing both the positive and negative of their co-workers, the staffers tend to divide them into two categories, either unimpeachable or irredeemable, and the latter often got fired, with barely any notice. I wasn't a great fan of Bob Edwards, for example, feeling he was too bland, but when they let him go after 25 years of being the star of the network he was stunned. There had been no verbal warning, no written warning, nothing. He was just gone, and a few months before his anniversary show.

Toward the end the book veers away from chronicling the history and into two very deep dives, one on the Baghdad bureau and the other on This American Life (properly not really an NPR story at all). It would have been nicer to have stuck with NPR more I would think, though maybe not that much happened in that area. I also would have liked to have better coverage of the many commentators who have appeared on the program, many of whom are quite memorable and gave the network the voice it has. Finally, a "where are they now" apprendix would have been a nice way to satisfy reader curiosity.

Here are a couple passages that struck me particularly:

From p. 66: "What distinguished [Bob Edwards], however, was his voice. There was never another voice on NPR quite so perfect and captivating. Part of it sprang from Edwards's roots in the border south, a section of the country that has produced so many popular musicians and broadcasters, because it bequeaths them with the perfect hybrid accent. In their mouths you hear the soft vowels of Dixie, the flattened syllables of the Midwest, and, if they're from a river town like Louisville, the vernacular ease that Mark Twain popularized on the printed page. It might called the native tongue."

From p. 167 in reference to a layoff of over 100 NPR employees: 'It was a stampede. Ira Flatow, on assignment in Detroit, phoned to see if he still had a job. "Your name is on the list," John McChesney told the science reporter. "Am I fired?" Flatow pressed. "I guess you are." After a second, McChesney, with a chutzpah only an editor could muster, posted the more important question: "Can you file your story for this afternoon?" Flatow ended up being one of the lucky ones. When he called back a few days later with his piece, he learned that Robert Krulwich, invoking NPR's financial ties to universities and research institutions, had intervened on his behalf, telling higher-ups, "You can't get rid of this guy. He's bringing in all the grant money for science coverage."'

[Brendan Daly · Rating 4 out of 5]

This in an extremely detailed history of NPR, with no fact too small to be included. While some of the biographical info is repetitive and tedious, Oney does weave a strong narrative about why NPR is so important to the nation. And having just lived through the defunding of public media, it is yet another reminder of how crucial it is to have non-commercial media that can really take an in-depth look at serious stories.

As a longtime NPR listener and employee of CPB, I enjoyed reading about many of the familiar names and the backstory of NPR's coverage of major events, from the Watergate hearings, to 9/11 to the Iraq War and many, many others. The chapter on Anne Garrels' work in Baghdad is fascinating, as as the inside details of the power of "The Troika," of Linda Wertheimer, Nina Totenberg, and Cokie Roberts.

The author gets a little starstruck by Ira Glass at the end, but overall he paints a picture of a dysfunctional, always starved for money network that somehow produces incredible news day after day. At 576 pages, it's a good, if long, read.

[Ellen Yao · Rating 4 out of 5]

4-4.5 stars. Super well researched and covers so much ground. This made me realize (1) I’ve never fully appreciated the uniqueness of radio as a medium (2) NPR, as an organization, is incredibly chaotic (and cool). Unfortunately another timely read :( (s/o to WAMU and Car Talk, my personal favorite NPR show)

[Ruth Cook · Rating 3 out of 5]

An interesting read about the beginning of NPR.

[Vera · Rating 4 out of 5]

Long time listener to NPR. Enjoyed this behind the scenes peak!

[Claudia Greening · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this! Especially the chapter “this American Ira” 🙂

[Sarah Mills · Rating 3 out of 5]

amazed npr survived past its first year. the book is very “water cooler talk”.

[Chasten · Rating 3 out of 5]

For a journalism nerd like myself, I loved the stories of the news coverage. Much of the book was gossipy, relating tales of ego, “betrayal”, and self-indulgence. It made me really hate the people of NPR. Every individual comes across as self-centered and believing themselves to be right about everything. Also, no quotes for Cokie Roberts?!! Something tells me she didn’t want to be involved.

