Solicitation for Non-Board D/I Committee Candidates

January 2004

The Governance Committee of National Public Radio, Inc., seeks expressions of interest by persons who wish to serve as a non-Board member of the Distribution/Interconnection Committee of the NPR Board of Directors. There are openings for two of these positions, beginning with the Committee's November 2004 meeting.

The NPR Board of Directors governs the Public Radio Satellite System (PRSS). The D/I Committee is charged with proposing rates and policy to the Board and overseeing the operation of the interconnection system. The composition of the Committee is unique, as it includes non-Board representatives in addition to members of the NPR Board.

The presence of the non-Board members on the Committee reflects the fact that the PRSS serves a diverse group of users, including public radio stations (regardless of programming or organizational affiliations), program producers and distributors, and other entities not affiliated with NPR. The non-Board members of the Committee are intended to help NPR as manager of the PRSS assets to understand and meet the needs of that diverse group of users.

Non-Board members of the D/I Committee are elected by the NPR Board and confirmed by the interconnected stations. Non-Board members serve for a three-year term and are eligible to serve two successive terms. The second term of two non-Board members of the Committee expires in November 2004:

Skip Pizzi, TV Standards & Regulatory Affairs Manager, Microsoft Corporation
Jim Russell, Senior Vice President & Gen. Manager, MPR's Marketplace Productions

Criteria for evaluating candidates for the non-Board member seats include:

1. Candidate must demonstrate interest in and knowledge of the public radio distribution system and public radio programming;
2. Candidate must demonstrate an ability to understand and explain the needs of non-NPR public radio satellite system users, including independent producers, other public telecommunications entities, and minority groups;
3. Candidate must not be an Authorized Station Representative of an NPR Member station. (Other employees of NPR Members, including employees of any stations licensed to or operated by a Member, are eligible to serve as such non-Board members and are welcome to apply);
4. Candidate must demonstrate willingness to make a commitment of time and to travel for meetings throughout term of service (4-5 meetings a year; travel expenses paid by NPR).

If you wish to be considered for service as a non-Board member of the D/I Committee, you should submit a resume and a brief statement of interest in the position. Send all statements of interest to:

Neal A. Jackson
Secretary of the Corporation
National Public Radio, Inc.
635 Massachusetts Avenue, N.W.
Washington, DC 20001-3735
E-mail: njackson@npr.org

All expressions of interest should be received by close of business on February 18, 2004.

As part of the annual election process, the Governance Committee of the NPR Board will review these expressions of interest (including recommendations from the D/I Committee) and will nominate one or more candidates for election by the full Board. Ballots with the name of the elected non-Board candidate(s) will be submitted to the interconnected stations for confirmation. The confirmed Committee member(s) will take office at the November meeting of the NPR Board.

If you have any questions about the nomination process for non-Board members, please call Linda Dominic at 202.513.2675.