NPR Drops Distribution Of 'World Of Opera' Over Host's Role In Protest

[Recursion]

Source: All Access Music

The other shoe has dropped in the LISA SIMEONE case, as NATIONAL PUBLIC RADIO has dropped distribution of the independently-produced opera show she hosts. "WORLD OF OPERA," produced by WDAV/CHARLOTTE, was dropped after the controversy triggered by the host's assumption of spokesperson duties for a group, "OCTOBER 2011," involved in the "OCCUPY D.C." protest.

SIMEONE was fired THURSDAY as host of the NPR documentary series "SOUNDPRINT." After the controversy hit (NET NEWS 10/20), WDAV decided to keep SIMEONE as host of the opera show, and NPR informed member stations in a FRIDAY evening statement that it would drop the show, with WDAV taking over distribution, effective NOVEMBER 11th.

A statement from WDAV said that "listeners' experience of the show will be unchanged: WORLD OF OPERA will continue to feature the same high-quality operas from European and American opera houses, and LISA SIMEONE will continue as host."

Read more: http://www.allaccess.com/net-news/archive/story/98016/npr-drops-distribution-of-world-of-opera-over-host

---

The other shoe has dropped indeed. Affiliates can of course still carry the show (and those that do probably will), but watch flagship member stations like WAMU or WBUR; if NPR pressures them to drop the program things could get uncomfortable. It's also not clear how this will affect pricing, and smaller stations may no longer be able to afford it without the infrastructure subsidy NPR distribution carries with it.

[no_hypocrisy]

1. Three words:

McCarthy Witch Hunt

[yodermon]

2. kudos to WDAV. That is a classical music station run by Davidson College,

(which happens to be my alma mater, so i'm biased :) ) not a full NPR station.

[KharmaTrain]

3. NPR Isn't The Only Public Network...

APR...American Public Radio has grown as an alternative to NPR and has an impressive roster and distribution system. The network's best known program is "Prairie Home Companion" hosted by that ultra wingnut (:sarcasm:) Garrison Keilor.

Yes, NPR over-reacted...again, but it's almost Pavlovian as the network was been under almost constant attack from the right for the past 30 years. As others have noted NPR stations are not like commercial stations as the network is more a cooperative than a CBS...each station has a large degree of independence and make shows available to the network in return for CPB funding. That's where the politics kick in. In essence, NPR didn't fire Ms. Simone as she was a WDAV employee not one of the network. Kudos to WDAV for standing by her.

[Recursion]

7. PRI is another good one

A lot of people think of Marketplace and This American Life as "NPR shows" because they're played on most NPR member stations, but they're actually produced by NPR's competitor PRI.

[Liberal_in_LA]

4. kick

[RufusTFirefly]

5. Hope this will finally set to rest the longstanding fiction that NPR is "liberal"

My local public radio station carries a lot of NPR programming, most of which I avoid like the proverbial plague. Luckily, it also carries "Democracy Now" and a call-in show that used to be Working Assets Radio. Otherwise, I stream Pacifica (specifically, KPFA) if I want to get news that isn't hopelessly compromised by corporate underwriting.

[Recursion]

6. Part of the problem is listeners often don't distinguish between NPR and their member station

It's especially tricky here in DC where WAMU shares some facilities and personnel with NPR. But the affiliates carry plenty of material from NPR's competitors also, like Prairie Home Companion (APR) and This American Life or Marketplace (PRI). And Planet Money is a joint venture of NPR and PRI -- could you imagine NBC and CBS producing a joint program?

[RufusTFirefly]

8. Very true, although I think the corporate underwriting model is where the problem lies

In that respect, it doesn't really matter whether it's APR, PRI, or NPR. None of them is especially labor-friendly, for example.

[_ed_]

9. Uttery pathetic