NPR is becoming a joke

[Johnny2X2X]

This morning they had a segment on a pollster who polled young people and is an expert on their voting habbits. The NPR interviewer couldn't have been more anti Biden. "So, tell us how young people are disappointed in Biden and won't be voting for him." Over and over again when the data the lady was presenting didn't support anything like that. It was a total joke, young people are going to vote for Biden, that's clear.

NPR also painted the UAW endorsing Biden yesterday negatively. "How come it didn;t come sooner? This is a sigh of Biden's weakness with unions..."

NPR is getting worse and worse, I notice this stuff everyday now.

[Charging Triceratops]

1. I shut off National Petroleum Radio off years ago.

It's a complete fraud.

[Scruffy1]

34. Ditto n/t.

[usaf-vet]

65. Ditto and haven't missed it.

[PTL_Mancuso]

35. Back in the W/Cheney Iraq/Afghan days

She regularly interviewed and kissed up to retired revolving-door multi-star generals who worked for defense contractors and RW think tanks.

Up to that time, I thought she was one of the best interviewers ever, but that ex-military butt-kissing made it so I could never trust her again.

[world wide wally]

67. And their groveling for donations is obnoxious

I prefer spending my money on satellite radio

[IthinkThereforeIAM]

105. And it is those "donors", they are appeasing...

... so they have to give the rat wing donors, ie... Koch foundation/PACs/etc what they want. It irks me to see the list of "brought to you by: rat wing foundation 1, rat wing PAC 2, rat wing corp 3..." in the credits on PBS, especially the news and discussion programs. And has for decades... can you add things up from this?

[live love laugh]

113. It's owned by RW oligarchs.

[BootinUp]

2. Thats just because you are a real worlder.

[getagrip_already]

3. getting?

they have been this bad for a decade or more. Ever since the great purge where they threw out the senior staff and brought in conservative editors and commeentators.

[markodochartaigh]

111. My oldest cousin

introduced me to NPR back in the 70's. I enjoyed it for years and was proud to be a member of my local station, KERA. I felt like an old friend had developed dementia when it started going to the reich. KERA still has some great shows like Think, The Moth Radio Hour, and Selected Shorts, but it is no longer a station that I can just set my radio to and leave it. And I sure don't have enough money to influence their programming, so I donate to FSTV.

[marble falls]

4. Early polling is a joke. At worst it dampens voter turnout. All media is guilty.

[oldsoftie]

56. AMEN!!!!! Most people aren't even paying attention now.

Wait till Oct. Thats when I start following them a little closer. But with trump polls, they can be a little skewed. In '16, people were embarrassed to tell a pollster they were going to vote for trump. In '20, they were SCARED to NOT say they were. I see the same now. People I know who have changed their minds will NOT say it openly.
But there's no one standing in that ballot box watching

[Botany]

5. Dick Cheney used to have pro Iraqi war propaganda planted on NPR when he was V.P..

N/t

[John1956PA]

7. In my opinion, NPR was pro-Bush/Cheney in 2004. n/t

[Botany]

11. NPR still has some outstanding people, stories, and reporting but the influence of right wing and

fossil fuel money (and other industries) on it are undeniable. Btw they helped to sell Dick Cheney’s
war to make him a billionaire big time.

[jimfields33]

13. I think they got scared when the threat of no more

Federal funding happened a few years ago.

[Demsrule86]

63. I don't watch NPR...they have an anti-Democratic Party point of view.

[Haggard Celine]

6. NPR used to do a variety of shows,

and not so much politics. They played classical music and they had a great blues show every week. They have a gardening show and shows about health. Many other things were done before Trump, but he has infected everything. Everything Trump touches turns to shit. That isn’t hyperbole.

[rurallib]

24. They still have all that at least on my local station

Maybe your local station has just cut way back?

[Rebl2]

29. So does mine

They have the news in the morning 5-9, and then a mix of local and other programming during day. My NPR station has another station entirely for classical music.

[Haggard Celine]

60. They still have some good programming

here, but there’s just a lot more politics on there these days. I don’t want to hear their version of the news. That’s what I come to DU for.

