Interesting opinion piece posted on Slate recently...
Why the right really hates NPR - with or without Juan Williams
Wingers have dreamed of destroying NPR for years -- because they despise its honest news values and openness
By Joe Conason
Is it plausible that the right-wing uproar over NPR’s firing of Juan Williams is motivated by concern for “free speech” – and not by longstanding conservative animus against public broadcasting? To anyone who has been paying attention to the behavior of politicians, pundits, and media agitators on the right for the past few decades, the latest upwelling of volcanic rhetoric is drearily familiar.
These same voices have reliably exploited every chance to damage public broadcasting, not because of any supposed liberal bias, but because they disdain the straightforward, probing journalism that the public network provides every day. What the NPR haters want to see and hear on America’s airwaves is the “fair and balanced mentality” of Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and Michael Savage and nothing else. After all, they hate CNN, CBS, NBC, and ABC with almost equal passion, no matter how much those networks or NPR bend over to accommodate conservative viewpoints.
I hate NPR becuase everytime I tune to it, I wind up falling asleep. It's like boredom oozes out of the speakers and into my ears and cuts off the blood flow to my brain.
It's like watching golf on a sunday afternoon - 100% chance of sleep.
'Course 850KOA does the same thing to me - why is there talk radio at all?
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
Exactly my point. They don't support talk radio in terms of listening to liberal talkers on a daily basis. You don't think they're going to actually go out and buy from sponsors or participate in Limbaugh's diatribes, do you?
I listen to Rev. Beck and El Rushbo from time to time (Limbaugh less so because he has become boring) but I listen for laughs and the outrageous things that come out of their mouths.
Pineguy wrote: Exactly my point. They don't support talk radio in terms of listening to liberal talkers on a daily basis. You don't think they're going to actually go out and buy from sponsors or participate in Limbaugh's diatribes, do you?
I listen to Rev. Beck and El Rushbo from time to time (Limbaugh less so because he has become boring) but I listen for laughs and the outrageous things that come out of their mouths.
I listen to Classic Rock - I wait a couple of days for the internet to start buzzing with the particularly stupid things said on all the talkie shows and listen to the audio clips - all the entertainment, but much less time invested
"Whatever you are, be a good one." ~ Abraham Lincoln
I don't hate NPR, I listen to it every day. But I don't like that the liberal view gets subsidized by my tax dollars.
Can you imagine the outrage of Salon if Fox News was paid money every year by the Feds?
Yes, they do much deeper stories them most news radio, but with a leftist bias that doesn't deserve goverment support, especially these days with so many information options out there. Sirius/XM even has an alternate to NPR available hosted by former NPR people including Bob Edwards.
Thomas Sowell: There are no solutions, just trade-offs.
Excellent written piece. However, the logic is wrong. "Wingers" don't want to see NPR disappear, we just want the taxpayer funding of half of billion dollars to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting to disappear.
NPR Radio and it's news and commentary is predominately liberal leaning. It's affiliates, which are typically locally own non-profit corporations, across the country vary in their ideologies. If you want to see the way an NPR or Public Radio Station leans, just look at their sponsorship list.
I guess I need repeat myself: Until the U.S. Government balances it budgets, stops borrowing from foreign entities, and balances our trade, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a luxury. Furthermore, it's original purpose has been served and should be abolish the national budget. One could also argue that the internet coupled with the streaming of live programming provides public broadcasting which was never foreseen in 1969 when the CPB was created by federal law.
If NPR stations serve "their" community well and are locally funded by sponsors and local listeners, they should be able to make their budgets. With government funding, NPR stations operate at higher costs than commercial stations. There are no competitive forces. They just have to do their annual dog and pony show in Washington, DC...exclaiming me, me, me, me.
Why does the NPR stations across America need money from government tit if they are serving the public? There are plenty of non-profit radio stations serving other types of audiences doing well and getting listener support. Why do liberals expect taxpayers to borrow money to pay for their listening fRight rage pleasures?
By example of Air America and many progressive commercial radio stations, liberals are a very small majority of the radio listening audience. It's an audience that is well served by newspapers and television news operations.
Let's take a look at the Denver radio market....and see how those lib radio stations are doing in ratings?
