NPR Gets Producer Fired for Occupying

[davidswanson]

National Public Radio on Wednesday discovered that a woman named Lisa Simeone who produced a show about opera called "World of Opera" had been participating in a nonviolent occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., organized by October2011.org. That same day, NPR persuaded a company for which Simeone worked to fire her, cutting her income in half and purging from the so-called public airwaves a voice that had never mentioned politics on NPR.

This frantic email was sent to all NPR staff:

From:NPR Communications
Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 6:12 PM
Subject: From Dana Rehm: Communications Alert

To: All Staff
Fr: Dana Davis Rehm
Re: Communications Alert

We recently learned of World of Opera host Lisa Simeone’s participation in an Occupy DC group. World of Opera is produced by WDAV, a music and arts station based in Davidson, North Carolina. The program is distributed by NPR. Lisa is not an employee of WDAV or NPR; she is a freelancer with the station.

We're in conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this. We of course take this issue very seriously.

As a reminder, all public comment (including social media) on this matter is being managed by NPR Communications.

All media requests should be routed through NPR Communications at 202.513.2300 or [email protected]. We will keep you updated as needed. Thanks.

##

Also see NPR's blog post about this here.

About three and a half hours after the above email was sent, Simeone had been fired by a show called Soundprint as punishment for having been "unethical." Here is her bio on that show's website. And here she is on NPR's.

Soundprint is a show that does touch on politics and includes political viewpoint in Simeone's ledes, but it is not an NPR program and not distributed by NPR. It is, however, heard on public radio stations. Despite the title "NPR World of Opera," that show is produced by a small station called WDAV for which Simeone contracts. Simeone was not an NPR employee. WDAV has not expressed any concern over Simeone's "ethics."

Simeone told me: "I find it puzzling that NPR objects to my exercising my rights as an American citizen -- the right to free speech, the right to peaceable assembly -- on my own time in my own life. I'm not an NPR employee. I'm a freelancer. NPR doesn't pay me. I'm also not a news reporter. I don't cover politics. I've never brought a whiff of my political activities into the work I've done for NPR World of Opera. What is NPR afraid I'll do -- insert a seditious comment into a synopsis of Madame Butterfly?

"This sudden concern with my political activities is also surprising in light of the fact that Mara Liaason reports on politics for NPR yet appears as a commentator on FoxTV, Scott Simon hosts an NPR news show yet writes political op-eds for national newspapers, Cokie Roberts reports on politics for NPR yet accepts large speaking fees from businesses. Does NPR also send out 'Communications Alerts' about their activities?"

Let's be clear about Simeone's political activities. We have three quarters of the country wanting billionaires taxed, two-thirds wanting wars ended, large majorities wanting funding moved from the military to green energy and education and jobs. Simeone has been taking part in a nonviolent encampment designed to facilitate the petitioning of our government for a redress of grievances, a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. That's all. She has been participating. Nothing more. There is nothing more specific to the allegation, nothing in particular that she has allegedly done other than participate in a nonviolent mass mobilization on behalf of majority opinion.

It may be difficult for NPR bigwigs to understand why we don't all just rent $400 per night hotel rooms instead of littering a public square with tents. But NPR's highly paid political agitators on behalf of the 1% are part of the problem. They are what we are protesting. And that is presumably what makes our speech and assembly "unethical."

Or perhaps the breech of ethics is to be found in behaving as a decent citizen while simultaneously possessing some connection to the most insidious corporate loudspeaker in the country, one labeled "public" but belonging to the 1%.

The most important point to stress here, I think, is that all requests should be routed through NPR Communications at 202-513-2300 or [email protected]

[Ken Burch]

1. Then again, NPR is the outfit that fired Amy Goodman, years ago.

That organization has no courage and isn't ever likely to develop any. All they care about now is getting people to tune into "Car Talk".

NPR sold its soul years ago. It's a dead loss now.

[Crunchy Frog]

19. I can't even listen to Car Talk. Something about people who laugh at their own jokes.

Especially when the jokes are unfunny.

[vets74]

32. Gawd, I feel sorry for you.

May the Good Lord's Tom & Ray find a bit o' warmth for your heart.

[yellowwood]

58. Amen

But I hear that they're very popular. I don't know why.

[MrMickeysMom]

125. It doesn't matter why...

Click and Clack aside (whatever melts your butter), NPR has no right to make this an issue and should know better than anyone who is supposed to be the 4th estate. Oh, I'm getting an idea about my support of them now...

Dear NPR,

I know a good university where you can raise fall pledge money... Ass Fuck U.

[iamthebandfanman]

71. haha , i hafta admit they crack me up

even tho the jokes are usually pretty dry and unfunny... i think thats what makes them funny to me ;)

plus i know nothing about cars really... so its nice to learn a few things every once and a while lol

i pretty much keep npr on all the time though in my car so i hear a little of everything ;)

i love weekends tho.

wait wait dont tell me is awwwweeeesome

[Crunchy Frog]

129. I keep it on all the time in my car too.

It's sort of like intellectual elevator music. It's not that I hate it, it's just that I don't respect it a whole lot. But it does keep me mildly entertained while I'm driving.