[Peter · Rating 4 out of 5]

This excellent book shows how NPR made radio relevant again. Focusing on program development, the personalities behind the programming, and the corporate, financial and political issues that have always surrounded it, author Steve Oney delivers a powerful portrait of NPR, which had so little support in its early days that the Corporation of Public Broadcasting wanted to eliminate the words "radio" from the network's name. Personally, I am not a frequent listener to NPR, but am appreciative of its importance, as Congress works to defund the federal contribution (as, we learn, it has from the beginning). Oney takes us through the development of the network, beginning with All Things Considered, adding such driveway shows as Morning Edition, Fresh Air and Weekend Edition. He also details how shows like Praire Home Companion and This American Life "got away,” from NPR, opening up a world of on-air and podcast competition. Oney interviewed most of the personalities involved, opening the curtain, for instance, behind the immense power held by the four women who have personified NPR in the public eye -- Cokie Roberts, Linda Wertheimer, Susan Stamberg and Nina Totenberg. Generally seen as saints by the listenerhood, Oney illustrates how they sometimes served their own interests and hurt some careers. Other NPR legends are also seen without rose colored glasses -- it has always been something of a dysfunctional place. More appealingly, Oney tells the story of how McDonald's heiress Joan Kroc -- a fan of NPR's incredible Gulf War coverage -- was courted by NPR and ultimately, set up a critical $238 Million donation. This book sometimes goes overboard in the he said/she said department -- I don't care that much about all the personalities, many of whom had issues -- but it is quite a read. In fact, it really should be read by all students of media.

[Nick · Rating 4 out of 5]

The history of NPR starts out with the formation of the CPB and then the funding battles to get NPR off the ground. I didn't realize that All Things Considered was the first program NPR created. Unfortunately, the book really focuses exclusively on NPR rather than taking a step back and considering the numerous member stations around the country.

Fresh Air, Car Talk, and Prairie Home Companion are all mentioned but feel more like cameos than core parts of the network's identity. And I suppose in fairness these aren't actually NPR programs as much as American Public Media or PBS or some other organization that is all lumped together in the minds of the average listener like me. I would've liked the author to spend more time on these distinctions.

Instead, the book focuses a lot on office gossip: who is using drugs, who is sleeping with whom, etc. Decades later, these minutia don't really feel that useful to know and don't really do much to show NPR's current identity.

What is NPR's future? Given the book's very recent publication, there is some speculation as there always can be. But the author doesn't spend a lot of time thinking more about what NPR could become, or how this constellation of organizations could be better organized.

[Caity Henderson · Rating 2 out of 5]

could’ve been an email

[Rob · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a former reporter/producer/host at two NPR member stations (2008-2015, 2022-2023), I appreciated this book. It is a credible history of a topic so vast it was probably a bear to edit down. The author noted it did take 14 years to write.

The book gave me a lot of the background on how NPR went from scrappy start up to national prominace. In a lot of ways, it reminded me of the drive by the underground press of the 1960s to become alt-weeklies in 1970s and beyond (read "Smoking Typewriters" for that fascinating story).

The author does a great job of telling us not only the history but giving us reasons to care about the pettiness and peril some of the NPR notables find themselves in. For example, the section on the Baghdad bureau during the war is harrowing and left me feeling horrible for those covering it, especially Anne Garrels. It reminded me of my own feelings of "trauma by proximity" (as I call it that is likely a form of PTSD) that I have been unwinding from my own reporting career.

If you are a fan of NPR, have ever worked there or for a member station or have an interest in a behind the scenes look of what it takes to do the news, this book is worth your time.

[John Ryan · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointing book with too much gossip along with too many missed opportunities to share a more in-depth perspective of this unique media reporting, especially considering the threat the current administration has on the future of public media. It was especially frustrating that the author had such poor and sexist coverage of a well-respected media source with so many strong reporters. The way Oney covered Cokie Roberts, Nina Totenberg, and Linda Wertheimer was nothing short of tragic; these bright trailblazers deserved so much better – and so did the readers.

The book highlights how NPR faced mismanagement and recurring financial issues. This is especially important as Republicans currently to claw back its funding, which could affect coverage in rural areas served by NPR’s 200 stations.

