PBS/NPR emails are flying around - here's what to do

[garybeck]

I've received 3 eamils just today about Supreme Court supporting Congress and cutting back funding for PBS and NPR. People are asked to sign a petition and pass it on.

As many of you know, PBS and NPR are already dead. Bush appointed their board of directors and they are definitely censoring important news stories. It is now nothing more than a front, where liberals tune in and falsly think they are getting "alternative" news when in fact it's more of the same.

I have replied to the emails I've gotten with the following text. Feel free to copy and use it, create your own language, etc. You may find the information informative yourself as well. This is an opportunity to let all these NPR/PBS viewers know what is really going on.

Note, because of the way DU cuts off the end of long URLs, you may have to tweek around with it and actually go to the site and capture the URL, or right click and copy the URL and paste it back into the email. If you just copy/paste the whole thing, the shortened URLs will be dead.

Text of email to reply:
=============================================

Dear

Thanks for your email about NPR funding. Unfortunately, NPR is already dead. Bush has appointed entire board of directors at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and I know for a fact they are censoring stories. Check this out:

Ken Ferree Named to Leading Post at Corporation for Public Broadcasting
http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/03/17/1442219

How the GOP is taking over at PBS
http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0505-22.htm

This page at Media Matters is all about what is happening at PBS and NPR:
http://mediamatters.org/handsoff/mmfacoverage.html


It is my feeling at this point, that it would actually be better if NPR actually went away completely. There are too many democrats and liberals listening to it with the false impression that they are getting a more balanced view of the news, when they are not. That's exactly what Karl Rove wants. If NPR went away, open minded people would be forced to look for new news outlets such as Air America Radio, BuzzFlash, and RawStory which are some of the few places you can actually find real investigative journalism and uncensored news anymore.

By the way there is now one site where you can view the headlines for many of these alternative news outlets:

http://www.solarbus.org/election/realnews.shtml

Regards,


================================

[Norquist Nemesis]

1. Recommended! Important links for backup

Thanks!!!

[LisaM]

2. Excuse me, I know many people employed at NPR stations.

How do you plan for them to make a living once you cut them off?

[Tesha]

9. They can just directly work for Fox.

Really, NPR should have jettisoned all public and corporate funding
years ago and relied solely on listener contributions, no matter how
monetarily impoverished that would have seemed to make them. Instead,
they tried to "accommodate" their big donors and the big donors ended
up eating the souls of everyone working in public radio and the
programming has become intellectually impoverished instead.

As the programming blatantly shifted further and further to the
right, I made it clear to various pieces of NPR that this would
imperil my contributions. They kept going rightwards so I finally
told all the stations that I donated to that since they obviously
had new friends, they could now get their money from them instead
of from me.

Tesha

[garybeck]

12. we need to expand the real alternative news

that's where they should go.

If you have friends at NPR try to get them to report on the most important stories of our time, like the downing street memo, election fraud, the undislosed evidence about 911...

NPR has not reported on any of these stories and they are the most important stories of our time.

If your friends can successfully get NPR to cover these stories, then I take back everything I said. I've been trying to get them covered at NPR and they just ignore me. I've also spoken to people who work at NPR and they tell me flat out, that the entire organization has changed dramatically in the last 4-5 years.

[LisaM]

19. Oh, for all the jazz music programming that Fox is going to provide?

NPR is NOT all about politics. What about local stories, jazz, folk, world music, "Prairie Home Companion?, and so on?

[garybeck]

21. that is a valid point

NPR is not just news. But I feel that their "news" is providing a way for rightwingers to reach out to liberals under false pretenses and this is very damaging for the people who just want the truth to be reported.

As I stated, I don't really want NPR to go away and I don't claim to have enough personal power to write an email which would affect such change. The email is to raise awareness of what is really going on at NPR. People need to wake up and realize it's not the news they think it is.

I don't think the answer is to throw more money at it either.

It starts with awareness, and then hopefully the necessary changes will follow. but as long as people tune in and still think they're getting alternative news, we have to try to rattle the cages and get people to wake up.

