<div dir="ltr"><div class="gmail_default" style="font-family:georgia,serif;font-size:small"><p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica">Why does NPR suck?</p>
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<p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica">For a play by play account of the biased, mainstream, boring, limp-wristed and excessively sanguine reporting on NPR, check out the blog "Why NPR Sucks!</p>
<p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica;min-height:14.0px"><br></p>
<p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica"><a href="http://whynprsucks.blogspot.com/">http://whynprsucks.blogspot.com/</a></p>
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<p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica">KMUD out of Southern Humboldt is a local station that's very entertaining, has a news department, and provides a daily forum (and other call-in shows) and it truly represent its community, </p>
<p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica;min-height:14.0px"><br></p>
<p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica">They manage to do without NPR entirely. Go figure.</p>
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<p style="margin:0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px;font:12.0px Helvetica">…</p></div></div><div class="gmail_extra"><br><br><div class="gmail_quote">On Wed, Feb 19, 2014 at 3:07 PM, Patricia Kovner <span dir="ltr"><<a href="mailto:pkovner@yahoo.com" target="_blank">pkovner@yahoo.com</a>></span> wrote:<br>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0 0 0 .8ex;border-left:1px #ccc solid;padding-left:1ex">Is the reason KZYX no longer has a full news hour, because NPR programming has priority and there is not enough $$ for both? I'd like to know how KMUD budgets it's much smaller income to expand its already full news hour, with several reporters, and no NPR.<br>
--------------------------------------------<br>
<div class="">On Wed, 2/19/14, doug mckenty <<a href="mailto:dougmck@gmail.com">dougmck@gmail.com</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
Subject: Re: [Kzyxtalk] NPR's All Things Considered<br>
</div> To: "<a href="mailto:kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org">kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org</a>" <<a href="mailto:kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org">kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org</a>><br>
Date: Wednesday, February 19, 2014, 11:22 AM<br>
<div><div class="h5"><br>
Tim,<br>
I thought the total programming fee<br>
of 32k included the 22k for individual programs plus<br>
membership fees like 8k for the NPR membership. So the<br>
total payout for programming was the 32k number. Perhaps<br>
you are right and they should be added for a total of<br>
55k.<br>
<br>
I stopped believing NPR<br>
programming after observing their coverage of the run up to<br>
the war in Iraq. It has become my feeling that they are<br>
just another corporate news source heavily influenced by the<br>
corporate/government complex. I know many believe it to be<br>
an alternative, but I feel they are one and the same.<br>
Their foreign policy is very one sided, from the point of<br>
view of the American military establishment, with little to<br>
no time for alternative perspectives. The vast majority of<br>
their "experts" come from establishment think<br>
tanks such as Rand, Brookings, and the CFR, all of wich are<br>
funded by corporate or foundation money. NPR is heavily<br>
influenced by the left/right paradigm which it then reduces<br>
to the two party system they present as functional, with<br>
little corruption influencing the game. Alternative,<br>
independant, and third party factions are almost totally<br>
ignored. <br>
<br>
NPR does very little<br>
investigative journalism of its own, and after years of<br>
paying close attention to alternative news sources, I have<br>
found that if an anti-government or anti-corporate meme<br>
starts to gain traction, NPR is always there to present a<br>
very softball view of what are sometimes serious<br>
civil/individual rights abuses. <br>
<br>
I am also skeptical of its<br>
attitude that it is completely objective. By giving<br>
equal credence to two points of view I often find that<br>
NPR's coverage manages to give a measure of authenticity<br>
to ideas that, on their own, would be completely<br>