Critical periods for NPR such as when the new network provided full coverage of the House impeachment hearings of Nixon breaking stories and making a difference.

I wish the author had more information about the unionization drive at NPR led by Totenberg. Maybe had the author not done a hatchet job on the well-regarded journalist, she could have been quoted and provided more perspective of their low pay and poor treatment. Pay shot up considerably, sometimes doubling, and somehow the fledging network made payroll.

The story about McDonald Company’s heiress Joan Kroc was probably the highlight of the book for me for I only knew she gave a considerable amount but knew little else. The author spoke about her “ostentatious” home with two pools and a twelve-car garage along with fancy artwork, including a Rembrandt in a bathroom but how she was raised in poverty and would take food that was not going to be eaten from a guest’s plate. It seems that the NPR fundraisers were not fully responsible for securing the funds from the ill widow since they were not considering how much they could secure. Their work covering wars captured her interest at a time when Bush was unleashing America’s longest war. Her $200 million contribution (resulting in $235 million when the check was cut due to interest payments), was ten-fold what they expected from her.

The story about war coverage in Iraq was also powerful but the author worked hard to make it less interesting. Again, Oney was brutal to a hard-working reporter who was in the war zone longer than any other NPR reporter; a little compassion would have made the story much more compelling and interesting to readers. In her 50’s, Ann Garrels provided much-needed coverage of a war America should never have started. While Garrels might have been hard to get along with as a co-worker, she was smart when it came to building a relationship with those she was reporting on; when young Marines shunned her because of her sex and age, she asked questions of them to get them to talk about themselves and build a relationship. She also learned how close the troops were to one another as one Marine told her that as much as he loved his girlfriend and parents, he could never be as close to them as he was to his fellow Marines. It was riveting to read how close she came to death when a young Marine told her to stay out of the house since it was too dangerous, minutes before he was slaughtered; Garrels spoke about the only way she could honor his death was sending a note to his mother with the tapes she made of her son.

Yet, the author treated Garrels even more harsh than NPR did, not taking into consideration of the pressures of repeated war years would have on someone or, possibly, how it takes a unique person to put themselves in danger for so long. It’s unfortunate that instead of speaking of gossip and conflicts, Oney did not interview friends and families of Garrels to share more about what type of person would be a war journalist.

An after thought of the author should have been at least a chapter, if not the underlying story of the book. In the epilogue, Oney reported that listenership dropped from 60 million a week in 2020 to 47 million in 2023 and, along with losing readers, the network lost corporate sponsorships. Like other mainstream media, they cut journalists. Addressing that, speaking about how they are trying to modernize with podcasts and a more diverse staffing, and speaking more about their rural stations would have made this book much more substantial and meaningful, especially at Trump tries to snuff out this unique network.

[Socraticgadfly · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like a number of other 4-star reviewers, for me, this book was actually 3.5-3.75 stars, primarily for its dense and often non-compelling narrative. Beyond any typos mentioned by one 3-star review, I saw one glaring historical error. Talking about when Daniel Schorr first joined Morning Edition, the author talks about the Berlin Wall being down. Nope; still up in 1985, the date at which the rest of the material on that page is set.

Next, before I dive in, I'll qualify myself in two ways.

First, I'm only an occasional listener. I normally listen to classical music on the radio and, until a year ago, the classical station here was non-NPR. That said, I'm familiar with most the names.

Second, I'm a newspaper editor, so I'm definitely familiar with most the hard news names. With that, let's jump in.

First, the women whom Oney calls the "troika." I'd long held Cokie Roberts to be a dick, primarily trading on her family of origin's political standing plus her husband's Washington media standing. I halfway took Nina Totenberg for one, too, for different reasons. Had no such conceptions about Linda Wertheimer. But, reading about how she traded on husband Fred, she's a prick, too. And Oney makes a good case. Sorry, one two-star reviewer, true. And, not sexist by either Oney, or by me, since I used a male anatomical term.

The management, or mismanagement, since the time of second NPR CEO Frank Mankiewicz doing the initial enabling of the troika, was interesting. The non-stories NPR tells about itself, especially in cases like the Bob Edwards firing (and I had no idea he was that much a nutter) and the Juan Williams firing, were sadly hilarious.

