Tag Archives: NPR

More on NPR Programming — Don’t Let This Happen to Pacifica!

Posted on by Webworker1

 

By UCR Candidate Sharon Adams

Chrissie Hynde

Chrissie Hynde

NPR Music did an interview with Chrissie Hynde about her new book. The interviewer asked Hynde to read from her book, and she replied:

“Can I just not repeat stories that I’ve already said in the book? Can we talk about things outside of that? Is that possible?”

But, the NPR host couldn’t get out of his ordinary NPR mindset — he had prepped by reading her book, and most authors will just tell stories from their books. So, apparently thinking “must talk about stories in her book, even though she just said she doesn’t want to talk about stories in the book” he tries again, and Hynde slaps him down, like the real artist and rebel that she is.

“No! I’m not going to tell you stories that are in the book!”

The NPR host really can’t understand Hynde’s zeitgeist, which steps outside ordinary bourgeois boundaries. There is something so insipid about the NPR zeitgeist, something so timid. When Hynde states: “I don’t care what a lot of people want. I’d rather say, ‘just don’t buy the book’… I’m just telling my story” — he is speechless, and the interview immediately cuts away.

We need boldness and courage to face the challenges ahead of all of us — not just radio listeners, but the whole world. We need less certainty about the correctness of our views, and more willingness to listen.

And within Pacifica and KPFA — we need radio that is willing to allow the people to speak. We need radio that trusts the intelligence of its audience to listen and make their own decisions about what is true. As was so eloquently discussed on a recent KPFA Project Censored show, there has been a winnowing of what is considered legitimate discussion, a subtle self-censorship that is occurring in film, books and general dialogue. Censorship does not just happen by government intervention, it happens when NPR can’t allow Hynde to be who she really is; or when NPR can’t understand the facts about Syria.

Protect Free Speech Radio — Vote for UCR in the upcoming election!

photo credit: The Pretenders Day on the Park via photopin (license)

UCR Says “No” to the NPR-ization of KPFA

Posted on by Webworker1

 

By:  UCR Candidate Sharon Adams

UCR’s opponents were in control of the Board of Directors when John Proffitt was hired — a man who spent 25 years as general manager at an NPR station prior to coming to Pacifica.  Because UCR’s opponents have a majority on the Pacifica Foundation board that hired Proffitt, one can assume that our opponents support the NPR model of public radio.red-42286_1280

Today, I listened to Morning Edition on NPR, and once again realized how very lame the news and analysis is on NPR.

The issue was Syria, with a shown entitled: “Did Russia’s Entry Into Syria’s Conflict Take the West By Surprise?”  Well, Russia’s entry into Syria didn’t take me by surprise, since Russia publicly announced its intentions prior to going into Syria.  Nevertheless, the NPR story delves deeply into spying, technology, and the remnants of the Cold War in an attempt to figure out if the West and/or Obama knew about Russia’s plans.  Not once, did the so-called “expert” mention that Russia had made numerous public statements about it plans.

For example, on September 18, Russia stated that it will provide troops to Syria, if asked.

On September 27,  Russia publicly released information about an intelligence sharing agreement between Russia, Iraq, Syria and Iran.

On September 28, at the UN General Assembly, Putin announced Russia’s intention to provide military assistance to Syria and Iraq:

“Today, we provide military and technical assistance both to Iraq and Syria and many other countries of the region who are fighting terrorist groups.”

The facts show that Russia’s plans were not secret.  Thus, the entire premise of the NPR story was false.  The NPR story is simply misdirection — talking about something completely irrelevant to the story (spying? the Cold War???), while ignoring the real issues.

We at UCR demand real news and analysis, and that’s part of what we intend to support and promote at KPFA.

Vote for UCR — LET’S LIBERATE MEDIA TOGETHER!

Lack of Diversity and Corporate Dominance Characterize NPR

Posted on by Webworker1

 

By:  UCR Candidate Sharon Adams

A recent article by FAIR (Fairness & Accuracy In Reporting, Inc.) shows the heavy corporate presence and lack of diversity at National Public Radio (NPR) both in the NPR boardroom, and on its airwaves.

Lack of Diversity and Corporate Dominance Characterize NPR Board Members
Seventy-five percent of board members at NPR’s most popular member stations have corporate backgrounds. As shown in the graph, one New York station has a whopping 90 percent corporate representation on its board.

Graph showing corporate dominance in NPR boards. Graph courtesy of FAIR.

Graph showing corporate dominance in NPR boards. Graph courtesy of FAIR.

As the FAIR article succinctly states:

“the inevitable consequence of this is to put legal control of what is supposed to be public radio into the hands of a tiny, highly privileged fraction of the population.”

In addition to the lack of economic diversity, the FAIR study showed a lack of ethnic and gender diversity on the NPR boards. Seventy-two percent of NPR board members are non-Latino whites, and 66 percent of board members are male.

NPR Airwaves Dominated By White Males
Another FAIR study found that, among the regular news commentators, 79 percent were men, and 92 percent were non-Latino whites.

KPFA Must Remain Free of Corporate Control
We at United for Community Radio (UCR)  are committed to increasing diversity in the KPFA boardroom and on the airwaves. The upcoming election for the KPFA Local Station Board gives us an opportunity to do this.  UCR’s platform specifically opposes corporate influence, and supports a mix of community-sourced, local programming.

We at UCR believe the NPR approach is the wrong approach.  This is in contrast to our opponents running in the upcoming election.  Our opponents suggest that KPFA should become “more like NPR”. The opposition’s desire to make KPFA more like NPR will lead to exactly what is happening at NPR — an increased corporate zeitgeist that will control the news and views expressed on KPFA.

LET’S LIBERATE MEDIA TOGETHER!!!

Keep KPFA free from corporate control and influence.
Vote for the UCR Candidates in the upcoming election for the KPFA Local Station Board.