NPR - For the Public?

By Mark
a listener in Northern Michigan

Well, I got to listen to my local NPR fundraising drive this morning.

And once again I was struck by the generosity of the listening public giving to an already publicly funded institution. Now our local guys are great, don’t get me wrong. They are giving me the news and weather and speaking at their usually benign level as to not frighten me before I’ve had my coffee. Of course, with the dry humor and slightly Shakespearean lexicon.

In an effort to boost fundraising donations, the “seven o’clock folks” were encouraged to out-give the “six o’clock folks”. Which is all good – but it got me thinking about the whole notion of why I would donate to an entity which already confiscates part of my income.

I am a lover of fine music. From Joplin to Miles and from Monteverdi to Stravinsky I love the arts programming. NPR certainly is filling a demand in broadcasting great stuff. But I have a flaw. I’m a conservative. While the music and prose of NPR is outstanding, the news shows are dominated by left leaning journalists (mainly at the national level). How do I know this? The same way I know that water is wet.

I regularly attempt to listen to broadcasts of Morning Edition, All Things Considered and other news related shows in the morning. During my commute NPR is really the only thing I can tolerate before 10 AM – given the choices of local trash “talk duets” on the rock stations and other like idiots whose topics obsess on the trivial. But the NPR news bias is overwhelming. And it’s clear to clear-thinking people. Conservatives are almost always cast in a suspicious light whether being interviewed or talked about. This is a fact and obvious. The water is indeed wet.

The problem is the inherent disconnect between balanced programming for the public (as in National PUBLIC Radio) and NPR’s 1967 charter, which is to develop “programming that will be responsive to the interests of the people”. But NPR news programming is not primarily about the interests of ALL people. It is about the interests of LIBERAL people. And for people like me, the daily barrage is quite simply – insulting.

Public funding for NPR is not hurting. In the first session of the 107th Congress (FY’02 budget cycle), the Corporation for Public Broadcasting received a $380 million appropriation. Recently, Congress approved a $390 million funding level for fiscal year 2005. All of this funding, under the Presidency of George W. Bush, a Republican Senate and Republican House. How ironic?

But instead of getting thanked, this morning I’m asked for another handout! So after listening to Garrison Keillor's "The Writers Almanac", I’ve been inspired to write a poem.

Spinning, turning the dial of a vast and random noise
My head spins with delirium begging for consonance.
A chord, a phrase, a scale, some fair minded information
To me, a public starved in his daily commutation.

What are my chances of Garrison Keillor reading this on his show? I didn’t think so.