NPR to cut 7 percent of workers

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. radio network National Public Radio will cut 7 percent of its workers and eliminate two shows because of budget shortfalls, the network said on Wednesday.

Facing a $23 million shortfall, NPR will eliminate the shows "Day to Day" and "News & Notes" in March because they failed to attract "sufficient levels of audience or national underwriting necessary to sustain continued production under these tough financial circumstances," Dennis Haarsager, NPR's CEO and interim president, wrote in an internal memo.

Many of the job cuts will come from those two programs.

"All our revenue sources are under pressure," wrote Haarsager in the memo. "All industries, including the financial, automotive, and media industries, historically our biggest underwriters, are cutting back significantly."

NPR, which has a staff of 889, said it will cut 85 jobs, including 21 unfilled positions.

"Travel and discretionary expenses have been cut across the organization," NPR said in a statement.

(Reporting by Diane Bartz, editing by Anthony Boadle)