Today is my 51st birthday

[1gobluedem]

And the greatest present ever would be for Congress to recognize that funding for public broadcasting isn't a luxury, it's a necessity. The first House budget proposal completely eliminated federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting whose grants are the lifeblood of most local stations, my own included.

If you're a fan of public radio, please visit www.170MillionAmericans.org to find out how you can help Congress get the message about the importance of this funding. I know public broadcasting has its flaws but, in my opinion, we'd be a lot worse off without it.

Thanks!

[Lindsey]

1. Happy Birthday! n/t

[Call Me Wesley]

2. Happy Birthday!

:toast: I hope you're having a wonderful day and countless more to come! :hi:

[MrMickeysMom]

3. Chicken or Egg on that one?

I was (we were, actually) BIG NPR, etc supporters.... but, the underwriting started to slant so much of the news, that I lost the enthusiasm (that, plus the amount of revenue our household could bring in to support public radio).

Shit, I had to just adjust my DU membership down, so, it would seem to me Public Radio could and should do better to win more listenership.

Oh, and Go Blue!

[LisaM]

9. What is ONE example of NPR slanting the news?

I have been listening all day today, and they are offering up an absolute smorgasboard of voices on the events in Egypt. I haven't once heard anyone trying to slant the coverage.

[MrMickeysMom]

15. Good, I'm glad they didn't...

but I can't say it was the same during many pieces that were either puff, or right leaning during the Bush years.

[LisaM]

27. Again, please give an example.

I hate Bush, so any news pertaining to him was maddening, but I don't think NPR slanted coverage of him (other than Juan Williams, whose show was 1) cancelled and 2) wasn't something every station carried). Even then, it was his opinion about the selection that was annoying, not NPR stories.

[MrMickeysMom]

33. Okay, I will

When I say, "slant" to describe the following, you correct me if you think this is not a slant.

One of my favorite non-fictions writers was (Peoples History of the United States, 1492-Present) the late Howard Zinn. He rewrote the history of American from the bottom up, made a lot of people think about the patterns of the past with present. So, NPR in a predictable fashion, "All Things Considered" did a short obituary, but it was slanted. They covered interviews from 3 people: Noam Chomsky, Julian Bond and the radical right-winger David Horowitz. Chomsky and Bond, also left leaning activists, were natural friends of Zinn, therefore, quotes were predictable from them. Horowitz really didn't claim to know Zinn or relate to his views, didn't have any specialized knowledge of him. So, they include the single qualification that he possessed to be included in the interview, which was to be critical. He said, "There is absolutely nothing in Howard Zinn’s intellectual output that is worthy of any kind of respect... “Zinn represents a fringe mentality which has unfortunately seduced millions of people at this point in time. So he did certainly alter the consciousness of millions of younger people for the worse.”

I've listened to NPR since their inception and including opposing points of view in an obit is not common practice. When William F. Buckley Jr., and Oral Roberts or Robert Novak died, they had no opposing "left-wing" person to call any one of those deceased what they were, according to the opposing view.

There are other things, too, Lisa. As an NPR listener and supporter for many, many years, I take the same interest in the "human interest stories" found in programs like Fresh Air and This American Life, and love NPR shows exactly for that. Plus, who doesn't like Saturday morning on most NPR stations? But ATC has gotten very one sided in the sheer number of religious stories surrounding the Catholic Church, and many other Christian faiths WAAAAAY over and above other religions or NON religion, which is my preference.

[1gobluedem]

34. NPR has its flaws, I will agree with you

I've worked for an affiliate for twenty years and am currently its GM. But the funds that are allocated to the CPB go primarily to individual stations, not NPR and not PBS. Without that critical funding many will cease to exist. And many, MANY are the only sources of local news in their markets. If public broadcasting goes under; all broadcast media will be in the hands of private corporations or religious organizations. Is that what we want?

[MrMickeysMom]

37. Hey Go Blue... No, it's not what we want...

... But, that doesn't mean the very people who support the local stations as we have for years and years should tolerate the way of ATC.

So, what comes first? As a GM, do you think it's wise to respond to my disgust with ATC? Also, if I have WYEP and another station WDUQ in my area of Pittsburgh, guess which one I'm going to support? YEP doesn't have ATC, so I'm giving what little money I can to them. Interestingly, YEP is about to buy DUQ.

[1gobluedem]

39. Yes, they are, and they're going to go all news

So you can expect to ATC to continue as their plan is to make WDUQ all news.

I suggest you contact the program directly and let them know your concerns. It's water on stone sometimes, but they do listen and they do eventually take action if they feel it's warranted. The Juan Williams firing -- botched as the handling was -- was partially in response to an ongoing and growing litany of listener complaints about his personal biases influencing the programming.

