Posted on 06/29/2005 2:00:36 PM PDT by baystaterebel
Much has been written about media bias by academics and journalists. Like any human endeavor, journalism is an imperfect craft. It is probably unrealistic to expect that any journalistic endeavor can find universal agreement and acceptance.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) funds a significant amount of both public radio and television. Appropriately, in my opinion, CPB needs to know whether the American public values what it funds. CPB commissioned opinion polls from two pollsters -- one from the left and one from the right. (I have never been clear as to how this constitutes credible polling... but that's another column). Both pollsters found, among those surveyed, a high level of public trust in both NPR and PBS. They also found that 20 percent thought that public broadcasting leans to the left and 10 percent say it leans to the right.
(Excerpt) Read more at npr.org ...
Imagine what the world must look like peering through the eyes of the person who thinks NPR has a conservative bias.
who are these pollsters?
I gave up on the bastards at NPR nearly a year ago, cold turkey -- never been happier.
No thank you, such a person should be under institutional control.
Liberals?
If there was no liberal bias at NPR, would liberals listen to it? Or would they be ranting at it, the way they rant at Fox News?
I won't comment on the NPR selection of stories, but I am familiar with the group in Chicago. As a professional square dance caller I have worked for the gay square dance groups in DC and Baltimore. Next week I will call a dance for the group in San Diego. We don't generally agree politically but I am there to sell them an entertainment and there is no advocacy at a dance.
I wake up to NPR every morning, I like the soothing tones to ease my wake up and get any big news that may have happened over night. It is so liberal and biased somedays it blows my mind that they actually have the guts to do it. So that gets me woke up real quick.
The thing that doesn't make sense is the title. People who listen to NPR overtly desire a liberal bias.
OK, but close your eyes after you call "down the center and back."
Apparantly enough Republicans in the House wanted the bias, because the gutless wonders didn't have the you-know-what's to cut their funding. Cowards. Just when you didn't think the GOP Senate could be any more yellow, then came the NPR vote in the House.
That's funny, I listen to NPR for similar reasons. It's a nice respite from the over-commercialized, obnoxious and repetitive aspects of most radio. Plus, our local public stations have some cool music shows and there are other quality things like "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me" (on which P.J. O'Rourke is a regular guest) and "Whattya Know." I usually get the headlines and then turn it off when they do their "analysis." Also, locally (Los Angeles), they have a political show with a left/center/right panel that opines on current events. Some of NPR is tolerable.
In other words, TWICE AS MANY PEOPLE THINK NPR IS LEFT-LEANING versus those who think it it too conservative.
And the other 70 percent of America has never even listened to the channel.
"Both pollsters found, among those surveyed, a high level of public trust in both NPR and PBS."
I stopped right there. Anything from this point on is just going to be cr*p. Unless "among those surveyed" means "among our liberal audience."
Go over to DUland, many over there peer through those kind of eyes.
There is some ostrich-with-head-in-sand, and some dishonesty, in all of this "What liberal bias?" from NPR and the other MSM folks. We just need to keep telling the truth and pointing it out.
I enjoy Brian Lehrer on WNYC in NY. There are so few good Conservative hosts that I listen to NPR frequently, if only to have something to yell and laugh at. Air America is just pathetic. Besides Rush, Levin and Savage, Conservative talk radio is pretty awful. It's a shame, hopefully there are some up and coming superstars. I think Ben Shapiro is great on TV (and books) but not sure if he translates to radio.
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