[Sean Smith]

See title (I hope this poll works this time...)

[Thumper]

:D

[Deepdiver]

Sean, your first two choices (from the top) are redundant - just thought I would let you know.

..DD

[commygun]

A great source of light jazz and even lighter thinking. In my experience
listened to only by white middle-class liberals to compensate for
the guilt they feel over driving SUV's.

[Hutch]

The first 5 are true. If you ever wanted wanted to hear some tree hugger get air time to wax rhapsodie about the Snail Warbler, or decry the exploitation of the gentle Wroq tribe by the local caudillo, then All Things Considered (sic) is your show.

[Kaylee]

no "all of the above?" :)


I think most all of 'em really do TRY hard and think they're being professional and objective and all... they're just surrounded in a certain way of thinking and can't see it... classic example of a fish saying "what water???"


-K

[Bill Hook]

Just "Click and Clack" for me, thanks.

[Greg L]

Where's the "All of the above"?

My favorite NPR experience was on election night 2000. We were driving across rural GA on the way over to FL and the only thing we could pick up was NPR. The chaos was hillarious.

Greg

[Partisan Ranger]

NPR is a place where they think playing funeral music is appropriate when we commence a war to liberate people from a dictator. This is what they did when the shooting started in March in Iraq. Apparently, in their world, we should only engage in wars where we have no interest.

[cloudkiller]

Liberal bias -- Yes

More in depth than CNN or Fox -- Yes

More liberal bias than Fox news is Pro-Republican, or CNN is light and fluffy liberal -- highly doubtful

It is funny because the left and the right use very different tactics to spin the media. They both use ommissions of information, and loss of context. However the left will tend to leave out stories wholesale to avoid presenting countering information. The right will put much more direct "spin" where they have news anchors interpret stories to the public. If you look at Fox or CBN, after each story they tend to have a much longer "redaction" of the story done by their anchors, when compared to your typical 6pm news program.

The left and the right also tend to argue differently in the media. The right will tend to use attacks on word choice/semantics much more to discredit the left, so Rush or others might pick at a given phrase uttered by an ideological opponent or such. The left will tend more to bring in history, or some kind of chronological comparison.

I believe this is because the left is trying to bring about an incorrect intellectual association on the part of its viewers, and the right is trying to bring about an incorrect emmotional association on the part of its viewers.

An interesting thing to note, though, is how much worse the lies of the media USED to be. There have been some great articles recently about the length that early 19th century press magnates would go to to try and discredit political or business rivals. Some of the stories they would print in the "mainstream press" were hystericall! Imagine if the main section of the newspaper were written by politically minded WEEKLY WORLD NEWS or ENQUIRER authors.

[Malone LaVeigh]

One of the few places on the radio dial where one can occasionally hear a perspective that is not 100% thoughtlessly supportive of the administration. In other words, obviously a bunch of commies.

[Hawk]

KERA, the NPR affiliate in DFW, has offered up some surprises.

A recent Glenn Mitchell show had an interview with Dr. John Lott, who was selling his "bias" book. I didn't notice any bias in the interview and Dr. Lott was exceptionally good with the "call in" listeners.

Almost exactly a year ago, NPR/Fresh Air/Terry Gross announced an upcoming interview with Tom Diaz on the "sniper culture in America" - while the DC area miscreants were still at large. I fired off some emails suggesting that the timing of the interview was reprehensible unless LaPierre, Lott or someone else got equal time. The show never aired (to this day I don't know why). I got the usual pointy headed response from the Fresh Air staff, but KERA seemed to be taking the matter seriously (albeit, after an initial response that "interview shows don't have to be ballanced"). I was mollified at any rate.

'Course this is a T E X A S NPR affiliate :p

[Bill Hook]

One of the few places on the radio dial where one can occasionally hear a perspective that is not 100% thoughtlessly supportive of the administration.

I guess 90% opposition is more "thoughtful." :rolleyes:

Well, just so long as they're not shrill about their bias like FOX, eh?

[hillbilly]

I have not listened to NRP since about 1994.

I'd like to keep it that way, too.

hillbilly

[jsalcedo]

I listen to them and read between the lines.

They are not smart enough to spin their news past an discerning listener.

Science friday, the medical shows, financial advice are all very good.

They have had great interviews with blues musicians, the men who wrote
we were soliders and many others.

They are not venom dripping commies but they are never far from the left
when commenting on the president and his policies or the UN's Koffi Annan.

[Malone LaVeigh]

I have not listened to NRP since about 1994.Too bad. You missed a great interview yesterday on Fresh Air with Earl Scruggs.

[BryanP]

Do they have a left-wing bias? Of course they do. They also have some very well produced news and entertainment. One thing I will say in their favor - when they read their listener's response letters they seem to be much more likley to air criticism than compliments.

Oh, and while Click & Clack are hilarious, you need to check out "Wait Wait! Don't Tell Me!" A really funny show that pokes just as much fun at the left as the right. Sure, they make fun of Bush, but they never pulled any punches when making jokes about Clinton or Gore either.

