Sunday, August 14, 2011
Why I don’t listen to NPR
by Larry Geller
A couple of days after the Norway shootings, trapped in my car without my mp3 player to listen to, I heard an NPR reporter pressing an interviewee with repeated questions on whether or not the Norway tactics resembled those used by Al Qaeda. Of course, it’s well-known that many media pundits immediately pounced on AQ as the perpetrator, or reported that the shooter/bomber had AQ connections, before the facts were known. You know about that.
There was no excuse for NPR news to push the Islamic angle at the time they went ahead and aired the interview. They aired it only to make their own point, since the world media had already discredited the Islamophobic pundits.
NPR has not been a reliable reporter on the Social Security issue either.
Wall Street investment banker Peter Peterson has pledged $1 billion to the effort to cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. Other Wall Street types are doing their part, as is National Public Radio.
They are doing a full court press now -- things are really terrible, if you don't give up your Social Security and Medicare, then the economy might collapse.
[cepr.net, National Public Radio Redoubles the Effort to Cut Your Social Security and Medicare, 8/10/2011]
Sure, NPR news is head and shoulders above, say Fox, but that’s not saying much. BBC has its biases and weakness also. BBC is known for funding through a TV tax. NPR is funded by listeners and a little bit from the feds.
NPR keeps asking us for money. And subscribers pay, but most likely have little influence on programming or on balance or accuracy of news coverage.
I was raised on WBAI, a Pacifica Radio station in New York City. At present, Pacifica subscribers elect a local board at each station, and they do have say in how their money is spent. In fact, some notable battles have occurred over the years. It seems that public radio attracts its share of fanatics, as it should. `Olelo, on Oahu, does as well. I’ve come to accept that strong views and strongly expressed views come with the territory. Pacifica and `Olelo are certainly better for their engagement with their audiences and producers. NPR lacks that link.
NPR keeps saying they are publicly funded, but they are, perhaps, too close to being government-run.
NPR got all corporate before and even more so after the funding threat. They use lots of mitigating weasel words on GMO, terrorism, politics, economy and other topics. BBC has turned to bunk too. The fact that they are journalistically better than 90% of the other blatantly corporate media not withstanding... this subtle bs makes them more dangerous and by making the status quo palatable to baby boomer liberals and helping to stall regime change at home in the US. Good of you to notice this and call attention. US domestic propaganda is dangerous to citizens and to the rest of the world, since it helps quell dissent and enables the waging of illegal wars for private corporate gain in the guise of US foreign policy. Progress will not be comfortable.
: August 14, 2011 at 4:07:00 PM HST << Home
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