^AHA. Seriously though, how much NPR programming is determined by the current political leaders?

10/26/2010 11:56:22 AM

^^^Eh, he wasn't saying he actually thinks there's a good reason to be nervous, he was being honest about a momentary gut reaction (as in, a feeling that is easily dismissed as soon as rational thought kicks in). Hell, in context, he was trying to convince Bill O why that sort of initial reaction is irrational and how people shouldn't let it shape their actual behavior.

He was fired for a quote out of context, which is ridiculous... He could have made himself sound better by immediately saying something like "I know it's irrational and we shouldn't feel that way," and that could even have saved his job... but how was he to know that everyone would take that quote and only that quote and hype the hell out of it when the context of his quote was a discussion in which he argued that fear of muslims is irrational?

Quote :

"Does anybody in this thread actually get nervous when they see dudes in "Muslim garb" on a plane? I know I don't. It was fun to joke about like five years ago, but nobody is actually scared of that stuff."

Maybe no one in this thread, but in America there sure as hell are those sorts of people left. Hell, there was a debate as to whether or not a group of muslims should be allowed to build a community center within a couple blocks of the WTC site. An actual debate about that issue, as though we don't live in a free 1st world nation or something.

I recommend you look up something beyond the selectively-edited lines that Williams was fired over. He wasn't really trying to pander to people who fear muslims, he was trying to tell them why fearing muslims is wrong. He repeatedly tries to tell Bill O that we shouldn't draw conclusions about people based on the actions of a few extremists.


As a disclaimer to my post: Some of his damage control over this issue, especially after the possibility of working at Fox opened up, has been incredibly pandering towards the right-wing. He's rather shamelessly trying to salvage his career. But the statements that he was fired over? Not really.

[Edited on October 26, 2010 at 12:24 PM. Reason : .]

10/26/2010 12:05:29 PM

^Holy goodness, that's awful!

He got Shirley Sherroded by NPR!

10/26/2010 12:32:36 PM

Juan Williams basically said "It's OK to be afraid of muslims, just don't act on that fear". That is not something a respected journalist should say if he wants to continue being a respected journalist.

10/26/2010 1:23:30 PM

I'm afraid of Americans.

I'm afraid I can't help it.

10/26/2010 2:15:01 PM

Quote :

"Seriously though, how much NPR programming is determined by the current political leaders?"

Very little. In fact, very little of NPR's programming is produced by NPR. That said, they don't call it "public radio" because of its independence from public officials:

"After Nixon made his threats, the system was still standing but all but one of the programs he found objectionable left the air. After the Gingrich-era battle ended, Fred Barnes, Peggy Noonan, and Ben Wattenberg all found themselves with new gigs at PBS—and following an initial cut, the CPB's budget crept back upward. The funding fight five years ago took place against the backdrop of a conservative appointee atop the CPB crusading for a more right-friendly PBS and NPR."
http://reason.com/archives/2010/10/22/radio-theater

10/26/2010 2:40:40 PM

I liked Jon Stewart's line

"You picked a fight with Fox News? NPR, you just brought a tote bag of David Sedaris books to a knife fight."

10/26/2010 5:44:23 PM

Quote :

"^^juan williams: "michele obama = stoakely carmichael in a designer dress""

what part of "other than his comments about Michelle Obama" did you not understand? And even then, those comments really were nothing.

Quote :

"What is a non-biased way of saying "Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy?""

maybe just say "the bush tax cuts" unless you are specifically talking about the ones that people were talking about letting expire.

Quote :

"Hell, there was a debate as to whether or not a group of muslims should be allowed to build a community center within a couple blocks of the WTC site."

actually, no, there really wasn't. There was discussion about whether it was a good idea or whether it was irreverent.

10/26/2010 10:58:50 PM

Nitpick:
"Bush's tax cuts for the wealthy?"
I don't know of any such tax on the wealthy. All I know of is a tax on those with high declared incomes. The two are often not correlated.

10/27/2010 2:19:19 AM

Quote :

"maybe just say "the bush tax cuts" unless you are specifically talking about the ones that people were talking about letting expire."

Exactly. Specifically, the cuts for the wealthy are at issue, not the whole of the Bush tax cuts.