And yes, I put my money where my mouth is. I'm a conservative who is a paid-up member of his local NPR station. And if you say "I pay for NPR with my taxes you REALLY don't know anything about how NPR or PBS financing works these days ... the vast majority of their money comes from public and private donations.

Bryan

[Monkeyleg]

I donated money to NPR from time to time until the early 1980's. When I heard Cokie Roberts report about "the NRA's stranglehold on Washington," I called the local affiliate and made it clear I was through with them.

Haven't listened since.

[Brian Dale]

They're very serious news people who work night and day to see that the Real Truth reaches the American People.









:evil: BWAHaHaHaHaHaHaHaHaaaaaa! :evil:

I picked "Self-consciously arty fruit loops," because there was no "All of the above" choice. However, there's a half-hour, weekday business program called "Marketplace" that I like pretty well. It's produced by the Univ. of Minnesota at the Univ. of Southern Cal (why? :confused: ).

NPR news: it's interesting sometimes to find out what some folks believe. By contrast, Click and Clack have the NPR program that I can listen to without the "squelch" knob on my nonsense filters turned all the way up.

[hammer4nc]

I listen to npr, can't check off any of the profiles offered in the poll. For those who haven't tuned in lately, they now broadcast BBC world service several hours a day (must keep up on cricket scores :D ). Used to be available only on shortwave.

As others have said, with npr, one can chew the meat and spit out the bones (i.e., liberal political slant being the bones here)...sometimes the topics chosen will cause me to tune out, but not often.

I don't know the exact proportions, but govt. funding of npr has been dropping in recent years. If a conservative network used npr's (more thoughtful) programming model, and a less intrusive advertising approach (minus the govt. funding part, of course), they could capture a sizeable niche market. One could hope.

NPR's political slant is a small drawback, compared to the typical offering of AM radio...fast-talking, stations' ID tacked onto every freakin thing possible (850thebuzz news!sports!weather!temperature!traffic!time!wipeyerbutt!... on 15 second intervals...with an incessant conga drums for background music). They couldn't be more irritating if they tried. But maybe that's just me.

[Lictalon]

Oh, I listen to National Pinko Radio.

I don't get much in the way of good news programs, so they're the best. I can smell the fish though, and ignore it...and "Wait wait, don't tell me!" is hilarious!

[Calmwater]

And if you say "I pay for NPR with my taxes you REALLY don't know anything about how NPR or PBS financing works these days ... the vast majority of their money comes from public and private donations.

Then they would get along just fine in the free market without my meager forced donation? Whoo hoo! They should do that then, REALLY!

[MeekandMild]

Chainsaw whining at its best!

[Sean Smith]

And if you say "I pay for NPR with my taxes you REALLY don't know anything about how NPR or PBS financing works these days ... the vast majority of their money comes from public and private donations.

So they wouldn't mind if the government quit stealing my money to pay for them? Then they could call it "socialist" instead of "public" and be more accurate in the bargain. Looks like a win-win formula to me! :D

And "all of the above" would have been too easy... I wanted people responding to the poll have to pick one, so I could see if any one view was a bit more predominant. Didn't work... they all almost have the same number of votes.

[semf]

A comedian, I don't remember her name but she was the female coach on coach. Called it National Palestine Radio a few years back on Letterman

[roscoe]

Let's face it, it is the only place for real news on the dial. As individuals, they are mostly on the left of center, but they they at least try (and largely succeed) to air both sides to any issue. Far better, IMO, than Fox, where the folks can get a little frothy.

I highly recommend you listen to the hour-long Talk of the Nation from 1999 on the subject of the expansion of CCW laws in the US. The gun advocate was David Mustard (of Lott and Mustard). The anti-gun guy was weak, and Ray Suarez was pretty objective (if a little surprised at the facts). In fact, I would say Mustard pretty much mopped them up.

http://discover.npr.org/features/feature.jhtml?wfId=1051621

Also, a search of the NPR website turned up quite a few positive articles (from our point of view) with regard to the gun control debate.

Besides, Car Talk isn't the funniest thing on NPR - Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is much funnier.

[Sean Smith]

Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me is much funnier

I never found that show to be very funny. :confused:

[longeyes]

For my liberal friends, past and present, they represent one of the
three great fonts of news/wisdom, the other two being the NY Times
and the BBC. NPR does very well with some things but most of the
men behind the mike need to take an "Iron John" course with Robert Bly
or hang out with Gen. Boykin for a while. What is the opposite of
"Anger Management?" Whatever it is, they need it.

[greyhound]

I was a donating member up till 9/11 when their bias against the WOT turned me off.

I still listen occaisionally, their travel and arts pieces are pretty good.

And just like the BBC on PBS, I do listen to the BBC World reports - I am amazed how different a view they have than over here. Even OUR liberal press sounds downright cheery about the WOT than the reports I see/hear!