NPR to start broadcasting in Berlin

National Public Radio, based in Washington, is poised to bring "Car Talk" and "Fresh Air" to Berlin.

That step is part of a broader effort by NPR to become a respected global voice, aided by new technology and the retreat of Voice of America from the international market for news delivered in English.

In the spring, NPR will replace Voice of America in Berlin. Through six decades, Voice of America, the U.S.-financed broadcaster, offered jazz, delivered late-night headlines to homesick American soldiers and chronicled the crumbling of the Berlin Wall.

But Voice of America's Berlin license is expiring in April, and with the fall of communism in Europe, its presence there no longer seems essential. Last week, the U.S. Broadcasting Board of Governors proposed a $671 million budget for publicly financed broadcasting services that could eliminate Voice of America's News Now broadcast, reflecting a shift from English-language programming to projects in local languages in the Middle East.

But Voice of America's broader strategic shifts present a fresh opportunity for NPR.

Ken Stern, executive vice president of NPR, said: "This is a period of broadening our thinking. Technology really provides a marketable opportunity for us to reach people in a way that we couldn't before. We've learned a lot about the international audience and what they need."

To extend its reach beyond U.S. borders to almost 150 countries, NPR is already using a combination of platforms, including its Web site and podcasts, as well as cable and satellites. Still, Stern said, NPR could not estimate the scope of its international audience.

Initially, NPR executives said they hoped to finance the Berlin station through underwriting from German-American businesses and foundations.

The Berlin station is a new tool for NPR, which does not license or operate radio stations in the United States; it sells programming to member radio stations that are part of a loosely organized public radio network, which in 2004 contributed half of NPR's $153 million in revenue through program fees and dues.

To maintain a low budget at the new German station, NPR will use the same American programming and will benefit from getting a license at minimal cost from the German authorities, who grant similar licenses for broadcasters like Radio France International and the BBC World Service.

Typically, international radio programming tends to be a niche news source, which has difficulty attracting advertising or sponsorships, said Christoph Lanz, managing director of Deutsche Welle, the German news service. But he praised the arrival of NPR in Berlin.

"We think that NPR is a public broadcast, and what we want is a public broadcaster and not government propaganda," he said. "NPR has a good reputation and provides good public-service journalism. And the VOA, as we all know, is the state opinion media of the United States."