I do love Garrison Keillor though.

[alp227]

20. Amy used to be a regular at NPR?

Source? And she was losing her voice this morning toward the end of today's Democracy now.

[Ken Burch]

22. What do her vocal problems this morning have to do with anything?

n/t.

[Ken Burch]

25. She worked for them early in her career-I didn't say she was a regular

And I'm researching the time frame in greater detail.

[alp227]

120. seems to be so in the 1980s, an era ommitted in the wiki entry on Amy

I can't find any articles on LexisNexis suggesting she worked at NPR

[sabrina 1]

126. How could you not the answer the that question?

Unless you were joking?

[cui bono]

44. Probably more like decades ago. She's been on Pacifica for as long as I can remember.

And was so when I saw her speak in L.A. over 16 years ago.

Let's not taint her good name by associating her with NPR as recently as "years ago". :)

[UnrepentantLiberal]

79. And now every show you see on PBS makes sure to mention that it's funded

by the Koch brothers.

[defendandprotect]

113. Should be a RED FLAG attached to the name -- !!!

[jerseyjack]

104. Call your local station and tell them to buy stuff from PRI and APR.

Nuts to NPR

[Divine Discontent]

2. I don't listen much to NPR, but when switching stations the other day I listened to them for a min &

I felt like I was listening to a Faux Noise radio show. I am sorry for that lady, what jerks.



Get it here now, or one of a million other designs! http://www.zazzle.com/republicans_2012_keeping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128659602907896843?rf=238107662556833486eping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128659602907896843?rf=238107662556833486

[defendandprotect]

6. Exactly -- and this RW deterioration of NPR has been going on for more than 20 years....

or more -- has taken them quite some time to totally dismantle it --

but because no one called it GOP/corporate NPR, people trusted it!

Why? I have no idea!


PBS and it's destruction was much faster -- turning the network to absolute

nonsense -- or as people quickly began call it ... "Petroleum Broadcasting Company" == !!


From Beg-a-thons to discourage viewers, except the most dedicated --

from British comic series to at least three Forsythe Sagas -

from This Old House to sell products to how many Agatha Christie NEW series == 4 or 5???


The best thing that happened over the last 20-30 years was when somehow Phil Donahue got

to actually do a two hour program or so on health care giving the public a truer idea of

single payer, MEDICARE FOR ALL and what Americans were missing that Europeans had!


Why all this trust in something simply because it calls itself "public" -- we have to

question and challenge -- prove things to ourselves.


FDR warranted the trust of the public -- but after that -- HST? -- who put him in place

while dislocating VP Henry Wallsce? Wallace was gone only 4 months before FDR died and

HST was president! CoincidenaL?


The nation let a man like Henry Wallace get away -- and they voted for Truman!! And thus

began the long side in CIA land and Cold War.

JFK was independent enough to challenge the RW once again -- and as happened so many times

before and so many times since, liberal leadership was eliminated when it became inconvenient

for the establishment.

[truedelphi]

24. I gave up on NPR way back during the Kerry/Bush election cycle.

I listened to what ws supposed to be an impassioned "balanced " debate between three Democrats, Three Republicans and one independant.

And guess what? All the Democrats and all the Republicans said that with the Iraq War raging in Fallujah, we had best vote for Bush!! Only the indie on the panel suggested that he thought it wise to vote for Krrry.

That was about the last time I paid attention to them.

[MedicalAdmin]

39. I just sent them this email.

Are you kidding? Who is running your operations these days, Karl Rove?

I'm asking because I just saw this post on a national blog post.

--

"quoted full OP text"

--

I knew things were getting bad when CPB was taken over during the Bush years but I didn't know that the stupid had filtered down the corporate food chain so far. This incident combined with the Monsanto-ization of Marketplace leads me to remove my support of your organization.

I will be informing Minnesota public radio the reason why I am stopping our sustaining support for myself, my wife and our company.

It's time to decide which side of the fence you are standing on. Do the right thing. We are watching.


XXX name removed XXX

[ooglymoogly]

+1 Hope more take this action...it is the only thing that works.

Money is the only things these troglodytes understand....and yes I already did the same.

[Name removed]

115. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[October]

134. Same. /nt

[Divine Discontent]

36. you're right. strong liberal leadership is often assasinated in the world... it is a travesty and

an assault against "the people". The warmongers and power hungry have always went after people who stood up for the "least of these" in society. As someone wrote yesterday on here, PO is a different person now that he's elected. I agree! He's still the only sane choice we have, but I can definitely see a shift to the center-right in several of his policies. Makes ya wonder. Also, makes me sad.


Get it here now, or one of a million other designs! http://www.zazzle.com/republicans_2012_keeping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128659602907896843?rf=238107662556833486eping_millions_out_of_work_bumper_sticker-128659602907896843?rf=238107662556833486

[defendandprotect]

101. As long as Democratic voters continue to support the "lesser evil" it will continue

to move the party and the Congress further to the right --

We've seen that over 40 years or more!!