[Retrograde]

22. NPR does that??!!

"NPR is NOT all about politics. What about local stories, jazz, folk, world music, "Prairie Home Companion?, and so on?"

Couldn't tell that by KQED's (San Francisco) programming. (OK, they carry Prairie Home Companion (I think - haven't listened to the station in some time).)

I stopped listening to them several years ago, due to - in no particular order - reliance on syndicated programs, most of which had an East Coast slant (OK if one is on the East Coast, I supposed), lack of local coverage, short repeat cycle (e.g, if you enjoyed this program at 1 you'll love it again at 4), and abysmal sound quality. And while I know I am definitely in the minority here, "This American Life" annoys me almost to the point of considering voting Republican.

[LisaM]

23. It does vary from station to station

Some have gone all talk. One of ours does that, the other has jazz. KUOW, the all-talk (on weekdays) does some music on weekends, and they also play stuff from CBC and the BBC at night.

[Tsiyu]

31. I know a lot of people working for the War on Drugs

If they end the war, what will they do for a living?

Here's a clue: Get a new job like the rest of us?

[Iris]

3. So, if we ever have another Democratic president, wouldn't s/he be

able to "appoint the entire board of directors"?

[garybeck]

7. one would think so , but

if we don't fix the problems in our election system we'll never have a democratic president again. or if we do, it will only be a republican in democratic clothes, like Zell Miller or Lieberman.

-gary

------------------------------------
the solar bus
ELECTION JUSTICE CENTER
your home for updated information on the fight for democracy in America
http://election.solarbus.org
------------------------------------

[Iris]

11. I'm still not willing to throw out PBS or NPR based on that possibility.

Maybe 20 years from now, but certainly not now.

While I dearly love Air America, I don't want to get ALL my news from them nor do I want to create an environment where we only have a couple of choices - Air America or Fox News/right wing talk radio.

[warrens]

4. oh, bullshit

NPR is delivering excellent journalism. That clown on the board is trying to END that. If you heard On the Media this weekend, they went after him with a fucking claw hammer.

[garybeck]

5. no they're not doing excellent journalism

they gave Bush a free pass around the election. no one can deny that. they minimized the WMD controversy.

after the election they gave up completely. their coverage of the stolen election was ZERO.

[Iris]

15. Actually, what I've noticed is

when they make the effort to "show all sides," any thinking person can see even more clearly how warped the right-wing agenda is.

[garybeck]

17. "showing all sides"

in their attempt to "show all sides" they continuously allow people to blatantly LIE over the airwaves and never even mention it.

That is not journalism. That is providing a megaphone for liars.

[Iris]

18. well, ok you win.

But I still think other programming on NPR is progressive and mind-opening (Infinite Mind, This American Life, and at least 50% of the time Fresh Air) and will continue to support them.

[Kolesar]

6. PBS and NPR are not dead

Not even close. Bush is playing games with appointments and ombudsmen, but they still produce quality programming. I just skip the programming I don't like.

[garybeck]

8. you're being brainwashed

how has NPR's coverage of

WMD
election fraud
911 truth
downing street memo

been?

these are the most important stories of our time and they are not being covered on NPR at all.

[Iris]

13. WMDs/911

When surveys were taken around the time of the election, people who listened to NPR were LESS likely to believe Saddam Hussein had anything to do with 9-11 than were people who listened to FOX and the like.

[garybeck]

16. of course!

yes, people who listen to NPR are less likely... but that doesn't mean that they got it from NPR. the fact is that most of the people in this country do not support the war, or Bush. A lot of them listen to NPR. It naturally follows that they would answer the survey that way, but I do not credit NPR for that. I listened to NPR all through the election and they never hit Bush hard on WMD, not even once. In fact they allowed him to lie every day on their radio programs and rarely even mentioned that his statements were not true in the commentary.

With all due respect, I think you have the cart before the horse.

[Kolesar]

26. I think there are a lot of Democrats who are deluded w.r.t. election fraud

Those who made a case that the election was stolen in Ohio presented a collection of weak arguements. I felt embarassed for them. Some of the allegations were just absurd. The attorneys who presented them were almost sanctioned by the courts, but Judge Moyer said there was no prescribed procedure for sanctions on election issues, so they were not professionally sanctioned.

