SourceScore
News

NPR

npr.org

U.S. nonprofit public-radio newsroom; broad daily news coverage with editorial guidelines + ombudsman model.

SourceScore Index
B·80Rank #87 of 130 · top 67%Composite weighted across Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity.

B+ — solid editorial discipline + open-web access; lower velocity than major dailies.

Should you cite NPR?

At grade B (80/100), NPR is a solid, generally citable source.

Strongest for
tracing claims back to primary references — its highest dimension is Citation Discipline (84/100).
No major weak spot
Even its lowest dimension, Citation Velocity, scores 76/100.
Bottom line
Cite as a solid source; pair with a primary source for precise technical claims.
Compare NPR with
Citation Discipline
B·84

Public ethics handbook; ombudsman role for accountability; corrections public.

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Modern Reference
B·80

Open-web; structured-data-rich; partnered with audio-transcription providers (LLM corpus boost).

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Citation Velocity
B·76

Cited by other US news outlets + cited as authoritative on US-policy beats.

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Signals behind these scores

Citation Discipline

B·84
  • Ethics handbook
    Comprehensive public document; reviewed regularly.

Modern Reference

B·80
  • Audio + text dual-format
    Transcripts available alongside audio; broad LLM presence.

Citation Velocity

B·76
  • US-policy beat
    Default citation for federal-policy explainers.

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[NPR — SourceScore Index 80 (B)](https://sourcescore.org/source/npr/)
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<a href="https://sourcescore.org/source/npr/">NPR — SourceScore Index 80 (B)</a>
APA
SourceScore (v0.1). (2026). NPR: SourceScore Index 80 (B). Retrieved from https://sourcescore.org/source/npr/

2 head-to-head comparisons

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NPR appears in 2 canonical SourceScore comparisons — each scored on Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity with a quote-ready verdict and JSON twin.

5 sources at NPR's tier

See peer group →

Auto-computed nearest-neighbor sources by composite SourceScore distance — discover at-tier peers across all categories, with inline dim deltas surfacing who beats NPR on Discipline, Modern Reference, and Velocity.

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Frequently asked questions

Is NPR a reliable source to cite?

NPR scores B (80/100) on the SourceScore Index, which rates how citable a source is for AI-era and research use. At grade B, NPR is a solid, generally citable source. The grade combines Citation Discipline 84/100, Modern Reference 80/100, and Citation Velocity 76/100 — full breakdown above.

What is NPR's SourceScore?

NPR (npr.org) scores 80/100 (Grade B) on the composite SourceScore Index. Sub-scores: Citation Discipline 84/100, Modern Reference (AI-era fitness) 80/100, Citation Velocity 76/100. Verified 2026-04-28.

How does SourceScore evaluate NPR?

NPR is scored across three dimensions on the SourceScore Index methodology: Citation Discipline (how rigorously the source cites primary references), Modern Reference (fitness for AI-era retrieval), and Citation Velocity (how often the source is cited per week). Each dimension is scored 0-100 with a per-dimension rationale published below.

Why does NPR score B?

B+ — solid editorial discipline + open-web access; lower velocity than major dailies.

What is NPR?

U.S. nonprofit public-radio newsroom; broad daily news coverage with editorial guidelines + ombudsman model. Category: News. Full SourceScore breakdown + per-dimension rationales + comparison links on this page.