Posted on 03/12/2011 12:34:13 PM PST by Sub-Driver
NPR Hosts: Employees Here Are 'Overwhelmingly Liberal' - But We're Not Biased By Noel Sheppard Created 03/12/2011 - 2:50pm
By Noel Sheppard | March 12, 2011 | 14:50 Noel Sheppard's picture
In response to this week's shameful exposure of bias at NPR, a couple of its hosts on Friday had an on air discussion about whether or not the radio network does indeed have a political leaning.
Shortly after "On the Media" host Bob Garfield said, "If you were to somehow poll the political orientation of everybody in the NPR news organization and all of the member stations, you would find an overwhelmingly progressive, liberal crowd," Ira Glass of "The American Life" maintained the outlet had no left-wing bias whatsoever (audio follows with partial transcript and commentary):
BROOKE GLADSTONE, ‘ON THE MEDIA’ CO-HOST, NPR: About 25 years ago, I was asked to do a piece, “Is NPR Biased to the Left?” And I couldn’t find a metric to apply to the question in order to answer it.
IRA GLASS, ‘THE AMERICAN LIFE’ HOST, NPR: I don’t know the methodology somebody would use, but I feel like public radio should address this directly, because I think anybody who listens to our stations knows that what they’re hearing is mainstream media reporting. We have nothing to fear from a discussion of what is the news coverage we’re doing.
I couldn’t find a metric. I don’t know the methodology somebody would use.
Maybe that's part of the problem - these so-called journalists don't know how to determine bias in reporting.
How about first taking a look at a week's worth of programming and simply adding up the number of real conservative and liberal guests as well as Republican and Democrat guests? The qualifier "real" means that folks like New York Times columnist David Brooks and former CNN contributor Kathleen Parker don't count because they are by no means conservative.
Despite there being far more ways to measure bias, this would at least be a good start if NPR was serious about doing such an examination.
But the best was yet to come as another host made quite an admission moments later:
GLASS: As somebody who works in public radio, it is killing me that people on the right are going around trying to basically rebrand us saying that it’s biased news, you know, it’s left-wing news, when I feel like anybody who listens to the shows knows that it’s not, and we are not fighting back. We’re not saying anything back. I find it completely annoying, and, and I don’t understand it.
BOB GARFIELD, ‘ON THE MEDIA’ CO-HOST, NPR: Okay, so this gets back to not only Brooke’s problem, finding a metric to report on this story, but it’s especially difficult when you and I both know that if you were to somehow poll the political orientation of everybody in the NPR news organization and all of the member stations, you would find an overwhelmingly progressive, liberal crowd. Not uniformly, but overwhelmingly.
So, according to Garfield, the landscape of all the people that work for and are affiliated with NPR is overwhelmingly liberal. This didn't seem to phase Glass in the slightest:
GLASS: Journalism in general, reporters tend to be Democrats and tend to be more liberal than the public as a whole. Sure. But that doesn’t change what is going out over the air, and I feel like let’s measure the product.
That bears repeating: "[R]eporters tend to be Democrats and tend to be more liberal than the public as a whole...But that doesn’t change what is going out over the air."
Isn't it amazing that liberal media members almost universally believe this fallacy? Despite their political views, who they vote for, and what issues they support, they think they're totally impartial in their reporting.
Glass continued:
GLASS: And you’re saying what’s the metric that we can measure the product on? I’d say, go through this morning’s “Morning Edition” and find me even a sentence that smells like political bias to you. Like, like find one.
Looking at only one program on only one day to determine if an entire radio network is biased is of course absurd, but that wasn't the last inanity uttered by Glass.
After he challenged Garfield and Gladstone to take on the mission of identifying once and for all whether or not NPR is slanted in its reporting, Gladstone marvelously asked, “What if the answer is ‘Yes, NPR has a left-wing bias?’”
Glass quickly responded, “It’s not going to be ‘Yes.’”
Any bias there, Ira?
Ironically, as the segment continued, Gladstone wondered if the answer was "No," would anybody believe it.
And therein lies the rub, for if NPR really wants to seriously make such a determination, it should hire an outside, neutral entity that knows what metrics to use to come to a valid conclusion. Just as importantly, it shouldn't be done by folks that were "overwhelmingly liberal."
Color me very unsurprised this trio didn't think it absurd for an organization filled with liberals to examine itself for liberal bias.
That's akin to the White House doing its own investigation for wrongdoing or impropriety rather than appointing an independent counsel.
Oh. That's right. Liberals do that, too.
NO! Shirley you jest!
Is there anyone on the Left that doesn’t lie?
Please! Cut the funding for “public” broadcasting NOW!
Then the NEA.
Then the entire Dept. of Education (which should NEVER have been a federal branch of anything).
“But We’re Not Biased”
Oh no, of course not-they are totally objective and never express their biases:(
Is it biased if you agree with it?
They have no clue that they are the last to realize that they have no clue. Halitosis is not self evident, either. They think that their breath is sweet but they exhale a rotten pile of putrefaction.
Bet the same people that say Fox news lies.....
With regards to Nina Totenberg saying recently that Juan Williams “should have been fired because as a reporter, he shouldn’t interject personal opinions...”
Nina, how do you reconcile this?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mA41P41lJH4
Step 1-—Defund NPR.
Step 2-—Take NPR’s non-profit status from them.
NPR is a political entity and should not get taxpayer money nor should NPR donors get a tax deduction.
Me think NPR scum bag speak with forked tongue.
Liberal reporters prevent news from being aired. Notice how little ACORN scam got aired on MSM.
It is not only the news that gets aired, it is also the news that does not get aired.
It’s like saying you’re a fag but you don’t date people of the same sex.
I know and have tried to work with liberals (not to be confused with working democrats) they can be the nastiest people with the ugliest hearts you will find anywhere.
Typical leftist double-speak. As I have noted before, I am sure, the real problem is they actually believe what they say. Never trust or depend on a liberal, folks....ever.
JoMa
NPR is the paid media wing of the Democrat party.
> NPR Hosts: Employees Here Are ‘Overwhelmingly Liberal’ - But We’re Not Biased
But it’s an impossibility with Fox.
Actually true unbiased in reporting in the latter case and totally false with the former.
“Glass was born in Baltimore, Maryland, to Barry Glass, an accountant, and Shirley Glass, a psychologist and infidelity researcher. He attended Milford Mill High School in Baltimore County where he was active in student theater. He attended Northwestern University, in Evanston, Illinois,[1] but transferred to Brown University, where he concentrated in semiotics and graduated in 1982.”
Another Ivy League moron.
I think I figured it out. The elitists of the left truly believe that what they are doing is for the benefit of the people, which explains NPR and tax dollars.
bookmark
Uh-uh. That should read:
"In response to this week's exposure of shameful bias at NPR,"
There. Fixed it.
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