NPR news is leaning heavily into criticism

[wnylib]

of Fetterman in last night's debate, saying that Democrats are reassessing their ability to win in PA due to Fetterman's "obvious" difficulty in speaking. They sounded so upbeat in reporting on this that I half expected to hear the report end with "Yay Oz."

What are other media saying?

[getagrip_already]

1. npr news is a sad decayed corpse of what it once was......

It is decidedly right wing in many of it's pieces. while the longer coverage pieces tend to be more netral, the news pieces are very lopsided, or at least they were when I stopped listening.

There is still some good analysis, but sadly, the news is as bad as any right wing rag.

[wnylib]

11. Agree. I only listen because my local stations are

right wing. I get NPR from Buffalo.

They do, at least, consistently agree that the claim that Trump won in 2020 is the Big Lie and they do call J6 am insurrection. But they also favor establishment Republicans in many of their programs. On Point, with Mehgna Ckakrabardi, is the worst. She attacks Dems openly, or with snarky, biased twists repeatedly. Never criticizes Republicans other than Trump.

But there are a few good analysis programs left on NPR. Terry Gross (Fresh Air) is one of them. For NYers, they also carry a NY state political program each evening which reports on political events in the state.

The Buffalo NPR station, WBFO, has a local daily week day program that runs in the morning and repeats in the evening, called What's Next? It began after the May 14 massacre at Tops market. It is a voice for Blacks in Buffalo to discuss healing and local as well as national changes necessary for the safety, equality, and prosperity of African Americans. As a white person, I gain knowledge and insight from listening to it.

They also give good coverage of current Native American issues, history, and culture.

But, their Morning Edition is usually empty fluff that subtly supports the establishment right. On Point is so disgustingly to the right that I won't listen to it at all. All Things Considered varies from unbiased to the right, depending on the topic.

[Mad_Machine76]

17. They really started to slide during the Bush 2 years

and have never really recovered. Sad, really. I was really into it for awhile and then it seemed to get more and more right-wing slanted.

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. NPR has been pushing the red wave sweep for two goddamn

Years. Lately they have been featuring softball interviews with right wing nutcases like Ralph Reed.

It was bound to be lose lose for Fetterman with that debate and that's why all the bastards pushed for it. Now they can all click their tongues about it. Fetterman was a goddamn champ hero to do that I think people realize that. Fuck that Mara Liasson and the rest of those do nothing pieces of shit beltway critics.

[Orrex]

3. NPR predicated a 2022 GOP landslide before Biden had finished his inauguration speech

And they really haven’t let up on that narrative.

I know that some defenders will tell me that I haven’t been hearing what I’ve been hearing for 2 1/2 years, but I don’t care. NPR is, in its way, as dutiful a servant of the GOP as Fox News.

[Demsrule86]

5. NPR is now MAGA...I used to listen all the time...now I never do.

[Orrex]

37. Their long-format programming is still terrific

But their signature news programs have really gotten good at carrying water for Republicans.

[iemanja]

25. One could make that prediction about any off season election

because that is historically what has happened.

[Orrex]

36. One could, but why the fuck would one?

Especially if one purports to be a news organization, and one frames the story in terms of "widespread dissatisfaction with Democrats and their policies" on the first day?

For the record, I don't believe that NPR catapulted that same propaganda with such zeal when Republicans controlled the Congress.

[gratuitous]

4. But Oz's inclusion of state legislators in a person's health care decisions gets a full pass

I keep hearing about this liberal media. Anyone have any ideas on where it can be found?

[doc03]

6. They are not alone so is MSNBC and CNN.

[onecaliberal]

7. Oz wants politicians to lord over my life, that's what I heard.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

8. What a bullshit thread.

NPR is a national treasure.

[Patterson]

10. Not anymore.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

12. Dead wrong.

[wnylib]

18. What a BS post. NPR's corporate sponsors

give an establishment right wing influence to many of their programs now.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

19. Ridiculous nonsense.

Do you actually listen to NPR?

[wnylib]

20. I listen so often that I have the schedule of

WBFO (Buffalo NPR) memorized.

Open your eyes - or ears in this case.

ON EDIT: See my #11.

(And check out what other DU posters say here.)

[Just A Box Of Rain]

21. My ears are open. NPR reporting is world class.

[wnylib]

22. Go back and look at my edit comment.

[Treefrog]

29. Agree.

Apparently the OP has not read the many comments posted here about the debate.

[Orrex]

38. You seem not to have listened to it for the past 15 years or so

I hear it a couple of hours each day as I drive from one job site to another, and the criticism posted here is exactly spot-on.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

39. Dead wrong. I listen daily.

The criticism could not be more false.

NPR is a national treasure. First rate reporting.

[Orrex]

40. LOL Not the flagship programs

Not Morning Edition or All Things Considered, which both have been pitching softballs to Republicans since early in the W administration (at least) while happily taking Democrats to task.

