Tim,<div><br></div><div>I thought the total programming fee of 32k included the 22k for individual programs plus membership fees like 8k for the NPR membership. So the total payout for programming was the 32k number. Perhaps you are right and they should be added for a total of 55k.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I stopped believing NPR programming after observing their coverage of the run up to the war in Iraq. It has become my feeling that they are just another corporate news source heavily influenced by the corporate/government complex. I know many believe it to be an alternative, but I feel they are one and the same. Their foreign policy is very one sided, from the point of view of the American military establishment, with little to no time for alternative perspectives. The vast majority of their "experts" come from establishment think tanks such as Rand, Brookings, and the CFR, all of wich are funded by corporate or foundation money. NPR is heavily influenced by the left/right paradigm which it then reduces to the two party system they present as functional, with little corruption influencing the game. Alternative, independant, and third party factions are almost totally ignored. </div>
<div><br></div><div>NPR does very little investigative journalism of its own, and after years of paying close attention to alternative news sources, I have found that if an anti-government or anti-corporate meme starts to gain traction, NPR is always there to present a very softball view of what are sometimes serious civil/individual rights abuses. </div>
<div><br></div><div>I am also skeptical of its attitude that it is completely objective. By giving equal credence to two points of view I often find that NPR's coverage manages to give a measure of authenticity to ideas that, on their own, would be completely ludicrous.</div>
<div><br></div><div>The fluff pieces often stuck between NPR's coverage of real news reminds me of the soma pills taken in A Brave New World. After an hour of NPR we are all meant to feel pacified. There is nothing to worry about. The USA is the greatest country in the world. Its military spreads peace and democracy and its people enjoy freedom and abundance. There is nothing to see here, move along.</div>
<div><br></div><div>I just don't trust it.</div><div><br></div><div>Having said that, I have never advocated ditching it at KZYX. I know a lot of people do trust it, and a lot of them are paying members. I would just like to see less of it and more Independant and locally produced journalism and I would like to be able to have this conversation on the air instead of on this list serve. I think discussion critical or complimentary of all news sources should be part of the function of community radio.</div>
<div><br></div><div>Doug M.</div><div><br></div><div><br><br>On Tuesday, February 18, 2014, <<a href="mailto:nsi@mcn.org">nsi@mcn.org</a>> wrote:<br><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">
<div>Thank you, Rick. --beth <br><br><blockquote><br>----- Original Message -----<br><div style="width:500px;background:rgb(228,228,228)"><div style="font-weight:bold">From:</div> "Mitch Clogg" <<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','mitchc@mcn.org');" target="_blank">mitchc@mcn.org</a>></div>
<br><div style="font-weight:bold">To:</div><<a href="javascript:_e(%7B%7D,'cvml','kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org');" target="_blank">kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org</a>><br><div style="font-weight:bold">Cc:</div><br>
<div style="font-weight:bold">Sent:</div>Tue, 18 Feb 2014 20:38:24 -0800<br><div style="font-weight:bold">Subject:</div>Re: [Kzyxtalk] NPR's All Things Considered<br><br><br><div>Why are people so reluctant to cop to
liking stuff on public radio? NPR, Public Radio International,
Canada radio and a slew of others put superb stuff in the air. My
main station is JPR. It's out of Ashland and beams here on AM 1300.
The signal gets dirty at sundown. I have to drag myself away,
every day.<br><br>
Mitch Clogg<br>
Mendocino<br><br><br><br><br>
On 2/18/2014 8:10 PM, Rick wrote:<br></div>
<blockquote>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial">
<div><font face="Arial" size="3">And now for something
completely different:</font></div>
<font face="Arial" size="3">
</font><div><font face="Arial" size="3"><br></font></div>
The subject of NPR's "All Things Considered" (ATC) on KZYX is
an old, old worn discussion around here in Ruralland, but I
would like to bring it up for discussion if anyone is <font face="Arial">interested</font><font face="Arial" size="3">.
Unfortunately, I think Beth is right; there are probably only
about 8 of us on this list and half of them are just just
station lurkers or trolls, but I feel strongly about this
subject</font>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt">I happen to like ATC.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, not a popular stance, but there
you have it. I like the international coverage and some of
the science stories I find really interesting and
entertaining. Can ATC be lame? You bet it can. Sometimes I
just have to cringe at the fluff stories and human interest
filler, but I am willing to put up with the duds to get the
occasional good story and their good stories can be very,
very good. </span></div>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt"><br></span></div>
<div><font face="Arial" size="3">The argument against ATC is not
so much how lame it can be, but how much it costs the
station. I believe the bill is about 60k a year, but I could
be wrong. Maybe someone can give an accurate figure. Anyway,
the new slot at 6 pm with PRI's "The World" I think is quite
good and it complements ATC perfectly by going into some of
the international stories in a deeper way. The PRI show must
be much, much cheaper and even might be free. I don't know.
Anyway, I think it is really good. My only </font><font face="Arial">criticism</font><font face="Arial" size="3"> of
The World is that it is heavily weighted towards interviews
and talking heads rather than on the ground stories. </font></div>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt">Two reasons for not
getting rid of ATC to me would be: The international
reportage, but perhaps more importantly, many of the donors
to the station contribute because of ATC. Cut ATC and lose a
lot of listeners as well as a lot of station revenue. I
don't want to see ATC go, but can we afford to keep it and
if we dumped it, would the loss in revenue from loyal donors
negate the savings?<br></span></div>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt"><br></span></div>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt">Rick</span></div>
<div style="font-size:12pt;font-family:Arial"><span style="font-size:12pt">Little River</span></div>
</div>
<br></blockquote>
<br></blockquote></div>
</blockquote></div>