1 KOSI-FM 5.5 5.8 5.4 6.0 AC Entercom Inc.
2 KYGO-FM 6.0 5.7 5.1 5.4 Country Lincoln Financial Media Company of CO 3 KOA-AM 5.0 5.4 5.4 5.2 News/Talk Clear Channel RadioConservative, For profit, ad supported
3 KXPK-FM 5.7 5.5 5.1 5.2 Regional Mexican Entravision Communications
5 KRFX-FM 4.6 4.5 4.5 4.8 Classic Rock Clear Channel
6 KBCO-FM 5.3 4.9 4.9 4.5 AAA Clear Channel Radio
7 KJMN-FM 3.4 3.6 3.3 4.3 Spanish Variety Entravision Communications
7 KQKS-FM 5.3 4.4 5.0 4.3 Rhythmic CHR Lincoln Financial Media Company of CO
9 KBPI-FM 2.7 2.8 3.7 4.2 Active Rock Clear Channel Radio
9 KTCL-FM 3.9 4.2 4.2 4.2 Alternative Clear Channel Radio
11 KLDV-FM 4.0 3.4 3.1 4.1 Christian CHR Educational Media FoundationChristian, Listener supported non-profit, no taxpayer money
11 KQMT-FM 4.8 4.2 4.1 4.1 Classic Rock Entercom Inc.
13 KALC-FM 3.9 4.4 4.1 4.0 Modern AC Entercom Denver LLC 14 KCFR-FM 3.3 3.8 3.7 3.6 News/Talk Public Broadcasting of Colorado Liberal, Taxpayer supported, sponsor supported, and listener supported
14 KIMN-FM 3.9 3.5 3.5 3.6 Hot AC CBS Radio
14 KXKL-FM 4.5 4.5 4.8 3.6 Classic Hits Wilks Broadcast Group
17 KPTT-FM 3.2 3.4 3.4 3.1 Rhythmic CHR Clear Channel Radio 18 KHOW-AM 2.8 3.6 3.1 2.8 News/Talk Clear Channel RadioConservative, Moderate, Advertiser Supported Commercial Station
19 KDHT-FM 2.2 2.1 2.3 2.3 CHR Emmis Communications
19 KWOF-FM 1.6 1.9 2.2 2.3 Country Wilks Broadcast Group
21 KVOD-FM 1.8 1.8 2.1 2.1 Classical Colorado Public Radio
22 KKFN-FM 1.8 1.6 1.8 1.7 Sports Lincoln Financial Media Company of CO
23 KEZW-AM 1.8 1.7 1.3 1.4 Adult Standards Entercom Denver LLC 24 KKZN-AM 0.7 1.0 1.4 1.3 Talk Clear Channel RadioLiberal, Local/Network Talk, Advertiser Supported Commerical Station
25 KJAC-FM 2.0 1.8 1.1 1.1 Variety Hits Front Range Sports Network
25 KRWZ-AM 1.6 1.3 1.6 1.1 Oldies Lincoln Financial Media
27 KBNO-AM 0.8 0.8 1.1 0.9 Regional Mexican Latino Communications
27 KUVO-FM 0.6 0.6 0.8 0.9 NAC/Jazz KUVO Public Radio
29 KNUS-AM 0.9 0.9 0.6 0.7 News/Talk Salem Communications
30 KRKS-FM 0.6 0.5 0.6 0.6 Religious Salem Web Network
31 KUNC-FM 0.6 0.4 0.4 0.5 NPR Community Radio for Northern Colorado
31 KXBG-FM 0.3 0.3 0.5 0.5 Country Clear Channel Radio
31 KXWA-FM 0.9 1.1 1.0 0.5 Christian CHR WAY FM Media
34 KMXA-AM 0.4 0.4 0.5 0.4 Spanish CHR Entravision Holdings LLC
34 KRKU-FM N/A 0.2 0.3 0.4 Active Rock Laramie Mountain Broadcasting LLC
36 KEPN-AM 0.3 0.4 0.4 0.3 Sports Lincoln Financial Media Company of CO
36 KTNI-FM 0.1 0.1 N/A 0.3 Talk Denver Radio Co.
38 KPAW-FM 0.4 0.2 0.3 0.2 Classic Rock Clear Channel Radio
38 KRCN-AM N/A N/A 0.2 0.2 News/Talk Pilgrim Communications LLC
40 KBJD-AM 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Spanish Religious Salem Communications
40 KCKK-AM N/A 0.1 N/A 0.1 Sports Mile High Sports Radio
40 KKHI-FM N/A N/A N/A 0.1 Christian CHR Bustos Media of Colorado License Corp.
40 KLZ-AM 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 Talk Crawford Broadcasting Co.
40 KSME-FM 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 CHR Clear Channel Radio
40 KTRR-FM 0.1 0.1 0.1 0.1 AC Regent Communications Inc.
Totals are Persons 6+, Mon-Sun, 6am-midnight
BOTTOM LINE: Libtards know that without government subsidizing of their ideas, there is a small or no marketplace on the radio spectrum. Note to myself, support a KOA ad sponsor and get my pledge to KLOVE today
