NPR Is Criticized After White Nationalist Ranks the Races by Intelligence on Air

[dalton99a]

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/10/business/media/charlottesville-jason-kessler-npr.html

NPR Is Criticized After White Nationalist Ranks the Races by Intelligence on Air
By Daniel Victor
Aug. 10, 2018

An NPR interview with the organizer of last year’s white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Va., ignited complaints on Friday about how news organizations cover white nationalism.

In a “Morning Edition” segment, the radio host Noel King interviewed Jason Kessler, a white nationalist who is planning a rally in Washington this weekend on the anniversary of last year’s rally, which was the scene of racist chants and deadly violence.

Ms. King preceded the discussion, which was part of a weeklong series about the anniversary of the Charlottesville rally, with a warning: “Some of what you’re about to hear is racist and offensive.”

She was correct. In the interview on Friday, which lasted about five minutes, Mr. Kessler relayed junk science and ranked the intelligence of various races.

Ms. King at times pushed back and interrupted Mr. Kessler. Before he made his remarks on race-ranking, which he has supported by citing a political scientist, she said the scholar’s work had been “debunked by scientists and sociologists, and is deemed racist by many.”

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[jrthin]

1. NPR lost its way a long time ago with its false equivalences and both-sidesism. nt

[Anon-C]

2. They really have!

[The Genealogist]

3. I gave up on them years ago

A bit too much Dubya cheerleading for my taste.

[jcgoldie]

4. Exactly

I finally quit listening during the 2016 election cycle due the the repeated... "Donald Trump said some racist crazy shit, made fun of a disabled reporter, said some more misogynist shit to a female reporter, then told an hour of lies to an audience of redneck nazis, and people who worked with him in every aspect of his business say he screwed them out of money... oh buuuut... here's Mara Liasson to explain to us why everyone hates Hillary too!"

Oh yeah and... "here's a panel of real Americans from Iowa to explain just why Hillary is so repulsive to them..."

[malaise]

5. They should know better

Rec

[LAS14]

6. In this case I don't think it's false equivalency. I find myself...

... wondering what people ARE saying on the far right. It's important to know the enemy. I'm glad to get it via NPR rather than having to visit such websites, etc., myself.

If it were false equivalency they wanted of preceded it with a warning.