The day after Brazil's Presidential election I got an email from a fellow NPR critic in Wisconsin who noted:
"My, my! Yesterday, Brazil just elected its first female president with 56% of the votes and nary a word about it on National Public Radio... nor any mention of it on Wisconsin Public Radio.Brazil is not Palau: it is larger than the continental United States and is the 8th largest economy on earth.Nothing on News on the Hour. Nothing on Morning Edition.Well done, Skippy!"
Ok, I thought - surely NPR is just a working on a more in-depth story on the Brazil election. As the AP reportage on the election points out, not only is Brazil the 8th largest economy, it's predicted to be the 5th largest economy by 2016. But here it is Tuesday evening and - guess what? - NPR has done nothing - ZILCH - on air regarding the Brazilian election. Compare this to the coverage the World Series has garnered on NPR. What gives?
I'm not here to trash sports, I watched the World Series and enjoyed the pitching dominance of the Giants. And speaking of pitching, there was definitely news to cover: Game 3 featured a war criminal, admitted felon and torturer throwing out the ceremonial first pitch - oops, never heard that on NPR. Hmmm, maybe NPR's discomfort with naming torture torture, might explain its shutout of Brazil's presidential election. After all, Brazil's president elect Rousseff was a victim of the US-backed torture regime that ruled Brazil in the 1960s and 1970s. One can see that for NPR it might be hard to talk about Rousseff without mentioning the fact that torture ( I mean enhanced interrogation ) and its export from the US to South America has a long tradition.
NPR's blackout on the seamy role of US foreign policy and global predatory capitalism in South America may also explain why the death of Nestor Kirchner of Argentina also merited such in-depth coverage.
13 comments:
I'd rack it up to good old Amurican jealousy. That is, when something cool happens somewhere else, and it shows up or out-progresses the stodgy USA, the always-insecure MSM does the right thing and plays ignorant.
Cuz when you're 'No.1', nothing else will do.
I for one am quietly exited about the emerging confidence of South America (check out O. Stone's 'South of the Border'). Cautious prediction: perhaps the brakes will be applied to Amazonian degradation - maybe.
You can bet the one Juan left standing (Forero) will be there to present to truth.
It's enough to give a grown Neocon nightmares.
I could be wrong, but I think BBC's The World with aging hipster Marco what's his name had a segment on the Brasilian president. I was a little surprised since I'd heard nothing on All Things Unconsidered.
I suspect "Brazil" strikes too close to home for the work ethic at NPR:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xNnRBksvOU
I'm really glad I found this site. Sometimes I get so pissed off at NPR I feel like setting my radio on fire. Thanks.
^ Then come in more often and vent it out! Did wonders for me since I weaned myself nearly clean off the muck thanks to this keen "support group."
Come ofteh, and vote twice!
(sorry 'bout the typonese & redundancies)
She would have a better chance of being covered on ATC if she was Brazil's largest collector of Michael Jackson memoribilia.
Apparently Rousseff isn’t a fan of our $600B QE2. The nerve of these other countries not following orders like good little children!
“Quantitative Easing” sounds so much more conversational (but maybe more elitist) than “Currency War”.
Hey, how about them Cowboys? Screw Brazil (wasn't she a Gore advisor?) when Wade Goodman can describe how down the Big D is because they 'Boys are like 1-6 or 7 or maybe 1-15, that's unimportant. Abillion dollar stadium? Wonder if good ole boy Wade could dig a little deeper into the financing of that edifice. But why dump more crap on the Big Ders when they have already suffered so much.
edk
Wonder if NPR will score a "conversation" with George "No Regrets" Bush.
edk
^ And conducted on a church pew, for those bonus points on the "trying too hard to look reverent" scorecard.
Seabrook should interview W. She'd remind him of his mother: self-absorbed to the point of oblivion. And her cadence is so decadent - she ought to get honorary dibs on the Harvard of Haves.
Nothing unusual here.
Just a continuation of what NPR does best: avoidance of any issue perceived as "controversial" (ie, that challenges the "official line" (and could affect their bottom line: ability to get funding dollars)
NPR reveals FAR more by what they don't cover than by what they do.
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