That does it! I'm no longer an NPR listener!!

[2naSalit]

I have been a Democrat all of my entire adult/voting age life (since Nixon was in office!) and have been an NPR listener/member since the early 1980s. But during the past few years I have noticed a change in how their reporting has been conducted. There seems to be a certain bias that has become more pronounced since the early 2000s including the corporate donor ads. Mara Liasson had been rather positive about the administration of Clinton but seemed to be pretty positive about BushCo and her bias started to show itself. Since Obama announced his run for his first term, she has become increasingly hostile about Obama and this segment from yesterday was the last straw for me regarding how NPR now presents the events of our time.

After hearing the ever increasingly biased Mara Liasson give this rant, yesterday, on the ACA and the kangaroo court hearings this past week, I was so upset that I had to wait until today before I could write a coherent OP.

I think she' moonlighting for fuxnooz... along with the show's host (ATC Saturday) who led her through the rant:


http://www.npr.org/player/v2/mediaPlayer.html?action=1&t=1&islist=false&id=242618013&m=242632683


I think I'll stick to DU and a few other sources of info and not let these co-opted shills upset me anymore. And I hope I never ever have the misfortune of meeting or having to deal with her in public (I have encountered a number of the NPR staff over the years).

[cantbeserious]

1. Agreed - I Stopped Listening Long Ago - You Are In Good Company

eom

[2naSalit]

4. THe downside to this

is that it was the only news, besides an hour of BBC at noon on the same station, that I could get on my radio which doesn't require me to be near my computer to listen to. I live up near the continental divide but on the basin side of the mountain so that I can only get reception from one FM station in the neighboring state and one AM station in the town below that doesn't even have news. This restructures my lifestyle to some degree, painful for a news junkie like me!

And I used to really like NPR's news. But it sounds too much like the fuxnooz crap sooo, forget that. That sh*t will rot your brain, if you have one.

Oh well, so much for that now.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

2. Tune to any local community station

Like www.kser.org definately not NPR but it is public radio

[2naSalit]

6. Thanks

I'll check that out. There is no "local" news around here, just state and regional. I live 100 miles from the nearest Interstate Hwy and the same distance to the nearest community that produces news in any format. I'm sure I'll find something suitable but it might take a while.

PS: our "local" station down in the valley is a moldy oldies out of somebody's house and they seem to be allergic to anything more than some national 45 second on-the-hour BS. that is rarely informative or remotely close to being factual. I can't listen to that, causes irreparable brain damage after a short time. It's on in many of the places I have worked in town and I always go home with a headache after 8 hours of that noise.

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

9. Check it out

Monday through Friday before 9am PST, or between 3 and 6 pm for news and information that is not NPR but is public radio

[2naSalit]

13. I will

Thanks for that and the cheery smiley thing!

[xfundy]

34. Try internet radio.

I listen to KQED/SF all day long via itunes and it's thousands of miles away.

[2naSalit]

35. Well, what I have

is my laptop and I use my neighbor's Internet system and it costs me $$ but more than that, when we both use the system simultaneously, it gets bogged down. You need to know that I live in a very remote place and outside access to anything is sparse. If I were in a more populated area, I'm sure I'd have many more options.

But I do thank all of you who have offered suggestions and appreciate the info. I will check out many or all of them.

[hopemountain]

46. many of the pbs shows are contracted

you can go to the contracted sites (TED, wait wait don't tell me, etc) and subscribe for free for their weekly episodes, shows, etc.

[2naSalit]

52. That's a good idea

that I haven't thought of, thank you!

[dorkzilla]

42. I refuse to listen to ATC or ME anymore

I still listen to the RadioLab, On the Media, Wait Wait etc. but their "news" has changed so drastically I cannot bring myself to listen anymore. Luckily, our local public radio station, WNYC, actually produces great programming and their weekday programming is interesting and engaging.

[MADem]

3. Here is why---there are a few "government" jobs in the PBS/NPR sphere.

When Bush was in charge, he made sure his ideologues got those jobs. They made sure that their acolytes got hired on to PAYING jobs (not government funded) in the public TV/radio structure.

As a consequence, the place is now infested with those shitty little morons. It will take a while to get 'em out.