The Third Way is now running the Dem Party -- Jonathan Cowan, Pres. Third Way two weeks

ago on C-span made clear that their stand/policy is "the base of the party is to be ignored" --

and that "populism or populist discussions/debate are the equivalent of Karl Rove propagdena

of extremism" -- !!!



:eyes:


If we keep doing the same thing, we will keep ending up with the same results!!

[bvar22]

117. NPR went over to the Dark Side....

...during the Bush years.
I still tune in for Prairie Home, Car Talk, and WWDTM,
but most of their opinion and commentary now has a Pro-Corporate, Pro-WAR, Establishment slant.

They are doing their part to keep the National Dialog and national Focus between the Center & Far Right Book Ends.

[OffWithTheirHeads]

3. National Petroleum Radio

They have been co-opted by Exon, Chevron and ADM years ago.

But I still love wait wait

[coalition_unwilling]

8. National Pentagon Radio - they are almost as responsible

as Judith Miller and Hillary Clinton for 1,000,000+ Iraqi deaths.

Fuck 'em. They'll never see another penny from me, unless the OWS revolution seizes power.

[Javaman]

53. National Propaganda Radio. nt

[Old and In the Way]

4. Maybe we need to Occupy NPR.....

seems they forget that workers at NPR are also part of the public. Why do they think insulating their staff from an important social movement that is broadbased is a bad thing? Would they also fire a producer or TV - Radio personality who might attend a Koch black tie dinner or attend an RNC-Astroturf event?

When NPR defers to the sensibilities of the 1% and stop defending the rights of the 99%, it should rename itself National Private Radio.

[davidswanson]

7. good idea

also i should have said host instead of producer

[defendandprotect]

11. +1000% -- great idea -- and at least a strong protest about this firing to begin with -- !!!???

[occupyeverywhere]

27. HQ isn't that far from Freedom Plaza

[tcaudilllg]

144. I would support this.

[lutherj]

5. The only time I listen to NPR is when I wake up in the middle of the night

and can't get back to sleep. It puts me to sleep in less than two minutes. It works every time. Give it a try.

[EFerrari]

9. @ssholes. I still remember what they did to Howard Zinn's obit.

[cui bono]

47. What was that? I stopped listening to them ages ago. n/t

[TheeHazelnut]

65. here's an NPR ombudsman article describing the Zinn controversy

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ombudsman/2010/02/howard_zinns_obit.html

[cui bono]

106. Ugh. Thank you. n/t

[defendandprotect]

112. Adored Howard Zinn and every word he wrote -- !! Who could possibly be listening to NPR...???

And who is Horowitz -- and who cares!!


ROFL

[EFerrari]

67. They had David Horowitz do it.

It was disgusting.

[cui bono]

107. Saw a link. Ugh. n/t

[dogknob]

10. Good ol' NPR. The culture of choice for today's worldly NIMB-eral. n/t

[Amonester]

12. She should apply to Current. n t

[Capitalocracy]

29. If Current keeps hiring all the people who got fired from other media for their politics

then they'll be the best station EVER.

[tcaudilllg]

145. Yeah really... but I would prefer NPR stayed on as well.

Some Dems find its more centrist voice more comfortable.

[Botany]

13. NPR is a sad shell of what it used to be

If anybody can't tell a rightward slant to what they have been doing then they are blind. This is one more perfect
example of the creep of the corporations and the right into "the liberal media."

And in central Ohio our WOSU AM that hits 70%+ of the state will become an all Catholic all right wing station
24/7 after Jan 1 2012 ...... gotta love that private sector "outsourcing."

[blackspade]

14. Yet another reason that I quit listening to NPR long ago.

National Propoganda Radio indeed.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

15. Minnesota Public Radio is split into three broadcast services:

news, classical music, and the Current, which is new and local non-commercial pop, rock, jazz, blues, folk, etc.

I wake up and work to the classical station and drive and exercise to the Current.

I almost never listen to the news station.

Lisa Simeone has been on NPR's music programs forever. This is outrageous.

[madrchsod]

17. my local station has two and they split at night.

[madrchsod]

16. i listen to bbc overnight on my local station.

i listen to other stuff but i never listen to any political crap they air.

[Crunchy Frog]

18. They're having a fundraising drive right now.

Good time to call them and tell them what you think.

I myself would never donate to them, as I consider them to be a part of the corporate media.

I have always liked and respected Diane Rehm, though, and will unfortunately be viewing her in a different light from now on. :(

[DisgustipatedinCA]

56. the article mentions Dana Rehm

I read the name is "Diane Rehm" at first, but it's Dana. Somewhere in the recesses of my memory, I recall hearing the name Dana Rehm on NPR and wondering if Dana was related to Diane.

Thanks.

[99th_Monkey]

95. GREAT idea! I wonder

wonder how many callers it would take who say "Well I CAN NEVER support a network that treats it's employees like
NPR does, i.e. robbing them of their first amendment rights and punishing them for speaking truth to power"...
how many of those would it take to get this woman hired back? Oh but actually, at this point she probably
doesn't even want it back maybe.