[John Shaft]

8. Becoming?

[Lonestarblue]

9. NPR is now owned by people and organizations like the Koch Foundation. Their bias has been getting worse for years.

[Blue Owl]

14. Remember Kochie Roberts?

[Crunchy Frog]

17. Ugh!

[Rebl2]

32. She was a

terrible. I thought many, many years ago she was liberal, then all of a sudden became hard right winger.

[Coventina]

98. Ugh. I quite donating because of her. Total Bush apologist.

I haven't donated since.

Their "bothsiderism" is horrible.

[multigraincracker]

20. Koch Brothers have donated

One and a half billion to trusted Liberal Organizations. Including PBS.
Some strings attached.

[diva77]

10. K&R!!! People like Mara LIE-asson are insufferable!!! I have to change the station when she gives her propaganda

wingnut reports. And the constant drone of anti-Biden-ism woven into commentary and interviews with others at NPR as well is infuriating!!!

[JonAndKatePlusABird]

38. That's my question to the OP, was it Mara Liasson?

I’m a regular enough listener that I can tell it’s her, even when I’ve missed the beginning of the segment. The tenor of her questions and overall tone is markedly critical of Democrats. Oh well, it’s part of her job! Literally, she’s a Fox News Contributor….. gotta execute on that contract!

Her articles remind me of Chris Cizilla headlines……..even without a byline, I know it’s Chris Cizilla because there’s such a distinct “voice”.

[marybourg]

12. I was a big listener and supporter for

40+ years, until the third year of tRump normalization. That’s when I threw in the towel. True, I don’t know much in the way of current affairs any more, but house is a lot quieter, and I am a lot calmer. It was great . Until it wasn’t any more.

[Crunchy Frog]

15. They've been awful for a long time.

It's been many, MANY years since I've listened to them.

[rurallib]

25. I date it back to the day they fired Bob Edwards

which was sometime in the very late '90s as I recall.

[Easterncedar]

16. It's far from perfect, but there's still good there

Mary Louise Kelly, for one. On the Media and The World remain of value.

The Bush gutting of the board was brutal; but some journalists have tried to keep on fighting.

[SoFlaBro]

19. I won't listen to some dogshit cheerleading session for the MAGA shitbirds. NPR used to mean something about journalism.

[markodochartaigh]

110. On the Media

is great. I have listened for many years and now I reach it through the Progressive Voices website.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

18. NPR absolutely leans left. Jesus.

Can we stop being like the RWNJ and bashing any media that says something we don't like or agree with and claim they are completely unreliable? Please. We don't need to jump into that clown car.

And as someone who teaches high school, younger voters have big problems with Biden. We can't ignore that and just hope it goes away. You can say all you want that they won't vote for Trump, but the reality may be that they just don't go to vote because they don't like either one. I know. I know. Save what you're going to say, because the reality of what happens isn't going to change with your version of "kids these days."

But regardless of whether you believe me about their views on Biden, let's stop throwing media that leans left under the bus for fuck's sake.

[Easterncedar]

21. Thank you

[shrike3]

22. They're following the narrative.

Biden is too old, and no one will vote for him. Media narratives form. I've been in the room where it happens. (Not this time obviously.) How true is the narrative? Well ... we'll find out.

I didn't listen to the segment, so how accurate is the OP's assessment? I don't know. It did sound as if NPR was leaning into the narrative whilst the pollster presented information that didn't quite support it. Wouldn't be the first time media ignored info that didn't fir the current narrative. Again, I've seen it happen. It's not a right or left thing. Really. It's part of media culture.

[ramen]

50. I believe this may be the piece in question

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226102913/young-voters-focus-more-on-issues-than-candidates-in-2024-presidential-election

i don't think the op's claims hold up. bad news is still news whether we like it or not. we have serious and important work to do with gen z, and we need to do it rather than just shouting"FAKE NEWS" when the strategy of taking them for granted somehow fails to work

[shrike3]

61. But media narratives can and have made the job more difficult.

Again, they're really not partisan. They're a reflection of media culture.

Take what Margaret Carlson said in 2000: (I'm paraphrasing) "We could get out our calculators (and go after Bush.) But it's so much more fun and entertaining for us to go after Gore."