[libodem]

5. Exactly!

Infested. It needs fumigated for fascists.

[2naSalit]

7. I can't argue with that... sadly.

[freshwest]

18. 'fumigated for fascists' is right! Gave up on NPR a long time ago. A friend cut 'em off last week.

[2naSalit]

23. I'll still listen to

the music programming because I can get it on my FM radio, the rest will cost me in extended Internet use. I'll get used to it after a while. Coming up with the fees that I share with my neighbor is where it's gonna hurt being unemployed and all that.

grrrr!

[freshwest]

28. Power was off yesterday; had battery powered radio only. It was 99.99% trash.

Heard repeated ABC broadcasts moaning about Iran's carpet industry reduced by westerners not buying their $10,000 luxury Persian rugs.

And an interview with a woman who had been making them daily since she was 6 years old. No questions about that, just 'how beautiful' they were. And Iran is getting competition from India and China for selling rugs.

I thought, what are they really saying? Who are they saying this for? The upper class that has $10K to blow on a rug? Really?

There is the question of Iranian economic interests being hurt, saying one in eight works on making these rugs. Really, that's over 10% of their economy, rugs?

Does the world need these rugs to live? Why was that the focus?

And that wasn't all that was wrong in their coverage. They kept repeating about the LAX shooter. Fine and dandy. But they added in something about what a shame it was that taxpayer dollars will be spent to take care of the shooter. And then added in, it's the same program that pays for 'the poor.'

To me, that added in was like Rush's little 'seeds of hate' that I used to hear him use in the nineties. The ones where he'd out of the blue mention a report about the money wasted on the disabled. At the same time he was railing about Hillary's death panels. No comment, just left it there which nearly made me mad enough to call in, but I didn't. Just a seed planted, all it was, as people don't forget what they hear, it goes into their subconscious. To be pulled out later as a construct for the demagogues later.

It was expressed in the same terms the Third Reich did, fussing about how much money with figures added in the billboards, of the 'good, hard working people' were paying taxes to care for the mentally / physically handicapped.

They named them 'worthless mouths' and posted pictures of them, drooling in wheel chairs. The Weimar Republic had a social safety net. The Nazis laid out those seeds, just as the media has, to lay dormant in the mind as needed when a crisis appears to be in the making and people get all stressed and look for someone to blame.

Old as the Nazis, much older that that, and very effective. The next thing the Nazis did when they got some seats in the government, was shut everything that worked down and made only one voice in the media.

It's why FDR made the FCC to prevent it happening. Of course to us at DU, who know some of the history, we can see it coming. But so many don't know a thing, they are fully educated by FNN, etc. NPR has the music you like; other venues have things to attract people but they will always put in the poison seed.

Anyway, good luck on finding anything, I've given up on any progressive radio. It's much worse than it was before Bush and even during Bush. They are really flexing their power.

[Enthusiast]

47. Plus one! They are really flexing their power. nt

[KittyWampus]

10. someone quipped NPR is very good for putting lipstick on the Republican pigs for

listeners…. especially middle-aged women like me.

[Agony]

8. NPR/CPB was thoroughly "Tomlinsonized" in 2003

thats when bushit the minor put Kenneth Tomlinson in charge of the CPB, NPR has never recovered.

Some day we will have public broadcasting back...



Cheers
Agony

[Lasher]

32. That's just what happened.

But we'll never get it back.

[handmade34]

11. RadioLab had a great piece on

Alan Turing yesterday…


http://www.radiolab.org

[longship]

12. Wait Wait is still good.

But you can download that as a podcast. That's what I do.

Plus, the Metropolitan Opera season is still broadcast on Saturday afternoon.

I stopped listening to Morning Edition when Bob Edwards left and ATC when Noah Adams left, only occasionally listening now.

Alas, Click and Clack have also retired.

But the Met is still great. Can hardly wait for the season to begin.

[2naSalit]

15. I'm totally with you

regarding all the good folks leaving NPR. I do like the classical music that is on most of the time but Wait! Wait isn't a program the mormons like so they won't air it. Someone must have made fun of mittens one too many times... they used to air it and several other shows worth the listen, not anymore. And the church all day Sunday and a couple other times during the week is pretty annoying. All the other radio in the area are church about 75% of the time and Hannity or Slush the rest of the time. I'm not able to endure that torture for anything.