[alp227]

21. As much as I like NPR programming their management is so thin skinned

that if NPR were a commercial enterprise they'd be laughed out of business in a few years. First the CEO resigned over a stupid James O'Keefe stunt. Then a CLASSICAL MUSIC HOST, not a journalist who reports on political issues at all, gets fired because she is associated with OWS. Every time the cons make unsubstantiated or trivial complaints about NPR, the executives kneel down and beg for forgiveness rather than ignoring the noise.

[MedicalAdmin]

41. That is a good point.

Can the management even stand up any more or have their knees froze in place from genuflecting all the time?

[BlueMTexpat]

23. Thank you, David.

I have just sent a polite, although strongly worded, protest to NPR. Whether it will help is unlikely unless there are huge numbers of people like me who do it. But I think that they need to realize just how the hypocrisy of US media has been perceived, especially outside the US.

When our media cheer Arab Spring uprisings or anything that they qualify as a movement against entrenched despots, yet vilify - or let go - anyone who peacefully protests the clearly widening social inequality in our own country, our much-vaunted First Amendment is exposed for the hollow sham that it is. And those of us who thought that we had grown up in a country that respected it - as well as other things - are left wondering whether anything was ever as we thought it was.

[Enthusiast]

26. This is unbelievable.

NPR is dead to me. Well, NPR has been dead to me for a long time now.

[Capitalocracy]

28. Who was there to defend you when the GOP went after your funding, NPR?

My God.

[Odin2005]

30. OCCUPY PUBLIC RADIO!!!

[vets74]

82. OCTOBER 2011 is pacifist. It is not going to OCCUPY anything.

Lisa Simeone has been fired for supporting a largely Quaker protest effort.

The #Occupy efforts are different.

[Snotcicles]

31. I quit NPR back when it got infested in the Bush days. nt

[QC]

33. NPR = Nice Polite Republicans

[deutsey]

34. Stopped listening to NPR around the 2000 election n/t

[JVS]

35. Fuck NPR

[go west young man]

40. Ditto. They and C-Span went right downhill under Bush.

[dotymed]

37. "w" completely turned NPR into a government tool.

Rush Limbaugh is broadcast on NPR daily.

The nazi's began the very same way. Until a certain point they were a thriving, diverse, democracy. The in a flash, any independent thinker was an enemy of the motherland.

[glinda]

38. They have been omitting the counter arguments of the "left" in a lot of their segments.

[uponit7771]

43. I think this is what is most disappointing, they also have been raising stupid winger positions to..

...appear balanced vs credible.

[MedicalAdmin]

48. I've noticed that and it pisses me off.

I've been a supporter for decades and my wife, I and our companies are all supporters.

No more. This is the last straw.

[glinda]

51. The donations from the Corporations have tilted the "balance" .

[MedicalAdmin]

68. I think that Minnesota public radio will listen.

Listener support accounts for almost 80% of their operating budget, or so they say during the pledge drives.

And they are by far the largest public radio system in the nation. They may not have the largest market, but they definitely have a lot of pull.

[Donnachaidh]

42. NPR is in the middle of their fall fundraising

I'll bet they'd crap their pants if callers, rather than giving money, gave them a ration of shit over this fascist move. And a promise of no more money till the culprits who did this are shitcanned.

[GreenPartyVoter]

54. Good point!

[1gobluedem]

98. Member stations raise money, not NPR

Most stations have funds that don't go to the network. Withholding funds hurts the local efforts, not NPR.

[GreenPartyVoter]

105. Ah, that's no good then.

[Crunchy Frog]

131. That's not the case with my local station.

I listen to them in my car all the time, and during one of their spiels they directly said that some of the money raised goes to pay NPR for their wonderful news reporting.

So maybe my local station operates differently from most? :shrug:

[klook]

135. Local stations pay fees to the national network for programs. (n/t)

[mwooldri]

123. asking an NPR affiliate to drop ME and ATC is like asking it to commit suicide.

For a lot of public stations, especially rural ones, ME and ATC is their backbone. When your counter programming on the commercial stations is Limbaugh & Co., the main NPR programmes are very liberal.

With the small stations their money goes to pay the light bill and NPR. There isn't the cash for much else.

At least WUNC does the decent thing @ 10pm and hands over to BBC World Service. WFDD tries to fill in with classical because there is no analog fm alternative.

Yes, let the local affiliates know. If you have the cash and your station is airing some NPR overnight classical you could always give enough for them to switch to something else.

[mwooldri]

124. asking an NPR affiliate to drop ME and ATC is like asking it to commit suicide.

For a lot of public stations, especially rural ones, ME and ATC is their backbone. When your counter programming on the commercial stations is Limbaugh & Co., the main NPR programmes are very liberal.

With the small stations their money goes to pay the light bill and NPR. There isn't the cash for much else.

At least WUNC does the decent thing @ 10pm and hands over to BBC World Service. WFDD tries to fill in with classical because there is no analog fm alternative.

Yes, let the local affiliates know. If you have the cash and your station is airing some NPR overnight classical you could always give enough for them to switch to something else.

