NPR does it again

[bluerum]

7/21/2006
Examples of NPR's willingness to carry water for the RW.

First
On morning edition NPR ran a spot with a congressman Lungren from California. His talk promoted human adult stem cell research as an alternative to human embryonic stem cell research. The reason: his own personal brand of ethics buttressed by a handwaving attempt at providing some science based "evidence".

He starts out by explaining that within his personal belief system, embryos are innocent human life (or something similar) and that work with human embryonic stem cells should not be considered because it is immoral and unethical.

I am ok with people believing things like this. I am not ok with people taking emotionally charged positions to anchor false arguments. The path from personal belief to medical and public policy must be paved with reason and evidence, not the force of an emotional argument.

He then jumps to his own cherry picked data to make a reasonable sounding argument that again has a false premise. He points out that since experiments with animal embryonic stem cells have suffered a number of failures, all research with human embryonic stem cells should be discontinued.

In all experimental work that I am familiar with, and I suspect this holds true in the world of experimental medicine as well, failure is the norm. But you go back and try again. And again and again and again. There is a saying in science: Research is the process of finding out what you should have done the first time.

Second
Newt Gingrich will be interviewed by Tom Ashbrook on On Point. Newt Gingrich! Hey NPR here is an idea - bring in Rush Limbaugh AND Newt. You will have a real RW lovefest in your studios.

My Humble Opinion
NPR is becoming more and more willing to be the mouthpiece for the Republican party. This is made even more galling during on air fund drives when they inevitably feature a token progressive perspective show.

It reminds me of Hannity and Colmes - Hannity is given free rein and Colmes is a simpleton foil - someone who will offer an occasional ineffectual protest.

I would ask as well, how is this programming decided? Where did the spot by congressman Lungren come from? Who sponsored its creation? How does it qualify as news? (I know - it's commentary. RW commentary.)

Who booked Newt Gingrich on On Point? Did the producers of On Point go out and solicit him? Or was Newt or some RW think tank on the prowl looking for a venue for his rhetoric?

No. I cannot support an NPR that tows the line for these people.

edit sp. grammar.

[Warpy]

1. NPR turned to shite some time ago

I turned them off when Stupid was flogging his plan to end social security. I'd had to wake up with the clock radio and was treated to one right wing gasbag after another and culminating with Mehlman. No opposing view was offered. I switched over to the commercial classical music station that morning and never looked back. I'd rather hear Lexus ads than right wing garbage any time, but especially first thing in the morning.

I really do miss them. I hope their board gets fired, moves on to lobbying, or simply drops dead and that we get them back at some point. We don't need another right wing radio station blatting propaganada at us.

And the check is NOT in the mail.

[liberalitch]

2. That must be why the RW try to cut funding for CPB/NPR....

on a regular basis..... they like 'em too much.

[bluerum]

6. Just turning the finacial wrench as they say.

[hootinholler]

11. Which is why I disagree with your conclusion

that NPR is Willingly carrying the water. Seems more like coercion to me.

-Hoot

[bluerum]

22. Yes - they bow to financial pressures of congress and make concessions

of principle for $$$. I suppose it's business. That's ok - but they will lose my $$$ and inevitably their autonomy.

[meegbear]

3. Tom Ashbrook has been pissing me off ...

a couple of days ago, he had on some people who run "moderate" political websites. He wants to give an example of the right and left in the media, so first he plays a short clip from Bill O'Reilly. Bill gives a rant about the left supporting and cheering Hezbollah and not supporting Israel; it was fairly recent and he said it straight out.

For the left he then plays a clip "from a couple months back" of Janeane Garofalo on Air America talking about bush, and she's fumbling her words, making her sound stupid.

I wanted to call in and ask why they had to go back a couple of months and chose that clip as an example.

[a kennedy]

4. I don't listen to NPR per se, but I do listen to my local, and state

WPR, (Wisconsin Public Radio) station. They have more local hosts talking national news, then national radio hosts. Wisconsin Public Radio is very, very good, and I do still contribute to them.

[whistle]

5. NPR has become the Neocon Propaganda Radio Network

...our local public radio affiliate station (FM90.7 Orlando FL) is run by right wing appointees to the point that after 35 years I no longer send money on their fund drives and I tune instead to the PBS stations that I can bring in from other fringe areas, namely Tampa USF89.7 that has classical music and our local university station UCF89.9 which broadcasts excellent jazz.