I'll still listen to the classics when they're on but now I have to use my neighbor's bandwidth for all my news. I'll have to negotiate to keep my cost of usage down. The Met is an online access thing around here too though I love it all the same.

When we both are trying to listen to something, it gets bogged down with long pauses for both of us. I try to keep that down by using my radio, that's free.

Such are the trade-offs of living on the mountainside I guess. I did go without a phone for a couple-few years so I guess I'll have to make more adjustments to my lifestyle.

Mostly I'm miffed about the biases on what is supposed to be "public" broadcasting.

[yellowdogintexas]

17. re the Met:

The Met here is broadcast on a station owned by the city of Dallas: WRR 101.1 .
several of the other classical music programs normally heard on NPR are broadcast here on WRR because our NPR station is an all news/talk format.

Nice listening. Streams on the computer also and there is a smartphone app.

I listen to progressive talk radio using my computer. I like WCPT the best

[longship]

19. No bandwidth here in rural Michigan.

But I have four public stations to choose from, one at Interlochen, the location of the prestigious music camp.

A roof antenna and rotor helps.

[2naSalit]

24. Yeah

It's kind of like that here too with the exception of other radio available. this is rural Montana, most everything is Cable, Internet or satellite access, the rest is very local and hardly worth it. The one FM station I can get is an NPR affiliate but it's owned by mormons who like to censor most everything and then they get to air about twelve hours or more of church too. If you didn't listen to Morning Edition Sunday at 6am - 7am then you missed the news on Sunday, that's it for news for the day.

I know there's lots of news to access online... I'll have to see what I can do about my Internet charges with my neighbor. That's all there is to it.

[Bluenorthwest]

14. For radio, I do the BBC online

Why not hear a radio play?
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006qy2s

[2naSalit]

21. The biggest issue

is the cost of my Internet access. I share it with my neighbor and it's cost is based on how often I use it so I try not to be "on" all day/night. I do get on BBC from time to time but I can get the "NewsHour" for the noon hour on weekdays on the FM station I can get on radio, which is free.

[hunter]

16. NPR got bought just as our government got bought.

Much of it is Fox News for people who think they are too smart for Fox News.

[2naSalit]

22. Ain't that the truth.

wasn't that way before Newt and friends started attacking them. It's been a sorry glide down slope since then with a few punctuated speed ramps to ever lower levels.

[Fla Dem]

20. I agree, their news/political reporting has turned decidely right, but....

there are some excellent shows still broadcast i.e.; Humankind, State of the Re:Union, All Things Considered & Fresh Air to name a few.

[2naSalit]

25. But the news programs you mention

are the problem. the entertainment stuff, love it, the stuff that passes for news with NPR now-a-days... not so much. In fact, unacceptable.

[gopiscrap]

26. I noticed that also and have quit listening!

[enlightenment]

27. Instead of tossing the entire station

under the bus, why not just stop listening to Mara Liasson?

There is still plenty of good, progressive, informative programming on NPR - I think you're tossing the baby out with the bathwater.

[2naSalit]

30. Her commentary esterday was the last straw.

[enlightenment]

36. That's fine.

But she doesn't own or run the station. All I'm saying is that, with limited listening resources (as you have said), it seems a shame to toss all of NPR.
I listen to the bits I like (and that's generally not the news). I like the clever artsy stuff - I like Ted Talk - I like the local programming - and I enjoy listening to the shows that offer more in-depth analysis and discussion of current events. That's a lot of programming, even without the news.

I'm not arguing with you, though; I'm just offering my perspective. If you feel that you cannot in good conscience listen to the station anymore, that's your choice.

[2naSalit]

58. Indeed.

It is a choice. And I understand that Ms. Liasson does not own the station or the programming but her regurgitation of fuxnooz talking points with the same attitude is more than I am willing to listen to. You never know when she's going to come on as she is a "correspondent" who of late merely opines rather than reports. And with a rather acerbic attitude at that when reporting on anything Obama.