[cui bono]

45. We should also contact WDAV, contact info here:

http://www.wdav.org/16_51_0.cfm

Address:
WDAV 89.9
Box 8990
423 N. Main St.
Davidson, NC 28035-8990

Phone:
office: 877-333-8990

fax: [phone]

[unc70]

91. WDAV showing spine, keeping her as host of "World of Opera"

According to salon.com story updated at 2:35, WDAV is keeping her as host of "World of Opera".

Simeone will remain as host of "World of Opera."

"Her activities outside of the job do not violate anything in our employee code
and have in no way affected her job performance," Nolan said in a phone
interview. "She's a terrific host and we look forward to working with her."]


BTW WDAV is the public radio station at Davidson College and is available via the web.

[cui bono]

108. God for them. Thanks for the update. n/t

[SoapBox]

46. More here...AND, Contact NPR HERE...

More on the story at Think Progress:
http://thinkprogress.org/special/2011/10/20/348851/npr-distributed-radio-show-fires-host/

CONTACT NPR here:
http://help.npr.org/npr/includes/customer/npr/custforms/contactus.aspx

I stopped listening to NPR (Steve "Snark" Inskeep and Michele Norris make my blood boil) at the end
of the 2008 year (PBO's election). One of my local stations, continues to offer up excellant local
stuff but I don't even listen to that anymore, because I dont' want to hear the national stuff.

NPR drank the GOPBagger Kool-Aid and thus lost my ear AND money.

[MedicalAdmin]

49. Make sure that the locals know that.

It is their choice what to buy and support. Each program a local plays is a choice.

Help them make the right one.


I emailed Minnesota public radio today and dropped all 3 memberships we had (2 personal and one company) and I told them why. It has to do with the national coverage on NPR news. I told them the local coverages were great and suggested pacifica and democracy now as an alternative. Not one thin dime until they do the right thing.

We were there when the GOP went after their funding. And I am calling in my marker.

[alp227]

148. Some NPR stations do carry Democracy Now

for example, KUSP in Santa Cruz; that station has repeaters in nearby areas including in my county Santa Clara. Listeners in that county can also hear DN on the local Pacifica station out of Berkeley, KPFA, as well.

[leveymg]

50. This purging of NPR has been going on since Newt Gingrich held them hostage during the Clinton years

It's turned into National Propaganda Radio, somewhere to the Right of even the current Administration. Their foreign news coverage has also become very Neocon-dominated - makes NBC Network News seem like a bastion of liberalism, by comparison.

This is what happens when media becomes part of the political spoils system in DC. It's been spoiled.

[KansDem]

52. This? From the station that brought us Cokie Roberts' "Bush Charm Offensive" stories in 2000?

I remember when she reported on how Bush, if elected, would get things done in DC because he was "charming, oh, so charming." And he liked to give nicknames, too!

What a loser station...

[stubtoe]

55. NPR message boards have a serious troll problem

They're probably terrified they'll get slammed with negative comments.

Way to show a backbone, NPR.
:puke:

[valerief]

57. Damn 'librul' NPR at it again. If anyone doubted NPR's rightwing bias before,

they s/b convinced now.

PUBLIC radio, my ass.

[DeSwiss]

59. K&R - n/t

[libinnyandia]

60. NPR

I won't give to them again.

[Wilmer]

61. NPR = parlor liberals

These days, NPR only gives air to liberal views on comparatively "easy" topics: education, the arts, the environment (up to a point), GLT issues, and the like. You'll hear heartwarming profiles of progressive teens fighting to have vegan lunches served in their schools, and stories about poor Guatemalan farmers whose land is being taken from them (replete with NPR's standard cowbells-and-chickens sounds in the background; I swear, they must have an SFX tape labeled "Central America" that they use for all such pieces. On a given day you might hear a sensitive story about a disabled ESL student winning a spelling bee, or a cutesy-pie review of a similarly cutesy-pie coffee-table book dedicated to the art of making grilled-cheese sandwiches (I swear, I'm not making that up). But if your thirst for news tends to such topics as war, economic justice, voting rights, and affairs of state in general, you'll have to tune in elsewhere.

And if you want to hear progressive commentary about real issues...well, put it this way: The last time I heard that tired old lie about Al Gore supposedly claiming he invented the internet, it was from a drunk-sounding Cokie Roberts on NPR's Morning Edition (post-Bob Edwards, of course).

NPR are whores: a publicist's dream on the soft issues, a lobbyist's dream on the hard ones.

Fuck 'em.

[hulka38]

62. This morning I listened to a NPR reporter walking around OWT

basically making light of it and summarizing that it's pretty much eccentrics and out of work people who are vaguely discontent with the system and angry at the wealthy.

[pauldp]

63. I got this response from NPR

We recently learned World of Opera host Lisa Simeone is serving as a spokesperson and activist with Occupy DC. World of Opera is produced by WDAV, a music and arts station based in Davidson, North Carolina. The program is distributed by NPR. Lisa is not an employee of WDAV or NPR; she is a freelancer with the station.

There have been some inaccuracies in the reporting on this story that we’d like to correct.