[depakid]

7. It's not worth listening to anymore

Sad, but true. It's become the radio version of the Washington Post.

[pansypoo53219]

8. they had 2 pro

commentators, but of course this one played last.

and i found many of his arguments disingenuous.

[Democrat 4 Ever]

9. This is a win-win for the GOP - they have loaded the board and the

commentators with neocon whack jobs to shove their agenda down our throats. These commentators then piss off all but 32% of their listeners who then quit donating to NPR which then leaves them sucking hind tit for money. They then must rely on the repug Congress to continue - a perfect storm of drowning another voice that speaks truth to power. The freepers don't care whether NPR survives or not BUT if it manages to stay on the air it had better be toeing the party line. RIP NPR.

[lectrobyte]

10. I gave up on NPR 2 or 3 years ago. I keep eying satellite radio, but

I can't quite bring myself to add something with yet another monthly charge into the budget. In the meantime, I listen to podcasts and mp3's from white rose society and radicalradio.org.

[mopinko]

12. news and notes, and to the point

afternoon public affairs shows- news and notes, i swear, was taped in the white house basement. or maybe at foggy bottom. it was so bad. the closest they came to a dem was donna brazille, and some co-opted black preacher. they did finally cancel it. but the replacement, news and notes, is, i think, some of the most subtle propaganda i have ever heard. they present themselves as thorough and balanced, but then twist things so cleverly. usually put the progressive side last, after letting some thug frame the issue, then they subtly dig at the progressive stance, or make fun of the person. it drives me batty.
and the extent to which religion is creeping into everything! they lost me when they did a 15 minute piece of how people of different religions viewed the christmas tsunami. on and on about whether it was a punishment from god.
i miss them, too. my local station, wbez, still does good work. i have come close to canceling, but i hold on for the local guys, and hope for the swing of the pendulum.

[AlCzervik]

13. No Bob Edwards, no NPR for me anymore.

[gilpo]

18. His show on XM is pretty cool...

[AlCzervik]

19. i've thought about getting satellite radio, maybe when i get my next

car.

[fishwax]

14. I don't get it. How is that carrying water?

According to your link on the stem cell research commentary, it is the second of two opposing views. Morning Edition often gives time to commentary from opposite sides of a hot-button issue. With the stem cell research bill being heavily in the news on account of chimp's veto, it's natural to do that now.

As for On Point, my old NPR station didn't carry that show, so I'm not familiar with it. But just looking at the archives for this month alone, I see that John Dean was on last week with "Conservatives Without Conscience," so devoting the bulk of an episode to a guest with a political viewpoint doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

There are definitely reasons that NPR is susceptible to an increasing criticism of right wing bias, but having a congressman give one of two opposing views on the central domestic issue of the week isn't one, and neither is inviting a political figure onto a show that seems to make a habit of featuring political figures.

Alas, I've scarcely listened to npr in a year, mainly because (a) I moved away from a town with an amazing NPR station to a town with a so-so station that carries none of my old regular shows and (b) the town I moved to has an independent and decisively progressive radio station. I've found, though, that I havne't missed NPR as much as I expected to, given how the programming has declined in the last couple of years.

[bluerum]

21. The progressive viewpoints are few and far between. The so called

balance is an ever growing RW perspective.

They have every right to air what they want - but I won't fund RW air time.

I want a place I can go to that is progressive and perhaps even LW radical at times.

Know of any?

[RandomKoolzip]

15. That's all true, but...

They still have "On the Media," which is a great show. And I'd rather listen to NPR's centrist programming than any other news radio, with its rushed, forced, in-your-face, bullying style, and its obvious rightist corporate slants. At least NPR occasionally presents a left viewpoint, even if it sometimes feels accidental when it happens.

[bluerum]

20. Yes you make good points and I agree. But I won't fund them anymore.

[survivor999]

16. Yup, I heard 30 secs of Gingrich.

Then switched off. Just cannot stand that scumbag. He's a despicable human being.

[gilpo]

17. I let my membership expire....

I got sick of the "balance" same problem as in the MSM. My $ now goes to XM. Randi comes in crystal clear now. Who needs balance, the RW is wrong.

[Nutmegger]

23. This is because of this "balance" witch-hunt

set up by the Repukes. Remember the funding issue? Because NPR is "tooooooo 'liberal'". It's sad to watch. It's a damn shame. MSM has a new member.