NPR & National Public Media's Year in Review: 2022

2022 was another momentous year for NPR & National Public Media. As the world continues to change, NPR remains a consistent source of top-notch journalism and award-winning content for 48 million people each week. Check out a few highlights from NPR & National Public Media.

Fresh voices, fresh takes

Top L to R: Lori Lizarraga, Marielle Segarra, Anamaria Sayre, Ayesha Rascoe; Bottom L to R: Jeff Guo, B.A. Parker, Leila Fadel, Emma Choi, Aaron Scott.

In 2022, NPR introduced 16 new voices to listeners across broadcast and podcast programs. The new hosts come from both within and outside of NPR, all as a part its strategic goal to reach a younger, more diverse audience.

Tiny Desk makes headlines

NPR Music closed out Black Music Appreciation Month with the instantly viral Usher Tiny Desk concert. “Watch this” memes swarmed the internet following the video’s premiere, bringing in 1.4M+ views in the first 24 hours. 

In 2022, NPR Music celebrated two major milestones for the Tiny Desk franchise: the 1,000th Tiny Desk Concert and a nomination as one of the Best Hip-Hop Platforms at the 2022 BET Awards. The NPR Music YouTube page now has more than seven million subscribers and 16 million monthly viewers.

The return of live events

After two years of virtual events, NPR Presents opened its doors to live audiences across the country. NPR’s hit comedy program Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! resumed weekly live tapings in its new Chicago home, the historic Studebaker Theater. Code Switch also took the stage in Chicago for a live podcast taping, introducing fans to new co-hosts B.A. Parker and Lori Lizarraga, alongside founding host Gene Demby.

What’s more, NPR Music celebrated its 15 year anniversary and the crowning of the 2022 Tiny Desk Contest winner Alisa Amador. The Tiny Desk Contest On The Road Tour returned with a five-stop, cross-country tour, celebrating with fans in D.C., Brooklyn, Atlanta, L.A. and Seattle.

On-the-ground reporting & award-winning journalism

Mary Louise Kelly and team in Kyiv.

2022 was a tough year covering the news. NPR journalists traveled across the country and the globe to cover a closely-contested set of midterm elections, the fallout of the reversal of Roe v. Wade, the continuing effects of the COVID pandemic, an economy teetering on the edge of recession and a war in Europe.

The newsroom also launched the NPR Climate Desk in October 2022. The desk will harness the strengths of existing local, national and international reporting to cover the most pressing issue of our time.

Award-winning journalism comes from across NPR, with Throughline winning a Peabody Award for its three-part series, Afghanistan: The Center of the World.

Most popular stories & episodes of the year

Audiences rely on NPR for top-notch journalism, but they also tune in for award-winning content on topics that pique their interests including arts & culture, lifestyle, business, science, history, comedy and more. Here are a few of the most popular stories & episodes audiences couldn’t stop consuming:

NPR.org

With 15 million weekly users, NPR.org features the latest stories from across the NPR Network. Some of the top stories include:

• Your Wordle strategy says a lot about how you see the world
• Scientists have picked up a radio signal ‘heartbeat’ billions of light-years away
• We’re not lion: The 2022 Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards are a good laugh

Podcast programming

Reaching an audience of 18 million+ a month, NPR has five of top 20 podcasts in the U.S.– more than any other podcast publisher. A few fan-favorite episodes include:

• Planet Money: HBO 2.0
• TED Radio Hour: How to find joy and success as a late bloomer
• Short Wave: The Debate About Pablo Escobar’s Hippos

NPR also launched three new podcasts: The Limits with Jay Williams, State of Ukraine and La última copa/The Last Cup. 

New research from NPR Sponsorship

This year, we partnered with Neuro-Insight on a study to explore the power of trust and the impact of memory in advertising. “Transference of Trust: Driving Purchase Intent & Brand Equity” used memory encoding technology to reveal the role of trust in consumer decision making and the power of placement.

The study confirmed that the platform through which brands communicate with their consumers is almost as important as the message. Key findings include:

• NPR owns key attributes that drive trust: ethics, reliability, relevance, and accuracy.
• NPR proved a highly effective platform for CSR messaging, with memorability for branding moments higher on average for NPR sponsor messages vs. TV news platforms. 
• NPR gives brands a 13% lift in memorability at branding vs. TV news. 

With only 34% of consumers thinking companies are transparent about their commitments, the new study offers insights to marketers and advertisers seeking to push past skepticism and into long-term memorability. Learn more about the report and methodology here. 

Sponsorship highlights for brands

In 2022, the NPM Creative team returned to in-person recordings with immersive audio captured on-site and a debuted new design for landing pages that promote Soundscapes on NPR.org. In total, the team produced custom audio for 17 brands, including Fortune 500 companies Ameriprise Financial, Bank of America, Deloitte, General Motors, SAP and State Farm:

• 13 Brand Soundscapes
• Spotlight mid-rolls for 12 campaigns
• Custom :60 Mid-rolls for 6 campaigns
• 119 unique responsive Center Stages

Interested in what NPR sponsorship can do for your brand in 2023?

Let’s Talk.