Please contact NPR ombudsman about Mara Liasson.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

Here is the controversy:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/128045874

Here is what I sent to the ombudsman:

I was shocked by a Mara Liasson statement in a segment concerning Joe Biden on September 2.
"There are many Democrats who think it would be good for Hillary Clinton because she'd have a serious opponent, and it would help her become a better candidate. Right now, she's basically running against herself and her problems." Huffington Post aggregate polling data indicates a trend wherein Senator Sanders will overtake Secretary Clinton on or about December 1, 2015:
http://elections.huffingtonpost.com/pollster/2016-national-democratic-primary
I think a case can be made for at least journalistic misfeasance with respect to the quoted statement, since Senator Sanders has twice the support of VP Biden and an aggregate trend line to overtake Secretary Clinton in four months. Wouldn't you agree?

Here is where to contact NPR with complaints:


http://help.npr.org/customer/portal/emails/new?i=8

[stillwaiting]

1. While Mara was extremely egregious and transparent, NPR as a whole has been pathetic.

The network as a whole should receive criticism as well in any correspondence sent (IMO).

[Admiral Loinpresser]

3. For context,

here is the ombudsman's assessment of overall Bernie coverage prior to the Mara Liasson's mistatements:

http://www.npr.org/sections/ombudsman/2015/08/07/430363570/feelin-the-bern-sanders-devotees-speak-out-about-npr-s-coverage

[erronis]

33. Interesting that the link points to an article written by the ombudsman August 7

There's a bit of "we're sorry" and a lot of litter-covering-up.

I'll hope to see a new entry by the ombudsperson with yet another lukewarm mea culpa.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

36. +1 n/t

[Ed Suspicious]

34. So the ombudsman, whose job it is to address complaints leveled at the network, said something to

the effect of (paraphrase) " Look Sanders supporters, we hear you and your complaints of biased coverage toward the frontrunning candidate. We passed your complaints around the newsroom and decided, you know what? We do a pretty damned fine job, thank you very much. Your concern is noted."

[Helen Borg]

5. NPR used to be good!

...

[Lrobby99]

14. I agree, Helen

NPR has been neutered by Con money and threats.

[RoccoR5955]

35. Until they changed their name

from National PUBLIC Radio, to National PETROLEUM Radio.
I feel your pain.

[JackInGreen]

2. Oh yeah

got schwifty in there.

[Hiraeth]

4. sent

[Chakab]

6. Don't bother. NPR was comprised years ago by corporate donors like the Kochs and threats of having

their funding pulled by the wingnuts in Congress.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

9. If you look at the ombudsman's response in #3

to previous Bernie criticism, it is clear they are feeling the heat. Do they have Congressional and corporate pressure? Of course. But they still feel the heat because their twice-annual fundraising drives are largely supported by people in a broad, liberal demographic.

[jalan48]

7. I remember when NPR was a cheerleader for Bush's Iraq War.

I quit listening to it at that point. Not to mention the fact that all their announcers sound the same, as if they have been manufactured at the same place.

[abelenkpe]

28. Exactly

Why anyone continues to listen to NPR or think they are liberal or unbiased in anyway after that is beyond me.

[Autumn]

8. Your OP has been alerted on. I had hoped those frivolous alerts had stopped and that

they would be the change, yada, yada, yada. But I guess not. If you would like me to copy and paste and send you the whole alert just let me know.

-- Reason: This discussion thread violates the Statement of Purpose for this forum.
-- Alerter's comments: This is a post about VP Biden, not Sanders. It should be posted in GD - P.

Your OP very much belongs in our group, it concerns Bernie Sanders and I think we can discuss what we chose to discuss.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

11. Thanks for the heads up.

That alert is so weird I can't even respond. Let's forget about it.

[Autumn]

13. It happens often, we received information that a certain small group of people

discussed off site about monitoring and alerting on OPs and posts in our group. We started ignoring their alerts and they seemed to stop but now this one. Not a big deal.

[BlueJazz]

22. I wonder if (just for fun) I could send an alert on you because you alerted on an alerter. That way

..you could an alert on (Me) an alerter, for alerting on an alerter who alerted on an alerter and...never mind...I'm an idiot.

[Autumn]

31. You could, on a post it would be a TOS on OPs you have the choice of sending an SOP or a TOS

SOP alerts go to hosts, TOS to juries. Say that real fast 5 times.