From Forbes in 2021:

Still, much more illuminating than all of this are the anonymous comments that some journalists shared recently with Julia Ioffe, which she recounts in a recent installment of her fantastic newsletter Tomorrow Will Be Worse. Some excerpts from this particular edition:

“The mechanics of reporting have changed so much,” one reporter told Ioffe. “It was just this really aberrant period in which you could almost guarantee that, with enough effort, you could find out what’s going on in the Situation Room. Now you can’t — and it’s infuriating.”

“I mean, it wasn’t just the fact that Trump was a gravy train. It’s also juxtaposed (against) the most boring administration in modern history. You go from a circus with flaming chainsaws to … what? An old man watching his dog?”

“I loved covering Trump. It was a great and fascinating story. It wasn’t just about him; it was about his movement and the institutions and America. The story was always so dramatic and had these larger than life characters. The stakes often felt very high. I like covering Biden, too, but it just doesn’t feel as dramatic.”

From the late Eric Boehlert:

More proof of the media’s contempt for Biden, and their resentment for his No Drama approach, was found in a recent newsletter by D.C. journalist Julia Ioffe, who explored how journalists are reacting to the new Democratic administration, in the wake of the Trump media circus.

“People you’ve likely read or heard of or watched were concerned about what a Trump loss would mean for their career. That was the talk of the town,” she wrote.

snip

Journalists are quietly seething at the Biden White House. “Kudos to them, they’re very happy with themselves” one anonymous journalist told Ioffe. “You can see it, the coverage across the board from everyone is very, very lame. You never get inside the room and hear how this shit’s going down. Like, how are they managing this elderly man?”

Added another, “There’s a sense that Biden’s position is fragile and that he has to be protected, that any unkind gaze might knock him over—which plays into every right-wing stereotype.”

And a third: “I don’t know that there’s been a president who’s been so protected and wrapped in so many layers of wool to keep him away from anything remotely approaching an adversarial interview.” Another journalist belittled Biden as “an old man watching his dog.”

***
Again, this is not a left or right thing: it's media culture. It can be very difficult to get the word out when you're presenting info that doesn't fit the narrative. It's not impossible. The candidate's team just has to work harder. I'm sure Biden's team is more that prepared to do that.

[Wednesdays]

73. Nuclear Armegeddon is interesting, too. nt

[shrike3]

95. Might be a dream scenario for some of these people.

So long as they survive and there are enough people left to award them the Pulitzer.

[Eyeball_Kid]

97. A critical take on the link...

verifies the suspicion that the suggestions expressed in the article are veritably worthless. Why? WHERE'S THE DATA??? These are anecdotal comments that DO NOT refer to population or demographic studies. They are isolated opinions gathered from individuals that have no bearing on demographic trends. Articles like this further demean the readers' ability to exercise critical thinking skills and go the LAZY route of generalizing, without fact-checking, from a handful of unauthoritative quotes. IOW, IT'S BULLSHIT.

[Think. Again.]

88. I think you're describing...

..."for-profit" media culture.

[shrike3]

93. I'm also describing ambitious people's culture.

The ones who want to be in the elite newsrooms, like the Times, have to get with the program. Rocking the boat does not lead to career successes. Though in fairness I think it's like that anywhere. Playing the game is far more important than doing the job.

[Eyeball_Kid]

92. Not so long ago,

the MSM was creating a narrative about a Big Red Wave prior to the last couple of elections. But... something else happened. The distrust of well-formed narratives created by corporate donors and "think tanks" is justified. There should be a strong suspicion that ad revenues are king, that making the RW pitch lines as legitimate stimulates viewership and is self-rewarding. As for the meme that young voters are anti-Biden, it's not helpful to cite anecdotals as justification for making controversial conclusions. The facts are in the data, but to a point. Current methods of gathering data through surveys are notoriously inaccurate because so many in the demographic are extremely reluctant to allow access from "unknown sources." (Read: "Scam", or "Unknown caller" alerts on any cellphone.) Even septuagenarians can easily stop random phone calls from survey "telemarketers." But news sources, hungry to make a headline, will frequently assert conclusions in an authoritative manner when hard data is nebulous or not at all conclusive.

