For this assignment, I’m going to be exploring how NPR (National Public Radio) performs the five core functions.

• Informs, Analyzes, Interprets and Explains:
  • https://www.npr.org/2020/09/15/913032727/hurricane-sally-is-bringing-history-making-rains-to-gulf-coast-forecasters-say
  • This article about Hurricane Sally is a good example of NPR performing this first core function. It’s providing news-worthy and relevant information to readers who might be affected by this “history-making amount of rain”.

• Investigates:
  • https://www.npr.org/2020/04/15/833692377/how-the-coronavirus-has-affected-individual-members-of-congress
  • This story investigates and goes into detail about how each member of Congress has been personally affected by COVID-19.

• Creates a public conversation:
  • https://www.npr.org/2020/09/15/911460160/she-cant-vote-herself-but-this-daca-recipient-is-working-to-register-others
  • This article is about a DACA recipient encouraging people to register to vote even though she cannot vote herself. This creates a public conversation by helping create that public forum where people can speak freely about things like this without the government interfering.

• Helps generate social empathy:
  • https://www.npr.org/2020/09/14/912752013/wildfires-make-dangerous-air-for-farmworkers-it-s-like-you-can-t-breathe
  • This particular story is about the negative effects that the California wildfires are having on the air quality: something that directly affects farmworkers. This story talks about some of the conditions that these workers deal with on a daily basis, generating empathy for them.

• Encourages accountability:
  • https://www.npr.org/2020/09/14/912524343/woodward-addresses-criticism-that-he-shouldve-detailed-trump-interviews-earlier
  • This article encourages the accountability of journalist Bob Woodward as he addresses the criticism, he received for not sharing what the president told him about the coronavirus response earlier this year.

I did find some good content on NPR that performed multiple functions. In fact, there were quite a few that I found that I could sort into at least two functions. I did, however, have a harder time finding articles that fit under investigative journalism. This might be because NPR might not necessarily do as much investigative journalism as other news networks. It seemed to me that most of NPR’s stories fit under the first core function.