[jeanarrett]

28. My local NPR station had a whole hour devoted to

the DSM this morning. Very good I thought.

[blindpig]

32. perhaps not dead, more like the living dead

I was once an NPR junkie, always had the radio on. Nowadays sometimes I just don't bother. The Contract On America put the zombie mojo on NPR. I'd guesstimate the environmental coverage has decreased 75% since then and they are beholden to Walmart and ADM. Our local affiliates still provide decent classical and jazz so there is something there, just no soul or will.

The current noise is just meat for the morons, the deed is pretty much done.

[WalrusSlayer]

10. Decoupling the funding would be a good idea at this point

I don't want NPR to go away entirely, that would be the loss of a national treasure. And so far I think that the damage is not beyond repair, although it may take some time.

But I'm agreeing more and more with the notion that losing federal funding would be a good thing, since it would also deny the government the ability to control the CPB. It would be financially painful, from from what I hear it would not be fatal.

The only risk I see is that the shortfall could be replaced with increased corporate funding, with the obvious problems that would introduce.

[garybeck]

14. yes, and

I should add that my intention is not ultimately to make NPR go away. I'd much rather have them change and become more "fair and balanced" as they were when I was growing up.

the intention of the email is to raise awareness. Too many people are still tuning in and thinking they're getting liberal news. That simply is not the case.

[Kolesar]

27. Less funding will improve NPR's ability to produce quality programming?

:think:

[WalrusSlayer]

33. So government fascists will improve NPR's programming?

I agree that in an ideal world, a well-funded PBS/NPR is a Good Thing(tm). So of course it is a problem to have that funding reduced.

But it is also a problem for the neo-cons to corrupt them from within. In effect, they are redirecting that funding to serve ill purposes.

So which problem is worse?

I honestly can't say I know for sure, because it's unclear how badly the loss of federal funding would hurt NPR/PBS. It's also unclear whether the "cure" of undue corporate influence (via more corporate sponsorship) would be worse than this disease.

My instinct right now is I'd rather see some downsizing of PBS/NPR than have it turn into another arm of the Right Wing Noise Machine. But it very well could be that we have been check-mated on this one---either way could represent a blow from which NPR/PBS is unable to recover.

[Kolesar]

34. So, when was the new management of public broadcasting appointed?

eom

[garybeck]

35. more funding will improve NPR's ability to produce quality programming?

I don't think the issue is funding. the issue is that the neocons have taken over their board. the issue is that they do not do investigative journalism anymore. the issue is that people are tuning in and thinking they're getting liberal news when they're not.

something has to change.

the status quo won't do.

[Kolesar]

36. Have you written to them (at NPR)?

I have. I have written emails to Morning Edition and All Things Considered. I copy my local public broadcasting affiliates and have exchanged some productive emails with them. I think the people at my local National Public Radio Affiliates are thoughtful professionals and they have told me that they send my recommendations for programming on to the news staff at NPR. What more could I ask for? I am quite sure that me bitching and wailing at some obscure message board is not going to produce squat.

Further, I write lots of emails and letters to newspapers and magazines and have received responses to particular issues I have raised.

[libnnc]

20. me thinks it's dead too

guess what was on my UNC-TV last week? "The Gaithers" Gospel Singing Special followed by Lawrence Welk Gospel, and John Tesh (gospel) at Redrocks.

Gospel specials on the public TV? WTF?

Just saying...:thumbsdown:

[Iris]

24. Gospel singers are part of the public.

so why not on public television?

[libnnc]

25. if the fundies can bitch about

their tax dollars going to fund "liberal" PBS then I can bitch about my tax dollars going to fund religious programming. What's good for the goose...

[Iris]

29. Or, couldn't we simply point out that they are being represented, too?

[libnnc]

30. I'm sorry but for me it's a church/state issue

There is plenty of religious programming on the dial as it is. I don't want my tax dollars funding religious programming.

I'm a lesbian/recovering Methodist/curious Buddhist. Billy Graham crusades and Gaither Family sing a-longs don't represent me or my issues.