[shrike3]

94. There's also laziness.

Stephen Colbert, at a White House correspondent's dinner during the Bush administration, said (mockingly) that it's important to get that story done so you can go home and start to work on that novel about the brave reporter who risks all for truth and justice. Correspondents didn't like his comments, I recall. Mostly because there was a kernel of truth in that. If you know ahead of the time what a story is going to be about, it's easier to place it, play it, throw it out to the usual talking heads. And go home. I have seen this happen in real time. People don't believe me. But oh well.

It IS complicated. There is more than one reason.

[rurallib]

27. I would disagree that it leans left - it is really inconsistent

Some reporters lean left; some lean right, and either side seem to work their leanings into the story.

Earlier this week they announced a new director. Maybe she will bring some direction.

I must say they are definitely not pro-Biden. Whereas they treat Trump with kid gloves. However they are getting much better at calling out right wing lies

[people]

28. Young People and Biden

From talking to my daughter in her 30' s, who is definitely a solid leftie, people her age are very very disappointed in Biden and may not vote- she will vote. They are upset about the cost of housing, that it's hard to rent an apt. and afford it, impossible to buy a house and very very upset about the Gaza Israel war. I heard Joy Reid say this about young people a few weeks ago and I thought that must not be true but my daughter blurted out the same thing without my bringing it up. I hope when the time comes around they will vote - for their reproductive rights, if nothing else.

[shrike3]

39. I imagine that is true, yes.

Anecdotal, but true. During the 2020s primary I had a friend whose son refused to vote; neither did his friends. The Democratic party, they said, had nothing to offer them. I had the feeling they wanted to be enticed. Unfortunately, their lack of a turnout doomed Bernie, whom they said they all supported.

When I was young, I paid no attention to politics. Didn't interest me. That changed as I got older. Maybe it's a time of life sort of thing? Anyway, what your daughter reports doesn't surprise me.

[LiberalFighter]

44. It doesn't help to elect Republicans that take over the House.

They need to understand how the federal government works. The President has limited powers. They can't sign legislation unless Congress passes it first.

No different with state government. They need to be concerned about that too.

[appalachiablue]

100. ++ Civics, government 101

[Eyeball_Kid]

101. Your OPINION might bear out to be true.

But keep it real. We're not dealing with authoritative surveys.

That being said, the cost of housing is prohibitively expensive (What is driving the obscene increases?). Wages still can't keep up. And the Gaza War is a disastrous and tragic debacle. But that doesn't mean that people in their 30s will find solace in the horrible antics of Dictator Donnie. It's far better to stick with a leader who actually listens and does what he can to respond. No, Biden isn't perfect. But the present alternative is calamitous.

[PortTack]

112. Did you ask her why she feels this is President Biden's fault?

[whathehell]

53. What are younger voters "big problems" with Biden?

If they stay home because "they don't like either one", then they can blame themselves, at least in part, when Trump (someone they should have much bigger problems with) gets a second term.
Maybe someone needs to teach them real world politics.

[Johnny2X2X]

70. That was the whole point of my thread

Younger voters didn't express a problem with Biden. The data the pollster gathered contained no red flags for Biden. But the interviewer badgered her with question after question trying to get her to say this is bad for Biden.

Young people are issues driven and they want a candidate who respects them and addressing their issues. That's what the lady was saying, but the interviewer wouldn't take her at that.

[appalachiablue]

102. ++

[LisaM]

54. But you don't have to push poll it.

Not just NPR, I was watching an interview on CNN the other day with a young woman in New Hampshire who was voting for Nikki Haley but then said she would vote for Biden over Trump. The interviewer didn't press her on ONE ISSUE.

Younger voters supposedly care about student loans, the environment, and abortion. Biden has been very good on all these things and he has a VP who cares about the same issues. The interviewer fell down in my opinion, but if young voters don't like Biden, you can't tell me that they really do care about these things (or else they lack intellectual curiosity and haven't educated themselves in these things).

[progressoid]

55. k/r this post.

[Think. Again.]

58. You write...

"Can we stop being like the RWNJ and bashing any media that says something we don't like or agree with and claim they are completely unreliable? Please. We don't need to jump into that clown car."

That isn't what is happening at all.

Holding media accountable for bias is a good thing.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

68. It is what's happening.

NPR is a solid media outlet. They lean left. Any time any outlet says something critical of Biden, even when they solidly lean left like NPR does, there's a post on DU about how they are right wing. It's embarrassing, actually. And nothing in what the OP posts is horrible. Young voters do have problems with Biden. That needs to be addressed. But god forbid....