[smokey nj]

12. I sent an alert abuse notification to the site's administrators, not that I expect anything to

happen. This isn't the first one sent by the alerter.

[Autumn]

15. I sent on too. Just trolling the group and making more work for the hosts, the OP is about Bernie

I'm leaning to the idea that we can discuss whatever or whoever we want to discuss. It seems to be working for other groups.

[rhett o rick]

42. If it's who I think it is, he has been alerted on many, many times for "alert abuse".

Not sure what's up with that.

[Admiral Loinpresser]

17. Watch out!

They will counter with an alert-abuse abuse notification.

[carolinayellowdog]

16. frivolity or harassment?

IMO "frivolous" is a whitewashing term for cyberstalking. Having had my first hide-- for criticizing a fellow Sanders supporter who joined in a pile-on to kick a down, out, and already-kicked two hundred times Sanders supporter (Will) -- I'm assuming that the alert and the votes to hide came from outside this group. And yet when I see Clinton supporters hollering about some of them getting "frivolous" i.e. malicious alerts and hides, I can't dismiss the possibility that this goes on in retaliation for their own stalking behavior. The pervasive sense that "THEY" are out to get us isn't just for Sanders supporters anymore. But if each "side" continues to retaliate for perceived stalking with yet more stalking, eventually we will ALL end up banned. Cui bono from that? Neither Sanders nor Clinton, surely.

[Autumn]

19. I would hope that no one here trolls their group and sends SOP alerts several times a day

just to be alerting. We should be better than that and rise above pettiness, We hosts had made the decision to ignore then and consider alerts only from members of our group and they had stopped until this one. This OP obviously was pertaining to Bernie and was advocating for Bernie.

[carolinayellowdog]

21. no question that the alert on this OP was preposterous

and I'm glad the hosts are dismissing such alerts. Having all the centrist bullies on ignore, I'm at a loss to know what was behind it when they get hides and timeouts that their allies complain about as unfair. On one hand, I'm inclined to think that serial abusers should have been tombstoned years ago and all these hides are letting them off easy. Hence a taste of their own "medicine" of being targeted for alerts might be just. But OTOH, this whole mechanism of alerts and juries is so dysfunctional that I (like Nadin) feel obliged to ignore it. Many thanks to those of you who are willing to deal with the abuse multiple times daily, to keep this corner of the site welcoming.

[smokey nj]

24. The beautiful thing about SOP alerts is the alert's name is included so we know who's sending them.

I'm not sure the people who send them realize that. I didn't know before I became a host.

[MoveIt]

30. Someone alerted another thread critical of NPR

Let's watch this issue in GD: P and see who defends this wonderful "News" network from mean old Sanders supporters, now shall we?

[Autumn]

32. Were you on a jury for it? Please send the link.

[smokey nj]

10. The hosts received an SOP alert on this OP from a Hillary Clinton supporter.

[dorkzilla]

18. fucking ridiculous

They're trying to sensor innocuous posts now? Grow up for fuck's sake. Why are Hillary supporters even in here?

[smokey nj]

20. Their SOP alerts don't work, we just ignore them.

I, and some of the other hosts, send alert abuse notifications in the hope that something will be done to stop the nonsense. Once we received an SOP alert where the alerter used the comment section to call the OP a troll.

[L0oniX]

40. +1

G II is try'n & fail'n

[Sherman A1]

23. Just sent this....

Very disappointed with Mara Liaison's report on the potential of Vice President Biden entering the 2016 race. While it is true that Secretary Clinton is struggling with many issues one of her problems is that Senator Sanders is drawing huge crowds and gaining in the poling numbers, yet he is not mentioned.

As a contributor to my local station (KWMU) I find NPR's reporting increasingly biased and sad.

[usaf-vet]

25. When NPR started to go to Fox Lite mode......

... I put away my checkbook, changed all the quick set buttons on my radio and bought a satellite radio with the money I spent supporting NPR. Now I can choose what I listen to. My choice used to be NPR, RW talk radio or country / rock music.

[corkhead]

26. as a jilted former lover of NPR, I never miss an opportunity to rec an anti NPR thread

Their "news" division is a joke. They are more insidious than Fox imho because they still somehow have a reputation for being liberal so the casual listener believes they are listening to a left leaning perspective when it is actually right wing talking points.