10/27/2010 9:03:06 AM

Quote :

"I liked Jon Stewart's line "You picked a fight with Fox News? NPR, you just brought a tote bag of David Sedaris books to a knife fight."

lol

10/27/2010 10:50:49 AM

Anyone else catch that DADT throw-down? Some woman called in a whole debate prepared about why gays should be banned from the military. It ended up coming down to "Your study is flawed" - "No, YOUR study is flawed"

10/27/2010 1:10:12 PM

^I didn't hear it, but I hate it when that happens!

On gay issues, I refuse to go into the "scientific study" zone. Opponents can present studies all they want, but I just repeatedly assert that it's a matter of basic human rights, and there's nothing that can outweigh that.

10/28/2010 11:28:59 AM

It was on yesterday's The State of Things (The State of Gay Rights) and its available on the wunc website. I was surprised Frank Stasio let her rant for so long on air and even tried to seriously argue with her.

10/28/2010 4:04:48 PM

speaking of not being biased, how about calling 'pubs who don't agree w/ climate change "deniers" on air, even going so far as to call them "flat-earthers." that's really fucking un-biased, right?

10/28/2010 6:11:06 PM

NPR didn't call them flat earthers, you're taking it out of context

10/28/2010 6:13:27 PM

they effectively did. they gave no attempt to allow conservatives to rebut anything they said. again, great lack of bias there

10/28/2010 6:14:10 PM

The did the same thing on cap and trade, but you didn't catch it because you're a partisan bitch.

10/28/2010 6:15:55 PM

they did what on cap and trade?

10/28/2010 6:17:12 PM

see what I mean?

10/28/2010 6:18:07 PM

what is the "SAME THING" they did on cap and trade, troll.

10/28/2010 6:25:55 PM

one was a tactic being used against democrats, the other was being used against republicans

10/28/2010 6:50:00 PM

i saw no such thing. maybe you would care to elaborate how something similar to equating republicans to Holocaust Deniers was done as well to Democrats.

10/28/2010 7:05:31 PM

they called them "holocaust deniers"? you are ridiculous.

10/28/2010 7:07:55 PM

no, but the term "deniers" is obviously an allusion to holocaust deniers, as has been noted by many people before. i mean jesus, it's like you aren't even trying to discuss anything. so, AGAIN, where did they equate democrates to something horribly distasteful?

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 7:10 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2010 7:09:26 PM

I listened to the piece, they certainly didn't imply that anyone was/like a holocaust denier. You are a partisan fucktard.

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 7:10 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2010 7:10:39 PM

troll on 18 wheeeeler, troll oooonnnn

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 7:11 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2010 7:10:56 PM

APPARENTLY THE WORD "DENY" NEVER EXISTED BEFORE 1945

10/28/2010 7:12:34 PM

and apparently no one on the aGW side has used the word "deny" to conflate those who disagree with them with Holocaust deniers, you fucking troll

10/28/2010 7:13:58 PM

you should call me a troll again, maybe it will make your fucktarded claim less fucktarded.

10/28/2010 7:16:47 PM

you should use the word "fucktard" more instead of supporting your original claim that they did something equally dastardly to Democrats, troll

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 7:23 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2010 7:23:03 PM

Quote :

"troll"

Well you said it again and your argument is still just as stupid, sorry it didn't work out.

10/28/2010 7:37:08 PM

you make me so wet, Kris

10/28/2010 8:06:39 PM

you nigger me so nigger, aaronburro

[Edited on October 28, 2010 at 9:02 PM. Reason : ]

10/28/2010 9:02:29 PM

I love pissing contests. They're just so poignant and meaningful.

10/28/2010 9:19:30 PM

Kris, you're more likely to convince us to become communists than to believe that NPR isn't left-leaning.

Shit, you're more likely to convince us that you fart gold, than to believe that NPR isn't left-leaning.



(NPR is left-leaning. Period. I can't believe anyone is stupid enough to assert otherwise...)

10/28/2010 9:34:33 PM

well for one i do fart gold, but I wasn't trying to say that NPR isn't left leaning, I had listened to the story aburrido was talking about and I don't think there was any kind of implicit attacks on the right.

10/29/2010 2:00:32 AM

Quote :

"well for one i do fart gold"

That must hurt.

10/29/2010 2:03:12 AM

NPR talk shows are left-leaning.
NPR news reporting is not left-leaning.

