NPR News: National Pentagon Radio?

[Better Believe It]

CounterPunch
March 27, 2008

"No Doubt, It Needed to Happen"
NPR News: National Pentagon Radio?
By NORMAN SOLOMON

While the Iraqi government continued its large-scale military assault in Basra, the NPR reporter's voice from Iraq was unequivocal this morning: "There is no doubt that this operation needed to happen." Such flat-out statements, uttered with journalistic tones and without attribution, are routine for the U.S. media establishment.

So it goes at NPR News, where -- on "Morning Edition" as well as the evening program "All Things Considered" -- the sense and sensibilities tend to be neatly aligned with the outlooks of official Washington. The critical aspects of reporting largely amount to complaints about policy shortcomings that are tactical; the underlying and shared assumptions are imperial. Washington's prerogatives are evident when the media window on the world is tinted red-white-and-blue.

It wouldn't be fair to judge an entire news program on the basis of a couple of segments. But I'm a frequent listener to "All Things Considered" and "Morning Edition." Such cozy proximity of world views, blanketing the war maker and the war reporter, is symptomatic of what ails NPR's war coverage -- especially from Washington.

To add insult to injury, NPR calls itself public radio. It's supposed to be willing to go where commercial networks fear to tread. But overall, when it comes to politics and war, the range of perspectives on National Public Radio isn't any wider than what we encounter on the avowedly commercial networks.

Please read the entire article at:
http://www.counterpunch.org/solomon03272008.html

[MetaTrope]

1. Has Cokie finished weeping over the devastation at the New Orleans yacht club yet?

[Better Believe It]

3. Was She Weeping?

Poor thing.

[OregonBlue]

2. I never listen to them anymore. Just another administration mouthpiece!!

[Muttocracy]

4. I'm really sad how NPR has gone downhill.

I still listen but less to the main news programs than to other programs.

I'm still furious about them pushing out Bob Edwards

[madmusic]

5. Watchdog Group Report: Most NPR Sources are Conservative

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines04/0525-11.htm

[Junkdrawer]

6. Several things changed NPR...

1.) On-air talent started to have a national following and demand higher salaries.

2.) The 1994 Republican take-over of Congress led to hearings on so-call "liberal bias funded by tax dollars."

3.) Public tax money was withdrawn and replaced with corporate advertising.

4.) Conservatives were put in charge of NPR.

5.) Some of the true liberals like Bob Edwards and, for a while, Bill Moyers were forced out.

All-in-all, NPR is now just another part of the Corporate Media. In fact, when a story breaks, NPR will often wait for the Corporate Media to take the lead before they'll dare report on a story.

Sad. Like watching your grandmother turn alcoholic after a long, productive life.

[Buzz Clik]

8. Really?

1.) On-air talent started to have a national following and demand higher salaries.
Which of the two involved in the interview has become a household name -- Renee Montagne or Lourdes Garcia-Navarro?

2.) The 1994 Republican take-over of Congress led to hearings on so-call "liberal bias funded by tax dollars."
And this fact means what? That NPR was shut down if they didn't sell out to the Pentagon? NPR is the most objective news source on the air today. Period.

3.) Public tax money was withdrawn and replaced with corporate advertising.
So ... there is no longer any tax money supporting NPR? (not true)

4.) Conservatives were put in charge of NPR.
Now THERE's something you can document. :eyes:

5.) Some of the true liberals like John Edwards and, for a while, Bill Moyers were forced out.
I'm sure you mean Bob Edwards. I was never aware that Bob Edwards is a liberal, that he was "forced out" due to his political leanings, or that those who replaced him were a) conservative and b) got the job as a result of their political leanings.

No way.

[TreasonousBastard]

12. Got yer back here-- NPR is far from perfect, but...

nothing else comes close. Both liberal and conservative hacks are complaining about it, so it just might be doing something right.

I can see Counterpunch and Media Matters going after them for not toeing a lefty line, but lately FAIR seems to have it in for them, and I find that a bit worrisome.

[Buzz Clik]

14. Thanks. I roll my eyes at some of the things on NPR, and have even clicked it off.

However, I listen every day, and no other radio news outlet gets my attention EVER.