[Think. Again.]

71. No, what you are describing...

...and what the OP states are not the same.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

75. "NPR is becoming a joke"

That's not about "holding them accountable." It's a declaration that they aren't leaning left and a solid source of information. Of which they are both.

[Think. Again.]

84. The OP speaks about...

...obvious and unfounded bias on the part of specific journalists and specific pieces of "reporting".

The segments are not presented as opinion pieces and include leading questions and clear intent to slant the pieces in one direction.

Both of the pieces the OP references are neither "leaning left" nor are they "solid sources of information". They are certainly not the responsible journalism they are presented as.

Again, my opnion is that calling out irresponsible journalism is a good thing, and I applaud the OP.

[obnoxiousdrunk]

78. Thanks !

[edisdead]

81. Well geez.... You just know it all.

Good thing everyone else gets to have an opinion.

[Cuthbert Allgood]

82. Look up NPR on any major media bias aggregator.

They lean left.

[LauraInLA]

106. Thank you!

[lildDemz]

107. Science is on display at NPR

History and science.

[Sky Jewels]

23. We gave up on NPR years and years ago.

[bif]

26. They bend over backyards to kiss Republican ass

So they can say they're fair and balanced when it comes to getting funding. I quit listening to NPR ages ago.

[TheKentuckian]

30. Nice Polite Republicans has been rough for like 15 or 20 years.

[Delphinus]

31. I was thinking

the very same thing yesterday but for a totally different reason. Can't recall now what it was, but I wound up yelling at the radio, like I used to do watching Judy Woddruff on PBS.

[oldmanlynn]

33. We can all call these media outlets biased or fraudulent but

It seems like conservatives are trying to push their propaganda through takeovers of tv station news papers etc. if Americans only here this garbage they will be programmed to be just like maga.

We have to find a way to shut this down. We need liberal billionaires to start buying media outlets and push. Truthful propaganda

[NBachers]

36. National rePublican Radio - I occasionally try to listen and end up slamming it off because of their puke slant.

[central scrutinizer]

37. Neutered Poodles for Republicans

I quit listening and donating in 1999. Fox-lite

[OMGWTF]

40. I was a big donor to NPR for years, but not for the last 20 because of sh!t like this.

[LiberalFighter]

41. The key is to also identify the person by name doing the reporting.

That way we can call that person out for their bias and misinformation publicly.

[Farmer-Rick]

42. They seem to have the same biases against liberals

As do most corporate oligarch controlled media.

I just learned to ignore it. Most liberals get use to their opinions and concepts being misrepresented and lied about. So, unless you listen with a specific intent of identifying the liberal bashing, it may seem as if NPR is not biased.

But NPR repeats the same lies and misrepresentations as corporate media, just with a little more flare and some non political news. If NPR were not biased against liberals, they would have a daily labor segment like they have a daily business and financial news segment.

But that is just one symptom of a journalism going down the drain.

[AllaN01Bear]

43. remember , they wanted to become more republicans ie fox news 2.0

[Kalifornia9]

45. I don't think all NPR ditto the content.

BTW, I'm not new, just resurfaced and staying more anonymous. Please don't "welcome me to DU".
Some rural Arizona NPR only had the typical format early in the morning, played classical music all day long and a few local, rather RW slanted stuff.
I'm in Chico now for my last gig as long as cancer remains in remission. NPR here follows bay area QED far closer.
There was some article about NPR funding years ago that mentioned the contributing Oilygarchs were demanding far more RW friendly formats. I don't have links to it anymore. But I'm noticing programs providing softball interviews with R creeps ever since.

[pecosbob]

46. I stopped when we got to known unknowns...

[Wild blueberry]

47. Look deeper

Wisconsin Public Radio is still excellent. Lots of local programming and original stories. Please don't tar all public radio with NPR's both-sides shit.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

66. Really!!!

[edisdead]

83. There is NPR and the there is the local arm

For example here in MN we have NPR programming with MPR.