ludicrous.<br>
<br>
The fluff pieces often<br>
stuck between NPR's coverage of real news reminds me of<br>
the soma pills taken in A Brave New World. After an hour<br>
of NPR we are all meant to feel pacified. There is nothing<br>
to worry about. The USA is the greatest country in the<br>
world. Its military spreads peace and democracy and its<br>
people enjoy freedom and abundance. There is nothing to<br>
see here, move along.<br>
<br>
I just don't trust<br>
it.<br>
Having said that,<br>
I have never advocated ditching it at KZYX. I know a lot<br>
of people do trust it, and a lot of them are paying members.<br>
I would just like to see less of it and more Independant<br>
and locally produced journalism and I would like to be able<br>
to have this conversation on the air instead of on this list<br>
serve. I think discussion critical or complimentary of all<br>
news sources should be part of the function of community<br>
radio.<br>
<br>
Doug M.<br>
<br>
<br>
On Tuesday, February 18, 2014, <<a href="mailto:nsi@mcn.org">nsi@mcn.org</a>> wrote:<br>
<br>
Thank you, Rick. --beth<br>
<br>
<br>
----- Original<br>
Message -----<br>
From: "Mitch<br>
Clogg" <<a href="mailto:mitchc@mcn.org">mitchc@mcn.org</a>><br>
<br>
To:<<a href="mailto:kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org">kzyxtalk@lists.mcn.org</a>><br>
Cc:<br>
<br>
Sent:Tue, 18 Feb 2014<br>
20:38:24 -0800<br>
Subject:Re: [Kzyxtalk]<br>
NPR's All Things Considered<br>
<br>
<br>
Why are people so<br>
reluctant to cop to<br>
liking stuff on public radio? NPR, Public Radio<br>
International,<br>
Canada radio and a slew of others put superb stuff in<br>
the air. My<br>
main station is JPR. It's out of Ashland and beams<br>
here on AM 1300.<br>
The signal gets dirty at sundown. I have to drag<br>
myself away,<br>
every day.<br>
<br>
<br>
Mitch Clogg<br>
<br>
Mendocino<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
On 2/18/2014 8:10 PM, Rick wrote:<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
And now for<br>
something<br>
completely different:<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
The subject of NPR's "All Things<br>
Considered" (ATC) on KZYX is<br>
an old, old worn discussion around here in<br>
Ruralland, but I<br>
would like to bring it up for discussion if anyone<br>
is interested.<br>
Unfortunately, I think Beth is right; there are<br>
probably only<br>
about 8 of us on this list and half of them are<br>
just just<br>
station lurkers or trolls, but I feel strongly<br>
about this<br>
subject<br>
<br>
<br>
I happen to like ATC.<br>
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know, not a popular stance,<br>
but there<br>
you have it. I like the international coverage<br>
and some of<br>
the science stories I find really interesting<br>
and<br>
entertaining. Can ATC be lame? You bet it can.<br>
Sometimes I<br>
just have to cringe at the fluff stories and<br>
human interest<br>
filler, but I am willing to put up with the duds<br>
to get the<br>
occasional good story and their good stories can<br>
be very,<br>
very good. <br>
<br>
<br>
The argument<br>
against ATC is not<br>
so much how lame it can be, but how much it<br>
costs the<br>
station. I believe the bill is about 60k a year,<br>
but I could<br>
be wrong. Maybe someone can give an accurate<br>
figure. Anyway,<br>
the new slot at 6 pm with PRI's "The<br>
World" I think is quite<br>
good and it complements ATC perfectly by going<br>
into some of<br>
the international stories in a deeper way. The<br>
PRI show must<br>
be much, much cheaper and even might be free. I<br>
don't know.<br>
Anyway, I think it is really good. My<br>
only criticism of<br>
The World is that it is heavily weighted towards<br>
interviews<br>
and talking heads rather than on the ground<br>
stories. <br>
<br>
<br>
Two reasons for not<br>
getting rid of ATC to me would be: The<br>
international<br>
reportage, but perhaps more importantly, many of<br>
the donors<br>
to the station contribute because of ATC. Cut<br>
ATC and lose a<br>
lot of listeners as well as a lot of station<br>
revenue. I<br>
don't want to see ATC go, but can we afford<br>
to keep it and<br>
if we dumped it, would the loss in revenue from<br>
loyal donors<br>
negate the savings?<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
Rick<br>
Little River<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
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