But whatever. I'm sure that the programming that you pretend to hear is real, while the programming that I hear is imaginary.


Who are you trying to impress? If you're part of their social media outreach program, you should tell them to reallocate their resources internally and stop trying to convince people that they aren't hearing what they're absolutely hearing.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

41. Trying to impress? Are you kidding here???

I don't give a flip.

Coming at me with bogusly invented accusations on ulterior motives on my part tells me all I need to know about you and your affinity to the truth.

Goodbye!

[Orrex]

42. That sure was a lot of words to say that you can't back up your claims

Goodbye indeed. I saw through your shtick from your first post, and nothing you posted since then challenges my initial impression.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

43. Nah, you just make up instituting and untrue accusations

and reveal yourself in the process.

[Orrex]

46. No, that's not it

Keep trying though. Someone's bound to believe your nonsense sooner or later.

[Just A Box Of Rain]

48. My nonsense?

You accused me of being a mole of NPR's stealth social media campaign. LOL

Do you think that make you seem like credible judge of reality?

[brooklynite]

9. So, no NPR, no CNN, no MSNBC, no Washington Post, no New York Times...

....where are you getting news that's actually investigated by reporters?

[Just A Box Of Rain]

13. Common Dreams, Young Turks? LOL

[Geechie]

16. This for starters (besides DU of course):

[link:https://floridaphoenix.com|]

“The Phoenix is part of States Newsroom, a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit supported by grants and a coalition of donors and readers.” Partners in most states, especially important in the red state hellscape many of us live in.

[link:https://statesnewsroom.com|]

[brooklynite]

47. No New York, No California, No Texas...

Well, nothing much happens there.....

[Geechie]

49. True, but several of the locals have national correspondents and

it’s free to subscribe - they mostly operate on donations and grant money ..

[BlueCheeseAgain]

23. I know, right?

[mopinko]

14. trolls are heavy on twitter today.

[Patterson]

15. Does anyone have a contact address of them?

I’ve looked it up but keep misplacing it.

[d_b]

24. Good

I hope republicans waste another 100 million on that seat before Election Day.

[Coventina]

26. I stopped taking them seriously when Cokie Roberts was fellating Bush Jr every day.

I will never send them money ever again.

[wnylib]

31. I have not donated to them for 5 years but

I still get solicitation letters from them.

I recently wrote a letter ecplaining why I will not donate any more and asking them to take me off their mailing list. Have not printed it yet because I am letting it sit a while to see if I want to make any changes. Then I will print it and mail it back to them with their solicitation letter.

[llmart]

45. Same here.

That's about the time I stopped listening to them also.

[Treefrog]

28. Have you read any threads about the debate from last night?

What people have said here is much worse than what I've heard from MSM. I assume people here are not slanted rw.

I have read "political malpractice" to let him debate.

Also, "he's not doing well", "secondhand embarrassment", "difficult to watch"...and much more.

I read all that here.

[wnylib]

30. I read a newspaper article about the debate.

It was in a Pennsylvania newspaper, the Erie Times, in Erie, PA. Their reporting was pretty fair. They pointed out that Fetterman brought up the stroke as "the elephant in the room" and that he stumbled a few times, but got his message across. They also reported that his doctor says that he is fully capable of holding office. They mentioned Oz's remarks about abortion including local politicians. I think it's important that a PA newspaper was fair in their coverage. Erie is a Democratic city, although not as solidly as when I lived there.

[Treefrog]

32. So you didn't read any of the posts here on DU?

Many were quite harsh.

[wnylib]

34. Yes, I have read threads here. Go back to my PS addition (#33)

to my earlier post.

[wnylib]

33. PS. Yes, I have read threads here and have

noticed that most of them that that are not supportive seem disappointed and concerned about the effect on the votes. Not the same as a news station focusing on the negatives without counter balance.

The posts that are blatantly negative about Fetterman? I consider the source and check their profile, which tells me a little about them.

[senseandsensibility]

35. I am all for media criticism on this site

and NPR is far from the liberal bastion it used to be. However, it's been rightwing for decades now and cheerled us into the invasion of Iraq. Really, they've been horrible for a very long time.

[Genki Hikari]

44. They've been right wing for decades now

I quit listening AND donating after the Bag and Hag (Diane Rehms and Barbara Haggerty) went way--WAY--out of their way to trash John Kerry. The Hag was also notorious for trashing those who weren't jeebus-humpers. Turned out she belonged to some group within her faith of media journalists who had signed up to promote her religion at all costs.

NPR kept her on despite protests. And that's when I stopped donating. I had been a contributor since I had become an adult over 20 years before that, and I had even volunteered at their begathon fundraisers.

Not one cent or second of my time went to them ever again--and I told them why.