It has been reported that NPR had a role in the decision made by the management of the public radio program Soundprint to end its relationship with Lisa Simeone as the program’s host. This is not true. Soundprint is an independent public radio program that is not produced by NPR. NPR had no contact with the management of the program prior to their decision. We learned about it after the fact, through media reports.

Other than Lisa’s role as host, Soundprint and WDAV’s World of Opera are completely unrelated. We are in conversation with WDAV about this matter. We fully respect that the management of WDAV is solely responsible for the decision making around Lisa’s participation in Occupy DC and her freelance role with WDAV’s program.

Sincerely,


Dana Davis Rehm
Senior Vice President
Marketing, Communications, and External Relations

Sincerely,
Emily
NPR Services
202-513-3232
www.npr.org

[swilton]

84. Lisa's Ad on October 2011

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0SHahAgbQs

Let this go viral!

[crim son]

111. I was just about to post the same thing, since of course I got the same

response to my letter. It doesn't really jive with the fact that the earlier memo says that NPR was involved in a discussion with WDAV to see how they intended to follow up on the "story." There should be no story and no reason for NPR to even be paying attention. Weird.

[humanityisfree]

64. email them and let them know

I am an avid NPR listener and have been for years... this is disheartening and disappointing. They are so knee jerk and reactionary.
Sorry NPR - i think I will NOT renew my membership this fall and will instead support the OWS movement.
thanks

[qb]

66. NPR no longer deserves any federal funding or donations from people who respect public ownership

of the airwaves.

[DTinAZ]

69. Soundprint has removed her bio from their website

The Truthout story linked to a bio for Simone on the Soundprint site:

http://soundprint.org/radio/hostInfo/ID/1

but they've apparently redirected it to their home page. Archive.org still has snapshots, such as this one:

http://web.archive.org/web/20100724175433/http://soundprint.org/radio/hostInfo/ID/1

[bertman]

70. NPR, leading the way in propaganda for the Iraq War runup. Screw them.

They have some decent programs like Fresh Air, The State of Things (in our area), and some others, but they are now totally corporate.

[iamthebandfanman]

72. NPR is blaming Soundprint n/t

[crazylikafox]

78. Does anyone believe that?

[unc70]

100. Maybe. WDAV is keeping her as host of "World of Opera"

It could have been a decision made by the show itself. Not sure how much pressure NPR was pushing down on the shows she has been hosting.


WDAV is the originating station for "World of Opera" and is keeping her as host:


http://blogs.wdav.org/2011/10/20/more-on-wdav-world-of-opera/

[Divernan]

83. NPR's attempt at spin is pathetic!

[a2liberal]

73. K&R (n/t)

[chill_wind]

74. K & R.

Not a listener, but I hope they hear a lot about this.

[myrna minx]

75. K&R n/t

[KamaAina]

76. Gutless swine.

:grr: :banghead: :argh:

[certainot]

77. does anyone know if her participation was mentioned on the talk radio? that's all it would take to

get a bunch of screaming teabaggers on the phones to her bosses, whether it was a local or national mention.

the way it works is the think tanks make an ID and a connection and send a talking point out to the usual blowhards and they mention it anpother liberal media story and that's all it takes.

the thing is, unless it was on one of the main talkers with a transcript, there is no record of it and no one has a clue unless it was heard by one of the few on left who has a clue what's going on with the right's most important weapon. so the blowhards get another trophy in that secret trophy room.

knowing whether that was the case or not could make all the difference.

[vets74]

80. This OCTOBER 2011 STOP THE MACHINE is pacifist. Not OccupyDC or Occupy Wall Street.

The many of the October 8th protestors were Quakers, long time pacifists.

Objecting to having the Federal government kill people is the core aim of the October 2011 organization.

That is entirely different from OccupyDC and Occupy Wall Street.

Some of the ODC and OWS people likely approve of October 2011. But the organizations are entirely different.

Lisa Simeone was fired for supporting a pacifist organization and their efforts.

My God....

Is NPR going to rummage through their files, identify all the Quakers, and can them ???

What is next ?

[bertman]

140. I beg to disagree, vets74. Stop The Machine is NOT pacifist but does require

a pledge of non-violence for participants in the Occupation of Freedom Plaza.

I am not a pacifist but I do believe in non-violent resistance to the forces of evil everywhere. That is the same view of many of the other people who were/are at Freedom Plaza.

Also, you have selectively chosen "Objecting to having the Federal government kill people is the core aim of the October 2011 organization" when, in fact, there are a number of CORE AIMS. Here they are as they are found on the October2011 website:

Tax the rich and corporations
End the wars, bring the troops home, cut military spending
Protect the social safety net, strengthen Social Security and improved Medicare for all
End corporate welfare for oil companies and other big business interests
Transition to a clean energy economy, reverse environmental degradation
Protect worker rights including collective bargaining, create jobs and raise wages
Get money out of politics

[vets74]

142. The specific aim of that protest was pacifist.

The crowd included hundreds of Quakers. I recognized them from the crowd pics.