They are far superior to anything on television.

[Junkdrawer]

19. Tell you what...

Rather than respond to your obvious distortions one-by-one, I'll just let DUers read your responses and decide for themselves who's closer to the mark.

Oh, and thanks, I did mean Bob Edwards. Here's the DU LBN thread from the day he was canned:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x439736

[Buzz Clik]

22. You might consider standing behind your claims. That would be a start.

Interestingly, when Edwards bailed on NPR entirely, his new public radio platform wasn't exactly a mecca for liberals.

[Buzz Clik]

7. Norman Solomon: I'm calling you out for your total BULLSHIT!

I grew suspicious when Solomon didn't give a link to the conversation, did not identify the correspondent, or even identify the program. Generally, this indicates he's hiding the truth. Here's the quote in full context:

MONTAGNE: Lourdes, a political question. Prime Minister Malaki's government is dominated by Shi'ites. His own coalition originally was formed with Muqtada al Sadr, and many have accused him of being politically beholden to the cleric. Couldn't this offensive be a sign that the government is serious about taking back the country?

GARCIA-NAVARRO: Yes and no. Nouri al-Malaki has staked a lot of political capital on this fight. Basra has been a place that has been completely lawless, and there is not doubt that this operation needed to happen. The militias have been running Basra for quite some time. No, because the Mehdi Army and the Sadrists will tell you that they withdrew from the government coalition, and they feel that this attack on them has a political dimension. They feel Nouri al-Malaki is doing it ahead of provincial elections on October 1 because his party and parties allied to him will be facing off against the Sadrists and they feel that Nouri al-Malaki is trying to weaken them ahead of these crucial elections.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89140765

She said the words, "there is not doubt that this operation needed to happen," but Solomon intentionally and knowingly misrepresented the context.

The operation was needed to happen to "be a sign that the government is serious about taking back the country."

What an asshole.

[Muttocracy]

9. thanks for clarifying! nt

[Better Believe It]

11. Why Are You Defending NPR?

Well, well, well .... you found part of one sentence you didn't like and Solomon's article didn't pass your gold standard of news reporting while NPR News does! Sounds more like you've got a personal bone to pick with Solomon which has nothing to do with the main thrust and point of view in his article.

Well, now that you've convinced me and everyone else here that NPR News is not functioning like the corporate media I'll be listening to them all the time.

Thank you for the heads up!

I'll now rely on NPR for the real facts and objective news about what's happening in Iraq and the rest of the world.

Is that what you wanted to hear?

[Buzz Clik]

13. Part of one sentence? It is the premise of his entire article, and it is based on deception.

Sorry, but I'm not a big fan of media manipulation, even from backwater media outlets.

[Better Believe It]

16. So NPR News Is Wonderful?

I take it you approve of NPR's news converage. Is that correct?

[TreasonousBastard]

18. I approve of it, and have a real problem with...

leftwing hacks trashing it. I expect rightwing hacks to trash it, but hope springs eternal that the left would be a bit more open minded. Seems I am destined to be disappointed.

Given the choices between my local NPR stations and cable news or talk radio, I'll take NPR every time. Given the choice between NPR and goofy propaganda from either the left or right disguised as news, I'll definitely take NPR every time.

Just for good measure, I'll take PBS, too.

[Buzz Clik]

24. Wonderful? Not my choice of words. I prefer "outstanding."

I have spent thousands of hours in my car with only my radio to keep me informed and sane. When Sirius came along and picked up a number of the NPR programs, I finally was able to listen to intelligent radio for my entire drive -- sometimes 11 hours at a stretch.

I challenge you to put up any news program against Morning Edition and All Things Considered.

[fascisthunter]

10. NPR is a Shell of Its Former Self (nt)

[Supersedeas]

15. Annie Garrels must be preparing her next RAH RAH Iraq War book

[coalition_unwilling]

17. They will never get another penny from me, nor will Pentagon

Broadcasting Service (aka "PBS"). Instead, I now listen only to Pacifica Network's KPFK (90.7 FM) and KTLK 1150 AM (for Mike Malloy and Randi Rhodes). I kick KPFK some money when they have fund-raising drives now.