[Fairgo]

43. Jilted lover captures it nicely

NPR bookended my day and kept me informed, a real touchstone for sanity. It was always a bit pale because of its need to stay truly fair and balanced (before that term was sodomised). But you could smell the slide to National Public Relations. The insult for me was how they maintained the trappings and affectations of "back porch" radio. That was obviously a marketing decision, or worse, a planned propaganda strategy... I felt manipulated. No more mugs and tote bags for me...I still tune into real community radio on the internet (shout out to WWOZ!) but I miss the mainstay.

[carolinayellowdog]

27. I was shocked when I heard it, but didn't recognize Liasson's voice

and now knowing the source of the outrageous bias, I'm sad to say that nothingshocksmeanymore where she is concerned (shout out to great DUer of the good old days)

[gregcrawford]

29. I wonder if the corporatists making these decisions...

... even realize that they aren't really hurting Bernie, but they are doing irreparable damage to their own reputations for unbiased reporting.

Unless someone has been living a two-day yak ride north of nowhere, they know that every media outlet in this country has been co-opted by the minions of corporatism.

Because of their insufferable hubris, they refuse to even consider the possibility that they might be wrong, and that the ascension of Her Eminence is not preordained. They are muttering to themselves, "It's all the fault of that pesky democracy!" A certain candidate's "Dear friend," Henry Kissinger, described democratic elections, when orchestrating the violent overthrow of the democratically elected Allende government of Chile, as "... the insidious model effect..."

So, democracy is fine as an abstract talking point, but its practical application is a monumental, and "insidious," pain in the ass.

Sorry, boys and girls. Just saying, "Plunk your magic Twanger, Froggy!"* ain't gonna make Bernie disappear.


*Duers of a certain age will remember the Saturday morning show, "Our Gang," with Andy Devine, and that troublesome rubber frog always yammering, "Hiya, Kids! Hiya! Hiya!"

Now I REALLY feel old...

[Admiral Loinpresser]

37. Lol, and I thought I was a dinosaur! n/t

[Babel_17]

38. I sent one

Regarding the Mara Liasson controversy: Her disrespect of Senator Sanders was outrageous. It was a real crime of omission to imply he has no relevancy to the campaign.

Mara Liasson using her time on NPR to shamelessly advance an obvious agenda reflects very badly on the NPR. Rectify this now, starting with an apology. Your reputation, and your future, is at stake.

[leftcoastmountains]

41. I think

the coverage of the media is actually insulting to those who support
a candidate other than Clinton or Biden. They are trying to steer public
opinion to their candidates. And yes they are more insidious than Faux News.
We all know what Faux News is all about but the rest are trying to form
the public's opinion. Can you imagine if Bernie received the attention
through the media that Trump gets? He would be quite high in the polls
is my guess.

[MannyGoldstein]

39. Bernie supporters should be ashamed

We know that you "people" implanted a microchip in Liasson's head that let you run this false flag operation. The operation was carried out by a Sanders supporter, who was invited into Liasson's home because he was dressed as a cute raccoon, but was actually not cute at all. And of course it was a "he", because all Sanders supporters are.

[ibegurpard]

46. I'm pretty sure

That the fact he drove up in a Volvo had something to do with it.

[Babel_17]

44. Got a follow-up reply

Elizabeth Jensen replied:

Thank you for contacting the Ombudsman’s office. Your concerns about this have been passed along to the newsroom.

Past Ombudsman columns looking at NPR’s coverage of the Sanders campaign can be found here:

http://www.npr.org/sections/ombudsman/2015/08/07/430363570/feelin-the-bern-sanders-devotees-speak-out-about-npr-s-coverage

http://www.npr.org/sections/ombudsman/2015/06/12/413981429/diane-rehm-and-a-bungled-interview-with-senator-bernie-sanders

http://www.npr.org/sections/ombudsman/2015/06/05/412015450/giving-long-shots-sanders-and-others-a-fair-shot

Please note that while the Ombudsman’s office serves as a liaison between the newsroom and listeners, and makes sure listener concerns are heard, we have no management authority or power to set policy.
Sincerely,

Elizabeth Jensen
Ombudsman
http://www.npr.org/sections/ombudsman/

Hopefully the ombudsperson (huh, they still use ombudsman, and the position is currently held by a woman) will do another comment. She certainly doesn't seem to mind having the opportunity/cause to write them.

[appalachiablue]

45. You heard Thom Hartmann picked this up and mentioned you at the

beginning of his piece on it last night on The Big Picture. It's always nice when he mentions DU or DU OPs. The show segment is now posted in Video on the Front Page, but am not sure if it includes the original mention.