10/29/2010 9:07:54 AM

NPR is certainly left of Fox & their radio personalities. But they aren't as far left as Air America was, or Democracy radio is, or Clear Channel's Progressive Talk stations are, or America Left radio (XM) is, or a lot of MSNBC's evening politicos line up is. (not familiar with some of those groups, just pulling from wiki).

And I've noticed times when they haven't given the socially liberal positions a fair shake over the years. But I don't take that as a sign of them being biased one way or another. I think they often aim for center by aiming for whatever is popularly considered moderate at the time, rather than aiming for accuracy so they get the facts wrong on both sides a good deal. Also, their breaking news tends to be reading AP reports from the previous week, errors and all.

(I'm not trying to be hyper-critical, I think they do have many merits, & I do listen to them from time to time, but oh god, when will they stop with the individual sob stories... I get that interviewing some random person with a life story to tell is a cheap way to produce content, but "The Story" in particular really ought to shake it up some times)

10/29/2010 9:42:00 AM

Kinda funny how NPR is being slammed as some radical liberal mouthpiece when their most popular show is Car Talk.

10/29/2010 11:10:12 AM

^ It is important to keep in mind which shows NPR is merely rebroadcasting, Car Talk is actually a produce of WBUR in Boston which would keep making the show even if NPR dropped it, and which shows NPR is actually responsible for, which are far more left leaning.

10/29/2010 11:25:46 AM

Can you name 4 or 5 of these far more left leaning shows?

10/29/2010 11:36:36 AM

^
The Story
The Diane Rehm Show
The People's Pharmacy
This American Life
Talk Of The Nation (sometimes)
Sound Opinions (sometimes)

Quote :

"....how NPR is being slammed as some radical liberal mouthpiece"

Where?
I thought the debate was over NPR being slightly left-leaning, not that it's a "radical liberal mouthpiece."

10/29/2010 11:47:40 AM

some people mistake intelligence with liberalism, it's understandable

10/29/2010 12:21:38 PM

^^Diane Rehm is a given, but can you describe what is left-leaning about those other shows?

10/29/2010 12:51:30 PM

Okay, let's take a serious look at this here. This is WUNC's schedule which is safe to say a better populated format than other NPR stations I've heard (My sample size being from our coast to Nashville). And let's actually discuss this notion of predominant liberal bias in their programming.

Monday-Friday
5:00AM - Morning Edition
6:00AM - Morning Edition
7:00AM - Morning Edition
8:00AM - Morning Edition - Given that it's a news broadcast you'd have a hard time pointing to bias
9:00AM - BBC Newshour - Does the BBC have a liberal bias or are they just silly Brits that we don't get?
10:00AM -The Diane Rehm Show
11:00AM - The Diane Rehm Show - Conversations about current events with a variety of guests and opinions. Hard to find bias here.
12:00AM - The State of Things - He talked about the Greensboro sit-in anniversary. Must be a raging liberal. (But not really)
1:00PM - The Story - The subject matter tends to skew towards a more liberally minded audience, so we'll chalk that up as liberal.
2:00PM - Talk of the Nation - I am usually asleep at this time so someone will need to help me out here. I do love me some Science Friday though and you'd have a hard time convincing me they were liberal (oh noe's they might talk about the benefits of stem cell research!)
3:00PM - The World - Another BBC production so any prejudice would apply here as well
4:00PM - All Things Considered
5:00PM - All Things Considered
6:00PM- All Things Considered - Discussions about current events and the like. It's news with some opinion tossed in so we'll toss it in the liberal bin unless someone has a strong case otherwise. (Because we all know that All Tech Considered is really a Socialist government plot)
6:30PM - Marketplace - My personal crack addiction. I would challenge anyone to say this show was bias in any way. Yes, they occasionally do segments discussing environmental issues but that alone doesn't make them tree-hugging hippy liberals, sorry.
7:00PM - Fresh Air - Liberal
8:00PM - The Story (repeat)
9:00PM - The State of Things (repeat)
10:00PM - BBC
11:00PM - BBC
Midnight - BBC
1:00AM - BBC
2:00AM - BBC
3:00AM - BBC
4:00AM - BBC
5:00AM - BBC - It's the BBC World Service. Monotone British folks sit and read the news in 30min segments along with football and cricket scores. A few interesting stories here and there but otherwise just news. But it's the BBC so some wingnuts find liberal bias just not enough for my metric.