The pledge of non-violence is indeed pacifist.

[bertman]

149. The crowd also included hundreds of people who believe in non-violent resistance

but who would fight to defend themselves, their families, their friends, even their nation if they felt they were threatened.

I know because I was there with them.

Pacifism has several different meanings according to the Google and the one I have always believed to describe pacifists is the one that applies to your and my Quaker friends: they refuse to fight for ANY reason.

Nowhere in the literature or the goals of the occupation is there a requirement that one must be a pacifist.

www.october2011.org

check it out.

I would not have gone if there had been a requirement to be a pacifist.

[Divernan]

81. Cokie Roberts has flooded NPR with her snide & sarcastic political diatribes for DECADES

Cokie Roberts has flooded NPR with her sarcastic political biases for DECADES, but NPR goes McCarthy on Simeone, forcing her employer to fire her?

I wrote a master's thesis on McCarthyism - Tailgunner Joe had nothing on NPR's black list!


F O R S H A M E ! ! !

[totodeinhere]

85. I used to respect NPR, but their right wing slant has just become too obvious.

Therefore, I no longer donate to my local NPR station.

[Goldstein1984]

86. David Koch's name was enough to make me stop listening

Can a media entity get any more corporate than that?

[TomClash]

87. Occupy NPR

National Persecution Radio.

If she had an agreement with Soundprint and NPR pressured Soundprint to terminate that agreement, NPR interfered with Lisa's contract with Soundprint. Sounds like some kind of lawsuit to me.

[tawadi]

88. "unethical"?

Pot/kettle much?

[Blue_Tires]

89. I'm missing something...

1. How did NPR or someone associated with them even know Simone was at the rally? (Unless she gave a long speech or did some kind of pirate broadcast or something.)

2. Who recognized her? If it was an NPR employee do they get fired as well?

3. Is NPR in the habit of regularly spying on their employees?

4. What does Soundprint have to say about this??

Found her bio:
http://www.npr.org/people/2101205/lisa-simeone

Also saw FR discussing it, but I won't link it

[RufusTFirefly]

92. In fairness, I discovered she was going to be there quite easily

There was a clip on YouTube that came out months before the October 2011 movement. I was pleasantly surprised to see her among the people featured in that video.

[Joe Bacon]

90. NPR = Nothing but Propaganda for Republicans.

I stopped giving to NPR and gave up on it when Clinton was impeached. It's time to cut the funding off once and for all.

[aikoaiko]

93. I'll wait to hear more information before lighting my torch and grabbing my pitchfork.

Its not so clear from the NPR email that they were actively involved with Lisa Simeone's termination from Soundprint or if they were just aware of the issues and doing careful PR should they get calls.

[Daemonaquila]

94. Do not donate, & tell NPR why.

I have long considered NPR to be just another version of mainstream media, and have refused to donate. In many areas, this is pledge week. I hope all of you who otherwise might donate will refuse, and loudly tell them why. Heck, jam their pledge lines with angry calls.

[crim son]

114. Done. They wrote me back

telling me that they had nothing to do with the firing. Right now there is no way to know if this is true.

[canuckledragger]

96. K & R

[Major Hogwash]

97. She should go to Current.

They could use some classical information on that channel!!

Shit, by the end of the year, Current may be the only channel worth watching that isn't televising BSU's football games!

[prince34]

99. ridiculous

This is ridiculous, thanks for posting the link to communicate with NPR, I'm going to write them right now

[AnneD]

102. Lisa is within her legal rights..

NPR is wrong. I would rather listen to Lisa Simeone talk about opera than Dana Rehm.

I hope she sues them because she should win.

[krabigirl]

103. NPR sucks and has for a while. They were cheering for the war in iraq back on '03.

[Name removed]

116. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Ian David]

109. First, they came for The Goodnight Show lady, and I didn't speak-up...

First, they came for The Goodnight Show lady, and I didn't speak-up...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=229x4772


Then they came for Postcards from Buster...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Postcards_from_Buster#Controversy

Then they came for Ron Schiller...
http://www.salon.com/2011/03/09/npr_schiller_williams/
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x4761718
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x590674


Then they came for The World of Opera Lady
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=439&topic_id=2150549&mesg_id=2150549

See also:

NPR and PBS lost their balls (AND their credibility) YEARS ago...
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=439&topic_id=620070

[WillyT]

110. Idiots... K & R !!!

:wtf:

:banghead:

:kick:

[RagAss]

118. Fuck NPR...bought and sold years ago...!

[stlsaxman]

119. And yet Mara Lyinsombitch and Cokie The Clown keep their jobs...

NPR- "The Liberal Bureau Of FOX NEWS"

[PatrynXX]

121. they'll just point to Jaun Williams

as they fired him for something similar. of course Fox Nuts is a member of the tea party thus is not a news outlet.

but coming from NPR always a surprise

[sendero]

122. NPR is just another corporate media outlet..

... if you are sending them money you are a dupe.

[Mendocino]

127. This is why

I gave up on NPR, nothing anymore but tea bag toadies.

