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(Rockville, MD - April 23, 2007) Beginning the week of April 29 and for several weeks in May, the millions of listeners of the NPR programs "Morning Edition", the most listened to morning radio program in the country, and the national news talk show "Talk of the Nation" will hear sponsorship spots promoting the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association's (ASHA) Better Hearing and Speech Month, and ASHA's Web site.
ASHA has become a corporate sponsor of NPR programming and will use the 10-second spots to promote the May observance.
"ASHA plans to be more active using Better Hearing and Speech Month to educate the public about our professions and communication disorders," ASHA 2007 President Noma Anderson says. "We have chosen to go with NPR this year because of its highly influential, civic-minded listeners. In a variety of ways," Anderson explains, "NPR listeners lead at the grassroots. They are more likely than most to pass along what they hear to others in their communities."
"Morning Edition" is heard on nearly 650 public radio stations across the United States, with more than 13.5 million weekly listeners. It is the #1 rated morning radio show in the country, and the #2 radio show nationally overall. "Talk of the Nation," NPR's popular and interactive midday news talk program, reaches 3 million weekly listeners through nearly 290 stations.
According to Anderson, the appeal of NPR is the quality of its journalism, its significant public following and the value its listeners put on those organizations that sponsor its programs. Nearly 90% of NPR listeners say their opinion of a given company or organization becomes more positive when they hear that it has sponsored public radio; nearly 70% believe that NPR sponsors represent higher quality products and services; and more than 60% believe that NPR sponsors are more credible.
NPR has won every leading media award, often many times. Last month, it received two George Foster Peabody Awards, one of the most prestigious honors for news organizations. NPR has won more than 40 Peabody's, as well as 20 Alfred I. DuPont Columbia University Awards.
ASHA is creating a special "landing page" on its Web site for those who hear the NPR sponsorship spots and want to learn more. The page will provide them with easy access to lay information about the speech-language pathology and audiology professions, and topics related to communication science.
For five weeks beginning at the end of April, ASHA will also have a sponsorship presence on NPR's Web site. In an average month, more than 3 million visit NPR's site. Also, 20% of the users of NPR's Web site are from overseas.
"ASHA is committed to raising the visibility of our professions," Anderson notes. "We believe that NPR will be an effective way to reach a large and influential segment of the public about the important care they provide."
ASHA is the professional, scientific, and credentialing association for more than 127,000 audiologists, speech-language pathologists, and speech, language, and hearing scientists in the United States and internationally. For more information on speech, language, and hearing disorders, consumers can log on to ASHA's Web site or call 1-800-638-TALK.
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