[WHAT]

20. Mother Goose? Mother Russia's counterpart...

that's what npr has become to me

also, a day late and a dollar short...

[defendandprotect]

21. PBS and NPR were waterboarded by the r-w decades ago --- !!!

Right now Ray McGovern has an interesting article on how BAD the PBS "Body of War" was earlier this week --- I agree wholeheartedly!!!

And I didn't even watch it --- just but a few boring minutes of it here and there.

Turn off the TV's . . . !!!

[MinM]

23. Fear and Favor in the Newsroom (1996)

defendandprotect here's a documentary from a dozen years ago which speaks to this point:

Fear and Favor in the Newsroom (1996)

Terkel: The Public Broadcasting System is supposed to be immune from corporate pressure, and PBS does occasionally air hard-hitting news programs. The half-hour weekly Kwitny Report, which first aired in 1988, was such a program. Produced by former Wall Street Journal reporter Jonathan Kwitny, the show frequently exposed hidden skeletons in the closets of the powerful.

Kwitny: WETA in Washington and WNET in New York both welcomed us, invited us to come produce out of their studios, and would feed us to the system which wanted to broadcast us. The trick is that in order to do that, you have to pay them for those studios. They expect you to go out and raise the money, which means getting underwriting from corporations.

Nader: They are heavily based on local business donations, national corporate donations like AT&T and IBM, and also corporate foundations. And they have clipped their wings, and they’re as much subject to self-censorship as the commercial media.

Terkel: Shows such as this one, which examined the U.S. links to Guatemala’s dictatorship, did not endear The Kwitny Report to corporate sponsors.

Kwitny : Guatemala. Thirty-five years after we intervened in that then-peaceful and democratic country, human rights groups say Guatemala runs on state-sponsored murder, torture and pillage of property from the destitute millions. And just as American business had spearheaded the overthrow of Arbenz in 1954, it was deeply involved in the new repression.

Speaker : In all, there were more than a dozen American firms where workers attempting to organize unions were assassinated. At the Coca-Cola plant, more than a dozen workers were assassinated.

Kwitny: The public-affairs shows are funded by corporations who want certain views put forward. Take a guy like John McLaughlin — bear him no animosity — but what kind of reporting credentials? He was a kind of cantankerous editor of a conservative publication, the National Review. I don’t know of a single story he broke, or a reporting award he ever won. But the head of GE loved McLaughlin to such a degree that they gave him three — not one, which is all I ever wanted; not two; but three national television shows, because he was saying the kinds of things that the number two defense contractor and major corporation would like to have said on television. And they could spend out of their pockets as much as it took to put him on.

Terkel: After its second year, in which it won the prestigious Polk Award for investigative journalism, The Kwitny Report went off the air because it could not secure corporate funding..

http://sandiego.indymedia.org/en/2002/06/1502.shtml
http://www.consortiumnews.com/archive/story39.html

http://www.freespeech.org/videodb/index.php?action=detail&video_id=9830&browse=1

[defendandprotect]

28. Thanks . . . and I hope that you will continue --- and I will continue -- to try to

keep DUers informed of how nasty this is -- and how little they are getting from PBS/NPR . . .
many of them seem to be figuring it out now --- but I think too many have trusted them for too
long!

Another huge disappointment is C-span ...

I mean imagine what we could do all over the channels with education broadcasting from every
source in America --- and internationally!!

And here we are backwards and in the dark ---

And wonderful group of people there --- Terkel/Nader/Kwitny -- !!!

[Buzz Clik]

25. This is damned fascinating. NPR is being trashed on this thread but ...

... the lying sack of shit who wrote the article based on a totally false premise is being given a pass.

One has to question the judgment of those who accept a clear falsehood simply because it agrees with their preconceived notion.

[hootinholler]

27. How do you think republics win elections?

I know, it's rhetorical.

-Hoot

[Junkdrawer]

26. Bill Moyers on the infighting at PBS...

http://www.democracynow.org/2005/5/16/bill_moyers_responds_to_cpbs_tomlinson

[L. Coyote]

29. National Propagana Radio ??

They sure are playing McCain sound bites with regularity now!
But not the "gaffes," as his "major f**k ups" are termed.