NPR Ombudsman Apologizes

[Don Claybrook]

Dvorkin apologized for the nasty letters he wrote to the college professor that were featured on MWO. While I'm happy to see he apologized, he didn't address his reprehensible tone in his mea culpa. Here it is:

Link: http://www.npr.org/yourturn/ombudsman/

Mea Culpa

Finally, an apology: In an e-mail to a listener, I dismissed those people who criticize NPR based on information they get from blogs. That e-mail to Professor Ann Little (to whom I apologized) was posted on one of those blogs, www.mediawhoresonline.com. The response from people who read this and other blogs was pretty impressive.

While the tone from some who wrote was rough, I get the point.

Blogs are, as I now appreciate, as legitimate a method of communicating information and opinion as traditional media. I was wrong to suggest that much of political blogging is "astroturfing" (see definition below). Indeed, a recent Pew poll points out that an increasing number of Americans are getting their information from non-traditional sources. That fact has now been made abundantly clear to me.

You were right. I was wrong.

In future, I will pay closer attention to those who feel inclined to contact me, regardless of where they get their information. Political life in the United States is changing and so, it seems, should be how and where political journalism chooses its information.

[NashVegas]

1. Hmmm

On one hand, there is a lot of good stuff on some blogs.

On the other, there also IS a lot of astro-turfing and circle-jerking.

I didn't hear the initial commentary, and none of the links on MWO are working properly for me :(

[Cocoa]

2. he's sorry he got caught...

how embarrassing for him, and what a great job MWO and the Howler do.

[Wickerman]

3. So, the Corporate Media Whore figured out that grassroots

activism can come from somewhere beside his co opted radio network? Bravo.

[DrBB]

4. What's CRUCIAL here

Is that by responding, we made a DIFFERENCE.

I had responded by writing to my local affiliate, figuring that that might be a way to send some heat back to NPR: "They're saying they won't support us!" After all, donations go to the locals, not the national entity.

But still, what a fucking piece of shit this asshole is. His apology isn't the end of it. The issue was that NPR has appointed Juan Williams and Mara Liasson--two center-right, FOX "News"-associated commentators--to cover the 2004 election.

What this means is that we should keep the heat ON about these appointments. The reason they've moved right in the last decade is because they know if they aren't careful to placate the wingers, they're gonna hear about it.

This shows that it works to let them hear about it when they piss US off as well.

on edit: fixed a contradiction