[Xavier Breath]

116. Same with our local NPR affilliate.

They have a verry eclectic set of musical and news programs and do a great job covering community affairs. The programming can't be beat, and they are always my first terrestrial radio choice. And, I enjoy the NPR shows they feature. I'd hate to imagine if they were no longer around. I just sent my annual year-end contribution last month, and they are are named in my will (penance for all those years I didn't make an annual contribution). Some of those funds will no doubt get kicked up to NPR, and I have no problem with that.

[Oopsie Daisy]

48. I love my local NPR station (WAMU) and I listen to it every day *

* and I'm a monthly recurring donor (it's a small and humble donation, but every little bit helps.)

I enjoy most of the offerings, not all, but most. I don't agree with every voice I hear, but mostly I do.

I can't allow myself to get too worked-up over something like what the poster described. It's just one of those things, so I just continue to look at NPR as a whole rather than focusing-on and obsessing about perceived flaws and imperfections. Nobody is perfect after all. And I'm certainly not willing to declare "fuck-NPR" and take a big steaming dump on them simply because I cannot tweak it as one does with Facebook or other social media to ONLY show me the things I agree with.

Even the shows that I love the most will sometimes have topics that don't interest me, or that I completely disagree with. When that happens, I just switch stations and listen to WTOP for a while and wait for a traffic report (or, until that wretched kars-4-kids commercial comes on, then I'll switch back).

I love being able to listen to the BBC World News every morning. It's very interesting to hear in-depth stories that are vastly different in how they cover events (compared to the US-centric and quick "gloss-over" that many American news sources tend to do).

https://wamu.org/

[SarahD]

49. I gave up years ago.

I watch Democracy Now with Amy Goodman.

[edisdead]

86. Ugh, that is the worst IMHO

Never heard such anti-democratic party drivel as I have on her show. At least with republicans you know they are awful. That show just peels voters away. Gross!

[JohnSJ]

103. Exactly

[betsuni]

124. Yes. Even a screen shot of that show makes me shudder, it's horrible.

[LeftInTX]

114. She's not even a Democrat. She's Green Party. She doesn't support Democrats.

[betsuni]

125. +1

[ramen]

51. Is this the piece you heard?

https://www.npr.org/2024/01/25/1226102913/young-voters-focus-more-on-issues-than-candidates-in-2024-presidential-election

[Warpy]

52. I used to have my clock radio set on NPR

until Dubya started packing their board with frothing wngnuts. During his ":put Social Security in the stock market" lia-a-palooza tour, they featured one wingnut after another with no opposing viewpoint, ending up with the man who defines smarmy, Ken Mehlman.

That was it. It was a truly rotten way to wake up, but wake up I did.

The clock radio has been set on a classical station since then.

[cilla4progress]

57. Housing costs are a huge problem.

Renting and home ownership.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

64. Yes! Weve got to see mortgage rates come down!

Last edited Thu Jan 25, 2024, 11:10 PM - Edit history (1)

[edisdead]

87. Not going to happen any time soon

Too many people sitting on super low rate houses to sell unless the offer is way above market. Which makes selling that much less attractive.

[Roc2020]

59. sure is

I used to listen them everyday. But after the 2016 election their programming became horrible

[Laura PourMeADrink]

62. Hmmm. I would love to see ideas on how this

Idea could be minimized. Know people dont want to hear it but per AP NORC poll 3/4 US adults think that. So would love to hear more ideas on how that # could be lowered.

[ShazamIam]

69. To me, since the tax funding cuts in 2000 allowed content to be controlled by donors, NPR has been Voice of the Koch.nt

[waterwatcher123]

72. Consider filing a Formal Complaint.

It might be worth the time to file a formal complaint, copying your Congressional representative (assuming they are sane) and local public radio station. NPR only exists because of public support. So, they need to know when their coverage is completely off course. I complained repeatedly during the cheer leading session leading up to the second Gulf War. It may not have changed their coverage, but it felt better nonetheless.

[sakabatou]

74. The only thing I listen to is "Wait Wait Don't Tell Me"

[Wednesdays]

76. So, what's the alternative?

If NPR is out, then what should we listen to? I'm talking about radio airwaves, I mean.