The personalities of some of the personalities, above all, Ira Glass, were sketched well.

And Oney, who is clearly an NPR fan, also does good work on explaining the difference between radio and TV journalism and on how NPR's best do it within what it allows.

That said, like others, I think the book could have gone more into NPR's relationship with member stations, especially since some of the troika's ethical failings involved end runs around member stations. It could as well have looked more at competitor producers of public radio material, such as Minnesota Public Radio, American Public Media, Public Radio International. They are all mentioned, especially the first two, in relation to the Mankiewicz years, but, post-2000, we're told little.

And, despite Uri Berliner's laughable screed, and the odious place he chose to publish it (which says something about him right there), as briefly discussed in an epilogue, NPR still comes off in many ways as Nice Polite (Never Trumper) Republicans. It's hilarious, per an early chapter, that it was in bed with Pacifica back in the 1970s, more directly than some local stations having affiliation with Pacifica as well as NPR.

Per the Schorr error, and lesser ones, and typos, and other things, I think this book was rushed to print after Trump's election, in anticipation he might do something like cut funding for public broadcasting.

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Disclaimers:
1. One of my brothers used to be interim CEO of NPR and was interviewed for this book
2. I saw Cokie Roberts in the grocery store once and was greatly impressed by down-to-earth she was -- didn't yell at me to get out of her way or cut in line at checkout or anything!
3. You might like the book more if you listen to NPR. I don't and never have, so for me it was like a deep dive into Led Zeppelin (I know who they are, could name a couple songs, but not into it) rather than Bruce Springsteen or the like.

But to the extent I can be objective.........major pluses and minuses. Per the acknowledgements, he was working on the book for 14 years, and it shows. Extremely detailed history of NPR and notebook dump by the author, with mostly uninteresting mini-bios of seemingly everybody who's ever worked there, plus redundant quotes about each employee's personality and work style.

Balanced against that, some very interesting insider stuff about what it was like to cover major stories of past generation, e.g., 9/11

A few recurring issues:

--should NPR compete with commercial media on covering breaking news, or stick to staking out coverage of long-form less-time-urgent news, interesting stuff about everyday life of normal people........?

--endless struggle to secure sufficient funding (interesting chapter on Joan Kroc's huge bequest to them, but wasn't clear to me why they were again so soon thereafter in $ trouble)

--interpersonal strife and dysfunction, partly around attempts to recruit/retain a more racially diverse workforce and partly around machinations of what author refers to repeatedly as the "troika" of Linda Wertheimer, Cokie Roberts, and Nina Totenberg.

On those points and some others I could have used a more comparative context. Like was there something really unusual about the troika's bigfooting their nominal bosses etc. to throw their weight around in programming or personnel decisions, or was it more typical "stars get more say" stuff (cf. Magic Johnson getting Paul Westhead fired as Lakers coach early in his career)?

[kevin kvalvik · Rating 3 out of 5]

OK, i had limited expectations for this text, as one has limited expectations for NPR itself.

I had been listening fairly devotedly during many of the years Oney seemed to emphasize toward the beginning of my career, which is significant due to the fact that these were also my years w a serious commute. I was also fairly diligent w my Saturday mornings & Scott Simon. So as any consistent listener reports, not hours or days nor weeks but likely months of my time was absorbed in the underwhelming reportage of NPR as a young man. This was the mid 80's and early 90's and i was neither political nor really plugged into current events.

So my apparent devotion to their harmless data drip might make one think this book would be an eye opener, or at least the titillating revelations of my b-list celebs of choice. But, not so much. Of course the closer one is to the subject the more one may know about said comrades and coworkers. But truth is this was written as though the norms of that era--those eras--were unique to NPR. Truly every story in the book tracks w every media outlet in its time only muted.

Drugs and sex? Yeah, I get it, the 70's and 80's represent those pastimes. So really not so interesting really. Inherent racism and sexism and castle intrigue, OK, that too. But it's not shocking, but wants to be.

And no fault of the author, but we are living in the times where "All the Kings Men" seems quaint. Damn NPR losing money? Yeah He'll burn it down just to have a fire for his hotdogs. There are no shocks anymore.