NPR received a TON of flack on the Zinn obit and I believe the ombudsman did address the issue. You can contact them at www.npr.org.

No news organization is going to please everyone and NPR's coverage has been questionable in some respects. But, again, I ask you what would our media landscape be like without public broadcasting? That's the issue here. You're entitled to question it, disagree with it, and dislike it. If you feel it's not worthy of federal funding, that's your choice. I reiterate, though, that 98% of the federal funds that go to CPB go to member stations, not the networks. They support local jobs and local programming.

My station has accounts that aren't used to pay for network programming; perhaps yours in Pittsburgh do too, it's something you can ask.

[MrMickeysMom]

41. Point taken... and thanks

I have made complaints when I couldn't stand listening to NPR news in the past, but I'll have to step up the c/o ATC. Sometimes when you're listening on the way to somewhere, then life goes on, it's just not on a busy person's priority list to do these things over and over. However, I see enough people complained. I wonder if they ever made an apology for that obituary disaster on Zinn. That really did it for me for a LONG while. Before that, the sugary sweet military softball interviewing skills of Michelle Norris really, really turned me off. Please give me some androgen tempered voices when it comes to news.

Notice that my distaste with DUQ didn't prevent me from donating to YEP. Also, I hope that the jazz format finds itself somewhat of a home somehow between the DUQ/YEP lineup...

AND... Fine if one station should be news, but add great news/talk like Talk of the Nation or Diane Rheems Show. I don't care if Rheems had to have surgery on her voice, before or after it, she had real interviewing skills and genuine intelligence.

Thanks for hearing me meanwhile, and explaining what you did.

AND.... HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

[Arugula Latte]

4. Happy Birthday!

:party:

[Howler]

5. Happy Birthday 1gobluedem!!!!

I hope ALL your wishes come true.

[Fire Walk With Me]

6. Happy Birthday!

[NewJeffCT]

7. Happy Birthday to you

I hope you get your wish, but I'm not too hopeful with Boehner in charge.

[KamaAina]

8. Hau'oli la hanau, E 1go!

(that's "Happy Birthday" on KHPR Honolulu :-) )

[LisaM]

10. Happy Birthday!

K&R

:kick:

[bluesbassman]

11. Happy Birthday!

From one blue to another! :hi: :party:

[gratuitous]

12. Happy birthday to thee

You're younger than me
You can't sleep the night through
'Cause you have to pee.

Thank you! I'll be here all week!

[Bake]

13. Happy Birthday, and welcome to OLD!!

From one 50+ DUer - ahem - to another.

:hi:

Bake

[MrScorpio]

14. Happy Birthday!

[Kaleva]

16. Happy Birthday!

[Odin2005]

17. Happy Birthday!

[orleans]

18. crap! i missed your birthday again!

(lol)
happy belated.

[bigwillq]

19. Happy Birthday!

:toast:

[Heidi]

20. Happy birthday, 1gobluedem! TIME WARP time!

[handmade34]

21. Happy Birthday!!

yes, we would be worse off without public radio... no more "Wait, Wait, Don't Tell Me"

[pacalo]

22. Happy Birthday!

A birthday gif for you to make you smile...

[jotsy]

23. Your birthday and I get the gift, site is bookmarked, tyvm.

And I do hope your day has been splendid.

[Heidi]

24. Birthday kick!

:kick: for one of my favorite DUers EVAH!

[1gobluedem]

31. Thanks, Heidi!

:loveya: :pals:

Hey, the University where I work is presenting Rocky Horror! Time Warp indeed!

[Inchworm]

25. Happy Happy!

:party::woohoo::party:

:toast:

[Forkboy]

26. Happy Birthday!

:toast:

[madinmaryland]

28. Happy Birthday! From a Buckeye fan, no less!!

[1gobluedem]

32. Gadzooks!

Thanks, Mad! :hi:

[xchrom]

29. happy birthday!

:party:

[1gobluedem]

30. Thanks, everyone!

I had a wonderful, wonderful day! Plus MoveOn.org and FreePress.org have jumped on the advocacy bandwagon for alerting their members about the GOP trying to eliminate federal funding for public broadcasting. The movement is growing -- thank you all! :bounce:

[derby378]

35. Happy Birthday!

And yes, I agree. Public radio and television are indispensible to the modern American dialogue.

[WinkyDink]

36. HAPPY BIRTHDAY, 1gobluedem! Have a great one!

[applegrove]

38. Happy Birthday!

[era veteran]

40. Happy Birthday