[edisdead]

89. Get the AM 950 app.

[Torchlight]

77. Without streaming radio and/or cable, NPR/PBS is our defacto go-to.

The sources I have faith in rates NPR as left-center biased based on story selection and high for factual reporting due to thorough sourcing and accurate news reporting, while FAIR rates NPR as skewing left in most categories (notable exceptions: Israel and pan-Asian international news). I'm going to lean towards giving a measured summation/conclusion including cites greater weight over the anecdotal.

[Peregrine Took]

79. The BBC - on all night on WBEZ Chicago.

I hate it when the BEEB signs off and the neutered NPR comes on. It used to be so great, none better, in the liberal '60's and early '70's.

[edisdead]

80. Been this way for most of the last 20 years

Once they started taking koch dollars it went to shit. I stopped listening a long time ago. Wife still tunes in and we often find ourselves commenting on how poor the interviews are.

[IbogaProject]

85. National Petrol Radio

I see it was already posted. You can feel the Ruskie and Petrol money coursing through the media and the stories. The other objectionable one is Genocide Joe, and if he didn't support Israel he'd be an Anti-Semite. I'm against what is happening there, but I smell foreign influence on the social media talking points. that is what happened in 2016.

[democratsruletheday]

90. I quit them over 6 years ago

when they didnt push back hard enough on the orange clown. BTW J2....GO GREEN!!!!

[randr]

91. If you want to listen to a cheering squad there is MSNBC

or the opposition Fox. If you want to hear from both camps and make up your own mind listen to NPR

[PatrickforB]

96. Those on the right do seem to work feverishly to infiltrate any media source that is known for

trying to present true news.

[cactusfractal]

99. Mara was on Fux Noise back in Bush II

and she was an R tool then, too.

I would not be heartbroken to find out she drove off a cliff or something.

[Roy Rolling]

104. Sorry

I grew up in a generation that had controls on their media devices, I could change the content input or turn it off completely.

It would have been ludicrous to hear a comment like “WXYZ radio is a joke, nobody should listen to it”. People did not have an undying faith in the talking heads reading the news, they had an undying faith nobody in America, the land of the free, would speak political propaganda damaging to the fabric of the country.

For profit.

They prefer money to freedom.

[not fooled]

108. The local NPR station is worse than useless.

I have existed (moving this week, yea!) in an area (SW AZ) lacking any effective media--the local teevee outlet is a joke, the local paper is a hollowed-out private equity-owned husk, and the local NPR station doesn't do investigative stories or cover controversial issues.

Because there is no significant coverage of local government (no reporters at public meetings, no investigations of local matters, no one explaining the consequences of actions taken by local government, such as that they are on a path to wreck the local aquifer with overdevelopment), this dingy, drab armpit of a town (hi, Yuma!) isn't a well-functioning civil society but instead sure looks like a sordid little cesspool of self-dealing run by developers, connected insiders, and outside money. Residents and neighborhoods are treated as sacrificial victims for investors, i.e. your neighborhood will get screwed if some outside interest wants to put in a noxious project nearby. Residents who express concerns are treated with contempt, scorn, and ridicule by local government. "You wouldn't believe what they get up to" is something I heard from a retired county official, referring to local government.

That's the consequence of living in a news desert. I called the local NPR "reporter" a while back and asked why no one was covering local matters such as the family with a big-time developer + his sister county supervisor, + another developer in-law, obvious conflicts of interest between local politicians who also work for developers and vote in their projects, why the county refused to release what should be public records (I was told by a county official that "we have their own policy for disclosure and we don't have to tell you what it is" which per the state office overseeing public disclosure is completely wrong), why no one was explaining to the populace about water policy, etc. He literally didn't see a problem and said he "didn't have time" to cover local government. Worse than useless.

[summer_in_TX]

126. KUT Austin and the other NPR affiliates in the state finally got a daily one-hour statewide newscast off the ground.

They had to raise a great deal of money because news is very expensive, even for radio. Writers, reporters, editors, fact-checkers, etc. Salaries, taxes, health insurance, expenses. The Texas Standard launched in 2015. Stations from across the state report stories and contribute to the program. Many stories are part of the bigger national picture (immigration, border security, gun violence, etc.). I am pretty sure an earlier effort was attempted but failed.

The sustaining memberships are crucial for being able to plan. If you are give once or twice a year at pledge time, consider going monthly.