Saturday
5:00 AM - BBC
6:00 AM - The State of Things (Likely repeat)
7:00 AM - The People's Pharmacy - Unless putting Vick's Vapor Rub on your feet when you're sick is a vast liberal conspiracy on par with fluoride in drinking water (looking at you, Sharron Angle) then you'd be daft to claim bias here)
8:00 AM - NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday
9:00 AM - NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday
10:00 AM - NPR's Weekend Edition Saturday - Not terribly familiar with this program. If I recall correctly it's various news stories.
11:00 AM - Car Talk - No way in hell there's bias here.
12:00 PM - Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me - Hilarious news quiz game show. They make fun of everyone so don't get your panties in a bunch and cry liberal bias.
1:00 PM - This American Life - We'll say it's liberal, sure.
2:00 PM - R.I.P. Weekend America *tear* - Whad'ya Know Radio Hour - A very funny radio game show. Their lack of bias is well reasoned and anyone who says otherwise is itching for a fight.
3:00 PM - Sound Opinions - No chance of bias unless you consider their reporting when the RIAA does something else moronic.
4:00 PM - Marketplace Money - Similar to the daily Marketplace there is little chance of bias here. Hell, if anything they profess economic conservatism!
5:00 PM - All Things Considered - Already tossed in the liberal bin but just barely.
6:00-7:00 PM - A Prairie Home Companion - Garrison Keillor is indoctrinating our youth through bluegrass music and rhubarb pie.
8:00PM - Midnight - Back Porch Music - Them liberal banjos are out of control!
Midnight - 6:00AM - BBC World Service

Sunday
6:00AM - The Story (repeat) - Still liberal
7:00AM - Marketplace Money - Still not liberal
8:00 - 9:00AM - NPR's Weekend Edition Sunday - Still don't know either way
10:00AM - Car Talk - But there was that guy who had a problem with his Prius just last week so they MUST be liberal...
11:00AM - Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me - I hear Carl Kasell only leaves a message on liberal answering machines.
12:00PM-2:00PM - A Prairie Home Companion - Guy Noir, Private Eye Liberal
3:00PM - The Splendid Table - Do I even need to comment? I mean seriously.
4:00PM - The People's Pharmacy - They aren't just liberal, they are straight up communist! I mean how can you not be with a title like THE PEOPLE'S Pharmacy?
5:00PM - On the Media - Another of my personal favorites and as much as they try and cover the media from all sides even I will unapologeticly admit they have a liberal bias.
6:00PM - The best in Public Radio Documentary - I have no idea what this is. *shrug*
7:00PM - Fresh Air Weekend - Probably still liberal
8:00- 11:00PM - Back Porch Music - There go them liberal banjos again!
11:00PM - Thistle & Shamrock - Damn hippies! (But not really)
Midnight - 5:00AM - BBC World Service

So let's tally this up here:
If my figurin' is correct that's 168 broadcast hours with 33.5 of those being from what I would consider liberal sources. That's only 19.94%. Hardly the bastion of left-wing radical socialist George Soros extremists that Faux News and their sheep would have you believe.

10/29/2010 12:57:04 PM

^

Quote :

"Hardly the bastion of left-wing radical socialist George Soros extremists that Faux News and their sheep would have you believe."

Sure, but all I was asserting was that it's at least somewhat left-leaning. And it is.

10/29/2010 1:01:51 PM

Quote :

"Where?"

You don't listen to Hannity or watch O'Reilly do you?

Quote :

"The People's Pharmacy"

Really? REALLY?!?! WTF? I really want to hear an explanation for this one.

Quote :

"Diane Rehm is a given"

Let's just pretend that it is. That only brings it up to 25.59% still no where near close to being able to cry Liberal bias!!!1

10/29/2010 1:03:08 PM

I must not listen to The Story often enough. Its always someone whining about how hard their life is, or telling a personal success story, or sharing a funny story. None of those things strike me as political. They don't really strike me as interesting either. Which gets back to my original problem of not listening to it often enough to maybe not be in the know.

10/29/2010 1:07:41 PM