NPR

[jamil]

Why do you hate Bach, Mozart and Rachmaninoff?

The cool kids are listening to Liszt and Debussy these days. Bach is so 18th century. Mozart is always in style. Rachmaninoff? Pfft. But I do really like Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

Uh, what?


Our local NPR station dropped classical music about the same time I became a member.

Man, I was going to jump in on your side but with you dissing classical music like that, I dunno.

But on the topic, I used to listen to public radio a lot, though not much anymore since deciding my drive time sanity is worth the price for XM Radio. NPR's value depends on your taste I guess. From what I've read, it is mostly sort of listener supported, though about 1/6th of their operating revenue is tax payer funded. That to me is a misuse of government so I'd like to see that ended. If they lost 1/6 of their revenue they'd still exist, and it would be truly listener supported then.

If you listen to the political opinion shows, yes, they are generally from a left of center to far left point of view. I think I can support the statement that NPR stands for National Propaganda Radio, HOWEVER, that is what just about all media has become across the spectrum. Fox News is every bit as propaganda for the right as NPR is for the left. But in our need for confirmation bias we can't bear hearing things that don't confirm our belief. So we perpetuate propaganda by supporting our biased sources. I have liberal family-in-law who can't stand listening to Fox News. Won't believe anything if the source is Breitbart. But they think NPR/PBS/MSNBC/ABC/CBS/NBC/CNN/Daily-Koz/WAPO,HuffPo are middle of the road and trustworthy.

I think instead of allowing our attraction to confirmation bias dictate from where we get information, it's better to listen to many sources and use reason to parse reality from the diverse sources. If we were as fearful and distrusting of confirmation bias as we are opposing opinions I think we'd have a much better informed public than we have. On both sides. And then the media could not dupe us like they do.

That's about all I have to say on NPR.

 

[JettaKnight]

Man, I was going to jump in on your side but with you dissing classical music like that, I dunno.

Hey, I didn't diss anything - THEY changed formats!

 

[jamil]

Hey, I didn't diss anything - THEY changed formats!

Objection withdrawn then.

 

[Libertarian01]

I listen to NPR a lot! I love the Diane Rehm show in the morning, most often the first hour which is usually on political or social stuff and not so much the second hour which can be more artsy-fartsy, although sometimes the second hour is good.

As far as news goes it is less biased in its content. Even with that observation though it does sometimes have certain premise issues. These normally don't start from the NPR moderator but more from the guests. That said, the moderators (including Diane Rehm) do have a left leaning. I just normally think they do a good job of keeping their opinion out of it.

I have called in SEVERAL TIMES when I didn't want a point to go unnoticed. There was a discussion on her show several years ago about Obamacare and I have always said that President Obama is 100% correct that we have severe cost problems with our healthcare industry. No question about it. The problem I have always had is that he is about completely wrong about the solution. They weren't covering this. So I called in and slammed the ACA as a placebo for health care. I said, "I don't care if you pull $500 dollars out of my left pocket and call it a tax or $500 out of my right pocket and call it an insurance premium. The problem is that I am still out $500 and the ACA does nothing to reduce this cost." Diane agreed it was a good point and some of the guests hemmed and hawed about certain small sections meant to reduce costs, but I was pretty well glossed over by them. I knew I would be. I wasn't a guest on there to debate the topic, only to poke a hole in it.

So to me the best thing to listen and call in to make solid points that normal people can relate to. I have often heard from different NPR shows when the cover the topic of gun control that the NRA was invited on and declined to participate. Who's fault is that when the show only gets one side? That is NOT the gun control nuts fault, that is the NRA's fault.

I think a large problem that conservatives have with NPR is that they don't hammer a story. I was watching Sean Hannity the other night while channel surfing and he and his guests were slamming Hillary Clinton for her Emails. She should be slammed for it, but neither Sean Hannity nor his guests brought up one single shred of new information about her. They just slammed her for however many minutes I watched. Nothing new nor useful was brought up. When NPR covers a story they do it with less emotion then move on until more information or a break occurs. No ranting and raving on their part.

So yes, it has a bias, but far less than many other news organizations.

Regards,

Doug

 

[BigBoxaJunk]

It's hard sometimes to listen to some stuff on NPR, especially the "gun violence" stuff. But I listen from time to time.

And, don't anybody be bad-mouthing Click and Clack, the Tappet Brothers.

RIP Tom Magliozzi.

 

[Fred78]

Oh my the Tappet brothers they had a gal on the show that was trading up for a SUV 4 wheel drive and wanted to be sure she could get one with seat heaters because her words she had a cold butt. needless to say the boys had a 20 minute hooting match with that lady

 

[findingZzero]

I have been a Public radio supporter since WFYI was WIAN, and in more than this one state. I will continue to be a supporter, but one thing grates on my sonic receptors like no other. Speaking 'in unison' seems to be a meme in local public radio's history, parodied in the 90's on SNL in the skit Delicious Dish, Schweddy Balls. https://www.google.com/url……. It seems this parody of the local NPR style has been reborn and is ever expanding of late on my favorite local station. Radio is a medium which, at a minimum, should not rankle the ears. Here are the 3 offending simultones (my word) by age. 1. "Whaddlewedooo" (The Art of the Matter"), 2. We are "the Whipstitch Sallies", and lastly, "Native Sons." Those who don't know history, are doomed to repeat it. Ladies and gentlemen of WFYI, I, for one, am embarrassed. I presume, now, you are as well. I rest my case.....

 

[jss1956]

I listen to NPR frequently and often. I listen to Fox frequently and often. Is NPR left leaning? Yep. Is Fox right leaning? Yes it is. I do this as I'm a firm believer that the left is just as full of $%IT as the right and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

As I tell my 20-year-old college sophomore who is getting his fill of liberal BS at school: If you only listen to one point-of-view you will become what you listen to and totally unable to see both sides of the issue. You are then unable to make a rational logical decision. Then you do really stupid things: Like vote.

 

[jamil]

I listen to NPR frequently and often. I listen to Fox frequently and often. Is NPR left leaning? Yep. Is Fox right leaning? Yes it is. I do this as I'm a firm believer that the left is just as full of $%IT as the right and the truth is somewhere in the middle.

As I tell my 20-year-old college sophomore who is getting his fill of liberal BS at school: If you only listen to one point-of-view you will become what you listen to and totally unable to see both sides of the issue. You are then unable to make a rational logical decision. Then you do really stupid things: Like vote.

THIS.

 

[whiteoak]

We need to stop funding NPR and PBS...

 

[CarnageRush]

I only listen to Car Talk and America's Test Kitchen.