Are the reporters at your affiliate supported by a news staff, or does it rely on national reporters and that funding? Is non-profit news gathering being financially supported in your state?

[Bev54]

109. I am getting pissed off with CBC (Canada) and the BBC as well, they keep interviewing republicans

like Frank Luntz to describe Biden's problems and how the electorate does not want him. I haven't seen them interviewing any dems or non partisans. It is sickening.

[budkin]

115. It's pretty bad

They are so scared of being called "liberal."

[Siggy52]

117. Thank goodness for mpr.org

Minnesota Public Radio. Check 'em out. From their website: American Public Media distributes more classical music programming than any other media outlet and ranks second in the nation for overall public radio programming production volume. MPR News has received more than 1,000 awards, including the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University Award, George Foster Peabody Award and numerous national Edward R. Murrow Awards. As a bonus check out thecurrent.org. Love 'em all.

[mucifer]

118. Chicago has many good local programming that is very liberal and diverse. We are lucky.

[Orrex]

119. NPR has its apologists here.

They're always eager to tell me that I didn't hear NPR say exactly what I heard NPR say, and it's been going on that way for years.

One of their common tricks is to report on an issue, then give some KKKonservative (or GOP congressperson) several unchallenged minutes to comment, followed by a paraphrased summary of some Democrat's views.

When McConnell was at his height, they loved to hand him the mic and let him freestyle on whatever subject pleased him at the time.

And they never question Republicans as aggressively as they go after Democrats.

This applies to the flagship news shows ATC & Morning Edition. The other long-format programming is still consistently excellent.

[msfiddlestix]

120. NPR has been a joke for at least the past 20 years. When the psychopath was installed, they couldn't get

their collective heads up his butt hole far enough.

signed off forever at that point, but really the march up to the Iraq invasion had sent me reeling with their line up of generals pounding the drums., turned me into on again off again listener. being very selective with the program schedule.

[Buttoneer]

121. I miss Air America Radio n/t

[LymphocyteLover]

122. NPR has been "Nice Polite Republicans", for years now

[mahina]

123. Tell your local public radio station,

I implore you. I assure you they are barraged with complaints from the right.

Please thell them your thoughts too. It's important. Aloha.

[summer_in_TX]

127. NPR is my go-to for news every day. PBS too, for that matter.

Why? Because it offers me a broad picture and fascinating stories, as well as drilling down.

It operates over the broadcast airwaves and is required to serve the public interest, convenience, and necessity. That obligation requires it to not be narrowly focused on serving only content that we would like and approve of. In addition, it has a funding model that is dependent on station affiliates' community support, grants from nonprofits and corporations of all sizes, and support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. How do you keep broad support and ensure you can meet your obligation to your community and audience? First, you have to stay on the air.

That requires ensuring news and other stories are not overly one-sided. Station licenses can be challenged and removed by challenges from the public. If NPR is gone, the stations that are largely run by computers and have no one there to broadcast emergency information don't get the word out and people die. It happened during fires and floods in Central Texas and with a train derailment of hydrochloric acid in Minot, SD.

Yet in spite of the practical requirements of pursuing the finances they must have to be able to continue in business, I have found they have really risen to the occasion of the threats Donald Trump poses to democracy. Every piece of coverage of Trump that I've heard over the last year or so calls out the fact that there is no proof at all that the election was stolen. They regularly interview experts about the rhetorical techniques Trump and his supporters use to trigger their audience's racism and xenophobia. (PBS Newhour spent perhaps 20 minutes in a great deep dive on it this evening, and I've heard several other lengthy pieces on it.) They also have regularly provided excellent coverage of what it means for women to no longer have a right to an abortion.

I often was disappointed in some of their news stories during the aftermath of 9/11. But that was mostly a different generation of reporters and news anchors. PBS Newshour has a terrific new team and NPR News has a lot of newer reporters too. If you gave up on them before, I urge you to give them a real thorough listen again now.

Besides, compare their coverage with anything else on the airwaves or cable anywhere. Where will the audience become better informed and where will they find so much of interest? NPR and PBS are of course imperfect. But compared to what other sources are broadly available, they are superb. Just think about the news desert that would exist without them. I am only sorry my income won't allow me to give more than my current modest monthly amount to my local NPR and PBS stations.