What I am upset about is the actual NPR news "reporting" and content if you can actually call it that anymore. The actual station I can get on radio is pretty limited for most thoughtful programming, believe me, the NPR news IS the artsy more in-depth stuff except for the classical music they offer. Other than that, it's pretty much church ...and one hour of BBC at noon on weekdays. Not much else going on there other than opinionated regional, cherry-picked news read aloud by some student that was apparently home-schooled and can't read English or reason out pronunciations in English. I can't listen with my hand constantly on the on/off switch.

As I said elsewhere, I'll listen to the classical music because I'm actually really into that and don't have any other access other than the few recordings I have in my possession, a very small collection.

What passes for news on the national broadcast of NPR's programs, not so much anymore. I think I can do better with stuff online at which I haven't yet found my self yelling back. NPR has reduced me to that several times recently. I can do without that aggravation and disappointment. Might as well be fux.

[KG]

29. big time cheerleading the run-up the iraq invasion wan't a clue?

[2naSalit]

31. That's one

of the things that started to bother me but I have little other free access to news.

[pansypoo53219]

33. i no longer listen to kookie roberts and i figured our mara during clinton.

i don't listen to the moles.

[mahina]

37. It's been quiet in my kitchen every morning since they cancelled Talk of the Nation.

I turn it on in the car and check the clock to see how long I'll last this time. I lasted three minutes on Friday before they said something wingy.

But this clip is not so bad. These are facts. I would like them to bring up the right's obstruction but other than that, I can't really disagree with the statements. Thanks for the link to the clip.

My own experience with ACA is very positive, though indirect. I'm going to post about it now and will add the link here.

NPR is losing me, a longtim donor and volunteer for many years, and I don't have anyplace better to go.

[rurallib]

38. Liasson is a "Fox News Contributor" and has been for a long time

They let Williams go, they should have let Liasson go at the same time.
Been listening to NPR since the early 70s. Pretty much quit when they let Bob Edwards go.
Listen when it is over the air and the choice is NPR or the commercial garbage. But even in the few moments I listen there are 2 or 3 fuckups.

I listen to left wing radio online www.chicagoprogressiveradio.com

[gristy]

39. This would seem to be a good time to put in a plug for Amy Goodman and Democracy Now

find a station near you here: http://www.democracynow.org/stations

[hopemountain]

41. i used to donate regularly - but no màs

their bias has increased since president obama's election - and the weekly and weekend hosts and "news" reporters are unable to control their bias to the point it is no longer a news report but editorial after editorial.

they lost me as a listener during the last election and as a donor since 2008.

[Enthusiast]

43. I stopped listening to NPR too.

Fuck 'em. We can hear right wing radio anywhere on the dial. We didn't really need to add to it.

[MyNameGoesHere]

44. I was hoping you would have included the link

to the rant. The one you included just had her regurgitating facts.

[momrois]

45. She's been irritating me for a while

So, your post prompted me to look her up. Right there on the front page, before even clinking on any links, was a short profile of Ms. Liasson:

Mara Liasson
Journalist
Mara Liasson is an American journalist and political pundit. She is the national political correspondent for National Public Radio and also a contributor at Fox News Channel. Wikipedia

[The Straight Story]

48. I listen to my own radio show

Friday Nights 7-10pm and expanding to at least one more night. We cover news, politics, whatever the hell we feel like and how we feel like (ie, we are having fun).

Here is an interview I did with Harry Fear (yeah, no commercials - we are an independent station and plan to stay that way):

&feature=youtu.be

Have some future interviews lined up that we will be promoting soon (trying to pin down the dates for some is hard, especially with bands).

Right now the station is in ' testing' mode if you will (we do play music 24x7 and are licensed to play it) to see what shows work well where, creating and using PSA's, building up social media -- we have a website/twitter/reddit/fb/youtube/forum:

Our web site is mainly just for people to use for listening to the show right now and we are not going overboard with worry about it since the whole shebang is being moved to a new domain and in-house server, ie - it looks like crap now. And I know what crap looks like since I spent years doing websites (internal) for companies. A friend started the page as a favor for us, so we played with it some and decided....uh, no. But being too busy to get it all done right now we will take it since it does stream the show live. I should note that she had it looking really nice then someone else moved things around, I tested some things, etc. Was not meant to go live until January.

