What if everyone listened to NPR?
I have no specific program in mind, but I just thought about how different, wonderfully, informedly, norantly (that's the opposite of ig-norant) wonderful the world would be if everyone listened to NPR at least sometimes. Then my brain almost short-circuits as I realize that if everyone listened to NPR, NPR would not be such a stand-alone great source of news and fair information*, and without such a standard things may degrade to what they are now... and then we would look to NPR as a standard... and then there would be no standard... and then... and then...
What if everyone listened to NPR?
I suppose that the general public (that includes me and you) would be much more well informed. This may not lead to less attraction to worthless, sensationalist news, but it may lead to the brain power needed to resist that attraction. Then what would happen to the other news sources? I suppose market forces would make them more like NPR, and NPR would no longer be the standard. and then who knows, the standard may once again degrade to car chases and Michael Jackson. Can you imagine NBC, ABC, or FOX evening news sounding like All Things Considered? Can you imagine 60 minutes sounding like Talk of the nation? Can you imagine Diane Sawer sounding like Diane Rehm? Neither can I. I can almost imagine a lot of crazy things... but somehow I am too cynical for that.
Still, it makes for a nice exercise. Give it a shot.
Every time I listen to NPR (every day now that I am free), I hear something I feel like shouting to the world. From now I am going to start saving these little links and stories, and once a week I will post them with the modest hope that one more person might gain a little more norance (the opposite of ig-norance).
I promise to post my first list NEXT Friday (this Friday I will be off-line!)
Disclaimer: It has been a while since I have actually seen the nightly news, or the local ABC, NBC, or FOX affiliate's evening news. Perhaps they are now much better than I remember, spending time to cover relevant news from both sides. If so, kindly disregard this post.
*yes, some shows are blatantly "liberal" or "left", but if one listens to enough NPR, the "negative" influence of these shows will be mitigated. Just for the record, I have rarely found anything wrong with Terry Gross' questions, other than the fact that they are often obviously antagonistic toward right-wingers, AND that she pretends that they are not. I just wish she would admit it, and ask similar questions to her "lefty" guests. Just for the record II. I often daydream about myself having the ability to conduct an interview like Terry can. Despite her unacknowledged bias, NO ONE does it better.
Comments
American Forces radio carries some NPR programming in Japan. Sunday morning breakfast is accompanied by a couple of brothers sorting out car problems. Highly entertaining!
Posted by: guy | August 31, 2005 09:35 PM
American Forces radio carries some NPR programming in Japan. Sunday morning breakfast is accompanied by a couple of brothers sorting out car problems. Highly entertaining!
Posted by: guy | August 31, 2005 09:36 PM
Kevin, I like and sometimes listen to NPR. But you have hit the nail on the head with the asterisk paragraph at the bottom of post. Just read over what you have stated in that paragraph. You have admitted to the NPR Liberal basis but have said “but that’s good and OK”. You state, “no one does it better then the liberal minded host Terry Gross “. How in the world can the “Negative” influence of the show be mitigated with no opposite questions being presented? The only way it is mitigated is in the liberal mind that keeps becoming more liberal. Don’t ever wish for a completely slanted (completely "left" as NPR or "right") news system. The problem with a slant such as that is that as we start believing the slanted news we start thinking that we should go further in that direction and it never ends. Keep your blog site politics free. Promoting NPR is promoting a political belief.
Posted by: billy | August 31, 2005 10:04 PM
As far as I can tell, Terry Gross is the only real "bad apple" of the shows i listen to. When I say "no one does it better", I am not refering to her bias, I am refering to her ability to interview people. Even if she was a raging right-winger with the same outstanding interviewing skills, I like to think that I would at least appreciate those skills. I really do wish however that she would not be so blatantly biased as she is. It is a real turn-off and I stoped listening for some time (but now I am back).
The negative influence of her show can be mitigated if people don't just listen to her, but listen to other shows as well. And I don't advocate only listening to NPR, just listening to it sometimes, in combination with the other stuff. I don't wish for complete slant, but I do wish that other programs would take as fair and unbiased view as most NPR shows (terry excluded).
As I say, I don't have much access to the major netoworks while I am here (which means I don't have a varried source of news as I wish to) -instead I have to listen Japanese radio and NHK, and read New york times. Unfortunatly, these seem, with perhaps the exception of NHK which has it's own problems, to be just as crappy as I remember network news in the US. I am simply writing based on what I remember. If all the other news shows began to look more in-depth into the issues, having people from both sides, instead of glossing over anything of importance in favor of sensationalism, I don't care if they are a bit more left or right. What I like about NPR is the coverage of news instead of pandoring to commercial ratings.
Fianlly, I was not promoting a political belief (not that I see that as bad to do on my own web site). I was promoting what I see as quality news. I was simply expressing a strong feeling I had. As I say, I hear so many stories on NPR which are not taking a particular political stance, and I wish more people would hear them.
Posted by: kevin | August 31, 2005 11:04 PM
Kevin, You are correct in that many of the shows, like Car Talk ect. are not the type of show to have a political bias. But about the only political bias on NPR is to the left. CNN, CNN News, MSNBC, FOX, NBC, CBS and ABC are all about sensationalism and all but FOX has a liberal slant. These news shows have not changed in the last 5 years except to become more sensational. You’re not missing much by not being able to hear them.
Posted by: billy | September 1, 2005 03:55 AM
Radio 4 all the way chaps.
Posted by: monica | September 1, 2005 09:50 AM