Lastly, that whole online/social media thing happened as well and the need for those voices of my youth has also evaporated. Radio is not a thing that will out last its use case unlike TV and theaters for another revenue cycle or two.

Decent book in indecent times.

[Jerry Edward Stephens · Rating 5 out of 5]

Many radio listeners understand that NPR means “National Public Radio.” Fewer know that NPR is a radio network which was created by an act of Congress in 1970. NPR was established to be a non-commercial alternative to the commercial broadcasting networks. NPR is also a controversial public institution. Funding for public radio is both a political issue and a concern for the network. NPR receives a level of funding set in the government’s budget by Congress. Money does , however, come from other sources. The estate of the late Joan B. Kroc gave $235 million In November 2003. NPR’s history has seen other controversies arise. The author in this book traces the history of NPR from its creation; analyzes the frequent financial crises affecting its business financing model; and discusses the controversies involving public issues and public personalities that have affected its operations over the years. He clearly appears to have identified those who know NPR. He also seems to have had an interview with everyone who may have a relevant opinion about NPR. Because of the many interviews, the book’s index will be a vital partner. Highly recommended for readers interested in the history of public radio broadcasting.

[Dan Dundon · Rating 3 out of 5]

I’ve listened to NPR for years and I always felt the news anchors were calm and collected when reporting the news rather than the hyperbole I’d hear on commercial TV network news. I was, therefore, amazed to read about the amount of in-fighting that occurred at NPR. Nevertheless, I believe Steve Oney probably went overboard in describing the internal chaos. Instead of pages and pages devoted to each conflict, a few well-written paragraphs would probably have done the trick for a vast majority of readers.
I can understand why it took the author nearly 14 years to complete this book. The exhaustive look at NPR left me exhausted by the end. Why, for example, did we have to plow through dozens of background pages about individual news personnel when most of the information had no bearing on NPR’s history. The author at times seemed to stray far from his primary subject.
Better editing would have immeasurably improved this book. It is, however, interesting and educational, if you can stick with it to the end.

[J · Rating 3 out of 5]

Oney is a compelling narrator who weaves many disparate stories together into one in the form of On Air. Ostensibly this book is about NPR but in many respects the book is far more accurately described as an exercise in examining forms of institutional power to catalogue their effects. While a brilliant piece of prose overall, the stories don't fit together into an overarching narrative and are rife with long diatribes interspersed with short whirlwinds of action. The chapters often overlap in events both in time and in location, presumably to allow each chapter to stand alone if the reader would like it to, but the manner in which this occurs gives the larger work an unpolished appearance.

The content, on the other hand, is fascinating. Oney does a fantastic job of laying out the critical people and events in the history of NPR, inviting the reader to come along as if the reader were an NPR insider throughout its existence.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Steve Oney's intensely researched tome relies heavily on interviews with scores of former and current NPR employees. As a result, "On Air" can feel rather dense, with attributions occasionally handled clunkily and the prose bogging down with incessant clauses.

The story itself, however, is sublime and well told. The organization's perseverance through a litany of setbacks and obstacles -- continuing to this day -- is inspiring for anyone who values precise, passionate journalism.

Oney's work serves as a timely reminder of the vital presence NPR holds in our culture and in a democracy under siege. While he underplays the role that government plays in undercutting and undermining the organization's efforts, the efforts put into articulating its origin story are instructive and important as the very nature of independent journalism becomes a daily question.

[Janis · Rating 4 out of 5]

I guess even my heroes can have feet of clay!
This is a must-read for those of us who love NPR/PBS/public media in general. I am old enough to remember the creation if PBS and even listen to some of the first NPR broadcasts. Even then, each and every on-air personality sounded so serious, so erudite, so well put together. As a fledgling college student, I can remember wishing I could think and sound so creatively and universally.
Turns out, according to Steve Oney's book many of the on and off-air personalities had many all too human foibles. As a whole, this book is fast-paced, funny, tragic, informative and "wow-I-didn't-know-that provoking.
The only reason I didn't give it five stars is that toward the very end, it dragged a bit by overly dwelling on a topic or two.
All-in-all, well worth the read and a faster read than you might think.
Thanks for reading this!