The guy who owns the station has been doing radio for 30 years (and is an old friend of mine from HS) and pretty liberal. We will interview pretty much anyone, we can do remote shows from anywhere (which we recently tested), and this friday we will be doing a live video of the show.

[2naSalit]

54. Thanks!

I'll bookmark that.

[The Straight Story]

55. Thanks, we will be beta testing the actual website

in December before rolling out in mid January, will publish the link on DU at that time.

That one will be changed some this week and next (formatting, some updated guests lists, etc) but we don't really want to spend the time on it right now. I hate the tools that place uses, I am used to coding it all by hand

[2naSalit]

57. I get your

concern about the newer tools. I grew up with computers and hand coding since the early 80s. I am not all that comfortable with some of the new technology but that could be due to my lack of access the past few years.

Guess we will have little or no choice after a time.

Good luck with that, I'll be checking it out.

[Bigredhunk]

49. Cheese-N-Rice

I didn't know NPR was a RW outfit these days. I don't listen to the radio much, so I had no idea they were righties. They dominate the media (TV, print, radio), and have the balls to talk about liberal media/mainstream media.

[abelenkpe]

50. Stopped during the run up to the Iraq war

NPR has become a real disappointment.

[kelliekat44]

51. Not all of NPR is bad. Pick and choose wisely. They report info you don't hear in the MSM.

Seems like I've seen this post or at least its content before?

[2naSalit]

56. The entertainment parts

like the classical music and some game shows are great but the news shows of late have been regurgitations of everything I've seen on one or more MSNBC evening shows like Rachel Maddow, The Ed Show and other news providers. If I hear anything on any of those topics, it often comes on NPR a day or two later. Rarely do I hear them covering a story that could be called exclusive anymore when it once-upon-a-time was the norm.

You may have seen similar post recently but not from me. But I am not happy about the quality of the service any longer so I have to make a decision since it is interrupting my hard work at not being negative about life.

Thanks to many posts up-thread, I see there are several options for alternatives. I am in talks with my neighbor who owns the Internet connector I use about this. He's pretty disgusted with NPR lately too. Maybe we can work out a staggered use schedule that works for both of us.

[Betsy Ross]

53. I gave up most NPR programs years ago.

Still get a little news with the morning alarm, but hopefully not enough to pisse off.

[question everything]

59. The irony is that all the RWers are convinced that PBS and NPR are flaming liberals..

I think that the Republicans constantly want to cut off funding to NPR, claiming that it is biased.

My conclusion is that if someone is attacked from both sides it must be doing something right.

[bvar22]

63. This is just one more way in which The Left is marginalized.

When NPR, MSNBC, and Hillary are branded as the Liberal Left,
the REAL Left is pushed off the map into oblivion.

[Omnith]

60. NPR and Fox News are nothing a like.

I listen to NPR very often and view Fox News on occasion and I can say with a lot confidence that there is no similarities between them. I can understand you may dislike some of NPR's reporting, but keep in mind you are never going to find any two people or points of view that are in complete agreement. Just look at all the disagreement from like minded people on the DU. I read/watch/listen to a huge variety of media and I believe it is a good thing. I enjoy the differences by understanding we all have the right to our own opinions.

[Pretzel_Warrior]

61. Why give up? Register your hostility toward Liasson scum

And encourage us and your friends to do so.

I agree this woman is horrible and seems palpably annoyed that Obama is president and getting things done. Time to have her thrown out.

[2naSalit]

62. Agreed.

I need to get my writing brain in gear and get that done today. She's done her damage and now it's time for her to go. The young host she was talking to seems to be on the same page though, he's new and seems impressionable, but it also seemed he was asking questions from a script that she probably provided for him. Guess I'll need to include him in my complaint letter. He's been hosting the weekend ATC for about six or eight weeks now and I have had to turn it off several times already before the show was half over.

Thanks for the encouragement.

2na.

[judesedit]

64. Right on,Not listening either.2 days ago,ACA was being slammed on DR & a guest stated that Obama

never chooses any republicans for his cabinet. Chuck Hagel happens to be a republican. Also, not 1 person mentioned that the HHS secretary, Kathleen Sebelius, happens to be a republican. And she's the one who's responsible for the roll-out. Obama trusted her. I guess he shouldn't have.