[BiggJawn]

128. "This Popular Wartime President"

I got so fucking sick of hearing Coke-head and Mara repeat that over and over.
Firing Bob Edwards was the last straw.

And I HATE "Car Talk"! I just don't get Yuppie humour.

[1gobluedem]

130. I work for an NPR affiliate

As the GM. This is what came down to us from NPR.

"Various media reports in the last two days have revealed that Lisa Simeone is serving as a spokesperson and activist with Occupy DC. There have been some inaccuracies in the reporting that we’d like to correct.

It has been reported that NPR had a role in the decision made by the management of the public radio program Soundprint to end its relationship with Lisa Simeone as the program’s host. This is not true. Soundprint is an independent public radio program that is not produced by NPR. NPR had no contact with the management of the program prior to their decision. We learned about it after the fact, through media reports.

Other than Lisa’s role as host, Soundprint and WDAV’s World of Opera are completely unrelated. As we indicated last night, we are in conversation with WDAV about this matter. We fully respect that the management of WDAV is solely responsible for the decision making around Lisa’s participation in Occupy DC and her freelance role with WDAV’s program.

[Hissyspit]

132. Um, they could actually stand up for her rights as a citizen.

[donheld]

133. National Petroleum Radio

[klook]

136. "Protest Role Does Not Cost Public Radio Host Her Job On Opera Program"

Simeone was fired by Soundprint Media Center, Inc., producers of Soundprint.

She was not fired by NPR.

She will continue to work on World of Opera.

Protest Role Does Not Cost Public Radio Host Her Job On Opera Program

The host of a public radio opera show that is distributed nationally by NPR will keep her job after drawing criticism for her involvement with an offshoot of the Occupy Wall Street protests.

Lisa Simeone, the freelance host of the show World of Opera, also has been acting as a spokeswoman for Washington, D.C., protesters affiliated with the "October 2011" group.

The decision about her role on World of Opera came after Simeone was let go as host of Soundprint — a topical documentary program that is independently produced for public radio stations. NPR plays no role in Soundprint's production or distribution....

WDAV has decided to retain Simeone as host. "Ms. Simeone's activities outside of this job are not in violation of any of WDAV's employee codes and have had no effect on her job performance at WDAV," the station said in a statement. "Ms. Simeone remains the host of World of Opera."
More

[davidswanson]

137. UPDATES

are posted here
http://warisacrime.org/content/npr-gets-producer-fired-occupying

in short, NPR claims Soundprint acted on its own to fire Simeone

but NPR was publicly pushing the issue -- see that blog post I linked to

and the Soundprint exec producer referred to NPR's ethics policy when firing Simeone

NPR also pushed WDAV to take action (presumably by firing Simeone, no other actions having been discussed) and WDAV refused, resulting in the announcement by both WDAV and NPR that WDAV would not fire her

Simeone has been fired by Soundprint but not by WDAV

[tawadi]

139. kick

[1gobluedem]

138. Does it occur to anyone that NPR is thinking of its member stations when these incidents occur?

First, NPR didn't fire Lisa Simeone, she didn't work for them and they were not involved in Soundprint's decision.

Were they concerned? Yes. And this is why. Every time NPR is in the media spotlight there are renewed calls to cut off its federal funding which fires up GOP and tea party legislators and their supporters. The reality, though, is that NPR doesn't receive federal funds. The Congressional appropriation goes to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) which then awards grants to LOCAL STATIONS, many of whom are NPR affiliates, NOT NPR. When NPR is embroiled in controversy (think Juan Williams)it's fodder for these calls to cut off the funds. But it's the member stations that will suffer if the funds are cut or eliminated. Many stations in rural areas (who are often the only source of national news) rely almost 100% on those funds.

So, perhaps, NPR was just trying to find out what happened so they could be proactive and protect their member stations. Soundprint may be independently produced but the perception is that it's an NPR show.

NPR is looking out for its affiliates that need those federal grants. We're living in tricky times and they're under a microscope right now.

[klook]

143. Your reality-based post will be lost in the froth,

but I appreciate the perspective. Thanks for posting.

[vets74]

141. NPR's OMBUDSMAN just sent me a dishonest email.

This email notes cluckingly that Lisa is not being fired from her job with World of Opera.

Of course that was not the issue at hand.

Lisa is fired from Soundprint -- which indeed is a public station show.

Further, October 2011 is largely pacifist. I looked at the crowd scenes from October 8th and recognized Quakers from the Bethesda area.

Supporting pacifism is what got her fired from this Soundprint show.

There is no excuse for that.

Public broadcasting cannot kowtow to rancid militarism. No way.

Soundprint Media Center, Inc

This company Soundprint did exactly that.

Do they fire Quakers, too ?

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

146. Pacifica Radio, Free Speech TV, Link TV, UCTV

are the sources I pay attention to now. I've haven't tuned in to NPR in years. They've completely watered down their programming to the point where it's not possible to listen and pay attention to it as it puts you to sleep.

[KoKo]

147. K&R...we NPR/Public Television have watched the downward slide in news for couple of decades

or more.

Why is this not surprising? What can we do about it ...That's the question.