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Dear NPR,
My profile appeared for over two years at NPR.org, where I made many relevant, uncensored comments on news pieces and was recommended by other NPR members. This week, following a spate of respectful but critical comments I made about NPR’s lack of Occupy coverage (covering OWS belatedly; covering it from the police and corporate perspective; emphasizing violence rather than the legitimate issues the movement involves), NPR pulled my profile. I was not told why my profile was removed, nor was I given an opportunity to rectify anything that might have been problematic about my profile. Suddenly, my comments ‘are being moderated’. And NPR’s ombudsman is not returning my emails enquiring why my profile was removed, nor giving me any information on how to fix my profile so I may again participate as part of the NPR community.
Naturally, this made me wonder whether NPR was in fact squelching me because NPR is against Occupy.
I’m not wondering anymore. Apparently, NPR had an affiliate fired for just participating in Occupy. Here’s the link: http://warisacrime.org/content/npr-gets-producer-fired-occupying
Apparently, NPR is a community I no longer need to be part of, bought and paid for by the 1%. I’m with the 99%, NPR, and you supposedly were, too. Shame on you for sullying the one mainstream news source that represented the people. Shame.
Sincerely,
Duana C. Welch
Duana C. Welch, Ph.D.
LoveScience
http://www.LoveScienceMedia.com
10 Comments
This is the letter I sent to NPR.org’s media relations arm (or should I say tentacle?) this morning. I never thought to have to send such a letter to what seemed the last of the ‘fair and balanced’ mainstream news sources.
If you want to send your own letter, or call NPR, they can be reached at 202-513-2300 or mediarelations@npr.org.
Recommended.
Recommended. And thank you for speaking up and out about this.
As they say, long time reader first time poster. To cut to the chase, yes, NPR has been part of the 1% for a long time. It isn’t hard to see, just look at their sponsors over the years, it’s been a rogue’s gallery of the worst of corporate America. Fact.org and NPR Check have been documenting the pro corporate,pro banksters, pro military, anti union, anti teacher, anti little person bias at NPR for quite some time. It’s been a relief to find other sources of information on the internet, listening to NPR is just crazy making now. It could easily turn into a rant, but I’d end up saying nothing that hasn’t been said and better by others.
It’s interesting to watch when people discover that NPR hasn’t been a “liberal” news outlet in years. For me, it was the run up to the Iraq War. For others, I gather it goes as far back as Iran-Contra or the 2000 election. Here is a link to NPR Check: http://www.nprcheck.blogspot.com/
Update:
Only after I sent the above letter did NPR’s ombudsman respond to my former email. The response said that my profile had been pulled because it had violated the rule against having one’s email listed, but that NPR has now reinstated my profile with no changes. The timing, combined with the fact that NPR didn’t actually have me change anything, tells me this really was about my vocal support for the 99%–and NPR’s lack thereof.
A friend of mine who writes for NPR says NPR is internally circulating a denial of the story about firing an affiliate for OWS participation on her own time. However, they are not backing it up with any facts, such as a denial on the part of the affiliate station.
Bottom line is that NPR’s treatment of OWS, combined with the information kindly provided by the link from Native Kentuckian, above, and experiences like mine, have put me on red alert regarding the state of even our trusted news sources. They do rather seem to serve the 1%.
The denial is here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thisisnpr/2011/10/20/141548554/correcting-media-inaccuracies
Ironically (until it is pulled) it follows the post in which they say they are “seriously concerned” about a freelancer who exercises freedom of speech. Just click on “previous post” at the bottom of the post and you can read the first statement also – for now.
I go back to the Reagan years, but in comparison to now, the 1980s were halcyon days for NPR being somewhat “fair and balanced.” One thing that really did it was Gingrich’s contract on America, a small part of which was to go after NPR to make it way more unfair and unbalanced ala the corporatist mode of Fox.
It’s been a downhill slide ever since, and it’s picked up steam since Obama was elected, I feel.
I rarely ever tune in bc most times when I do, I end up with my blood boiling over how rightwing and unbalanced the “nooz” is. Who needs it??
As you say: look at the corporate doners, and you see who calls the shots at NPR.
The sooner the US public realizes that NPR is yet another corporate mouthpiece, the better. It’s just propoganda said in more educated words. BAH!
National Pentagon Radio
National Propoganda Radio
It’s not even “Nice Polite Republicans” anymore, as there is no longer anything nice or polite about it. ptoui!
I stopped donating years and years ago. Waste.
The tactic of website managers of pulling one’s profile is a spooky one. The fact that this came up suddenly after you posted critical comments, rather than previously when your profile and posts were apparently fine, is pretty suggestive of chicanery.
It’s good that you wrote them.
I stopped crying for them awhile ago…but it’s still sad.
Even if NPR had not become just another tool of corporate interests, their programming is now made up almost exclusively of sports, entertainment puff pieces and just a few stories that might actually be thought of as “news” and these only when the sources are already tacitly approved by their appearance in the mainstream media. A quick stop to any number of alternative news web sites would keep real investigative reporters busy for years. NPR no longer goes anywhere near anything that might resemble real controversy.
The fact that they have the gall to continue to ask for money for what is essentially a commercially supported and controlled enterprise still astonishes me.
The Simeone story has backfired for NPR; you can read NPR’s version of Simeone’s firing here: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/10/21/141603820/npr-world-of-opera-split-over-hosts-role-in-protests?ps=cprs The interesting part is not only NPR’s back-pedaling and attempts to justify the unjustifiable, but also the comments afterwards.
Ultimately, NPR admitted there had been *no* flaw in my profile; their pulling it was ‘an oversight’; I had done nothing wrong.
Well, I hadn’t, but NPR had. Which leads me to my question. What do you all think we should do about this? Complain to NPR? Abandon NPR? Serve as watchdogs to force NPR’s hand toward the 99%? Other solutions?