Rising Hegemon
In one of the great under-told media success stories of the past decade, NPR has emerged not as the bespectacled schoolmarm of our imagination but as a massive news machine poised for what Dick Meyer, editorial director for digital media, half-jokingly calls “world domination.” NPR’s listenership has nearly doubled since 1999, even as newspaper circulation dropped off a cliff. Its programming now reaches 26.4 million listeners weekly — far more than USA Today’s 2.3 million daily circ or Fox News’ 2.8 million prime-time audience. When newspapers were closing bureaus, NPR was opening them, and now runs 38 around the world, better than CNN. It has 860 member stations — “boots on the ground in every town” that no newspaper or TV network can claim.
I know that NPR is often called "commie radio" by Rush's brigade of halitosian mouth-breaters, which is laughable (see Roberts, Cokie). It is often infuriatingly milquetoast radio, but it is at least that and it has issue depth that freeptards do not know is even capable of existing.
via Balloon Juice.
13 comments:
Yeah, $200 million bucks can make you feel like Mayor McCheese.
I have to turn off the radio when Cokie Roberts comes on. She's the essence of beltway idiocy.
Of course, most of us are familiar with the lefty sneer that NPR stands for "Nice Polite Republicans". I am frequently infuriated by what I perceive to be their center-right slant at the very least. For example, I've noticed that when presenting two sides of an issue, the conservative point goes unchallenged or weakly challenged even if it is factually incorrect, while the progressive point is subjected to multiple attacks often straight from the Repub playbook. "Where will we find the money to pay for health care reform?" "Few people support national health insurance," "Most people are opposed to gay marriage." Sloppy journalism or pushing an agenda, the results are the same.
All that aside, they do present plenty of decent commentary and analysis, orders of magnitude more than the non-Olberman parts of the MSM, and I do tune them in from time to time.
It was at some point in the early aughts (2002-ish if memory serves) that NPR started to pivot in an attempt to lure a younger, broader audience. They've always had their share of fluff stories, but the number of fluff stories increased dramatically and boneheads like Juan Williams and Cokie Roberts started showing up. During the run up to the Iraq war, they were subject to pressure from the Bush administration and GOP Congressional thuggery and threats. NPR pretty much rolled over - although not as far as ABC, CNN, etc - their ass was still in the air. They seem to have recovered a little bit, and I'm glad more people listen to them than Rushbo and Fox combined - but the do let too many important stories fly under the radar in exchange for "The History of Dorittos!" type pieces...
Heh-heh-heh...
"..Rush's brigade of halitosian mouth-breathers"
I'm stealing that one and not giving any credit.
I'm guessing the reason NPR's numbers are getting higher is because there are more people getting into the upper age brackets and have different listening habits. Even been in a car with some teenagers and turn on the radio to hear from the back seat, "Ohhhh! Not NPR again...!"? The shits.
Fine comments all, gang. They do manage to air good "up-by-one's-bootstraps" human interest stories from here and abroad that actually inform. And, yes, Cokie and Juan are as annoying as nails on a blackboard. Pompous jerks, too.
I've been listening to NPR since I "discovered" Bob Edwards in 1984, and PH Companion about the same time. Anymore, I find it less and less likely to turn radio on at all.
NPR news is rarely that different from CNN or NBC, and they have become casual masters of false equivalencies, not to mention consistently quoting conservative misinformation without question. And while there must have been a time when Daniel Shorr had some substance, it is rare that he even demonstrates understanding of issues, much less has something insightful to say. Overall, perhaps about as good as we get from a national source (except Lehrer, which I don't see?), but really quite mediocre.
As someone else commented, to me it's No Problems for Republicans. Every time I turn it on you hear some reich-wing gasbag going on about how Obama is ruining the country, and when the counterpoint comes on--if there even is a counterpoint--the host always says "that's all we have time for!" and that's it. They bend over backwards to avoid being seen as "liberal" by people who hate them anyway. It's useless. I stopped listening/contributing a long time ago and if they happen to call my house I chew the poor kid out and hang up.
i ignore kookie + WAAAAN. i grew up with it when up nort at the family cottage and gave up on top 40.
At least NPR is there, helping carry on our illusion there is a constitutional guarantee of freedom of speech, as long as you can contribute just a little or a lot. vox
The surprises me, because my impression of NPR is that in the last 7-8 years it has totally gone to teh suck. Every time I turn it on, it's hacks like Cokie or the loathesome Moira Liasson or David Fucking Brooks. They even give Doughy Pantload airtime from time to time. So I've stopped giving them money, and hardly ever tune in anymore.
At about the time that NPR tried to force a standard format on all NPR affiliates (classical during the day, interspersed by their network's news programs, jazz after midnight) in the early `80s, the news division made the very conscious decision, in the wake of attacks by Jesse Helms and his ilk, to tailor their broadcasts to the upscale people with money. They greatly increased local/national corporate sponsorship, started devaluing hard news and investigative reporting, and started larding up the newscasts with human interest stories. They were going after the segment of listeners with money, because they needed generous contributors.
The trend started long ago, and has only gotten worse with time. The last in-depth investigative reporting I remember them doing was Daniel Zwerdling's several-part series on the effects of PTSD and the Army's unwillingness to treat them at Ft. Collins, and that was some time ago.
I imagine Bob Edwards is now happy to be gone. I would guess he would have slit his wrists if he had to introduce one more nerfball interview by Juan Williams of Kindasleezza Rice or Shooter.
NPR pandered to the rite during the chimperor and now i think they are just helping the GOP return to health.
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