Sunday, January 11, 2009

Q Tips

NPR related comments welcomed.
Posted by Mytwords at 6:58 PM
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13 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ugghhh. According to Cokie and Inskeep, Obama is now no different than George W. Bush. Please remove these jokers from the air, they are so sure that we believe whatever crap they throw at us.

1/12/09, 6:22 AM
Anonymous said...

That Obama will follow Bush policies because, darn it, they were just that good, seems to be the Bush Legacy Project talking point of the day. Kristol is saying the same thing in the Times this morning. I'm glad Cokie got the memo.

1/12/09, 7:00 AM
Anonymous said...

Propaganda piece on letting the US automobile industry fail, providing a very slanted view of the British experience this morning. DISGUSTING.

1/12/09, 10:19 AM
Anonymous said...

follow up... What makes NPR think that Rob Gifford, who holds a BA in Chinese Studies from Durham University, UK, and an MA in Regional Studies (East Asia) from Harvard University, and who spent six years as NPR's correspondent in Beijing, has any qualifications whatsoever to report on the state of the UK auto industry? And to draw conclusions for Detroit? (I'm also struck once again by the sheer number of NPR reporters and hosts who are from Harvard or Yale.)

1/12/09, 10:32 AM
Anonymous said...

Hmm, would you be the same Anonymous previously struck by the "sheer number" of Jews on the air? Just wondering.

1/12/09, 1:29 PM
Porter Melmoth said...

I lived in the UK for a time, when the British auto industry was really faltering. BBC and other media coverage of the situation was extensive. I must say, I didn't really find Gifford's statements particularly out of order on that subject. Any reporter worth his/her salt should be able rustle up some credible info in order to speak with some viability, no matter what their degrees are, I should think.

1/12/09, 2:21 PM
Porter Melmoth said...

When I heard Missy Block introduce a segment about the US Army's NEXT WAR preparedness, I knew a great NPR tradition was being kept up.

J.J. 'Kiefer' Sutherland guided us in his stenographic tour through the Mojave (which to him is JUST LIKE Afghanistan!) with purple-prosed praise. JJ reports that the Army's currently pretty tuckered, but they'll be ready for any war, whether the New Colder War, or another Baghdad BBQ, by 2010. I’m relieved that that’s settled. To keep us safe, and all.

I was reminded of Lesley Stahl on '60 Minutes' a few months back, fashionably high-heeling it in the sands of Saudi Arabia, goshing and gollying at the new mega-drilling projects afoot, to keep us in internal combustion in perpetuity. Aramco needs propaganda, too.

NPR gets its collective rocks off on action-packed warfare, pure and simple. That's a proven track record.

Promise: when the next war is fought, NPR WILL BE READY.

1/12/09, 6:40 PM
Anonymous said...

Just sent this to the NPR Ombusperson about their coverage of the Clinton hearings today:

I was not surprised, but still deeply disappointed, by the commenters chosen for this important event.

As always, NPR chose its commenters from among the usual suspects -- first, the failed foreign policy establishment, which set us up for 9/11, at least acquiesced in the Iraq debacle, and takes a profoundly amoral but still incompetent approach to foreign affairs, and second, the corporate press, which has completely failed at every level over and over when accurate and honest reporting was needed.

Most of the American people support the antiwar movement, but even its most prestigious voices, like Noam Chomsky, or the leaders who have brought millions into action and forced the antiwar position into respectability, like Leslie Cagan, are never given an opportunity to comment on foreign policy on NPR (or, of course, on the corporate media in general). In fact, no one who represents the position of our first President, George Washington, that our foreign policy should be based on neutrality and morality, is ever heard from -- except, ironically, today when Sen. Clinton, who does not believe it, quoted Jefferson to this effect.

NPR continues to be complicit in ensuring that we do not have a public debate about the fundamentals of foreign policy. You ignore the majority opinion not only of your listeners, but of the American people, the people of the world, and our Founders. Shame on you.

1/13/09, 9:58 AM
Unknown said...

Larry, I'm afraid your note is to the No-shame Pandering Reporters as the Constitution is to Bush - "just a piece of paper".

1/13/09, 3:39 PM
Anonymous said...

Mara Liasson on ATC today fluffing Bush.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99117381

1/13/09, 4:22 PM
Anonymous said...

You gotta love the NPR Stimulus Pitch!

http://www.current.org/pbpb/documents/stimulus-request-Jan09.pdf

1/13/09, 6:12 PM
Anonymous said...

TWO PENTAGON PUFFERS TODAY 1/13/2009

Dear Sir or Madam,

It was a banner day today at National Pentagon Propaganda Radio. We got not one but two Pentagon PR puff-pieces - one during morning drive time and even more blatant crap on the way home.
Morning Edition: Military Girds To Provide Inauguration Day Security by Mary Louise Kelly
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99269641

ATC: West Point Revamps Curriculum As Threats Change by Tom Bowman
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=99303154
Do you really think the stomachs of your listeners do not turn hearing this blatant propaganda B.S.? I mean, you are smart (not to mention educated) people, right? Or what?

What makes any editor at NPR think this kind of stuff is journalism?

There should be a disclaimer: "Warning - for those of you who do not care to listen to garbage Pentagon talking points, please tune in for the next few minutes to a more unbiased (or at least transparent) news source - like maybe Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity..."

I'm not kidding, and that's what is so pathetic.

And it's ridiculous that the NPR ombudsman will not address the question: "Who at NPR comes up with the propagandistic, puff-piece military story ideas?" The frequency of these type of stories has suggested (for years now) to your listeners that there must be a fast-track for these pieces. And the embarrassing and blatant stuff keeps coming. Why?

Sincerely,

Benoit Balz
New York, NY

1/13/09, 7:08 PM
Buzztree said...

To Steve, While I've long since given up on anything Cokie or Inskeep has to say, and they're coming from a very different place than I am, on the question of whether Obama is no different from Bush -- on the important issues, I must say, I agree.

1/14/09, 6:14 AM

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