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Protect NPR, it protects us   Published February 15, 2011  In
the weeks and months following Sept. 11, Americans turned to
National Public Radio by the millions. It was a scary time, and
people needed trustworthy information and analysis as they
struggled to make sense of something that seemed senseless.  So
worthy of respect was their coverage in the aftermath of the
Sept. 11 attacks that many of the new listeners NPR gained in
2001 became committed new fans, and 9/11 became a turning point
for public radio. Over the last decade, as the audience for
nearly every other traditional news source has sharply declined,
NPR saw its audience grow 50 percent— with nearly 30 million
listeners of every political affiliation now tuning in every
week and millions more downloading NPR podcasts.  Yet despite
NPR’s popularity — due to its success at creating a product
which the American people have deemed worth funding — public
radio finds itself in jeopardy. Last we