6 ms·

NPR is known by pretty much every right-of-center person in the nation as being the Fox News of the left. If you're left-of-center you have a stake in NPR's ske

NPR is known by pretty much every right-of-center person in the nation as being the Fox News of the left. If you're left-of-center you have a stake in NPR's skewed coverage being the neutral truth (because that validates your world view), but it's just not the case. The bias isn't necessarily in the sourcing or the facts, it's in the selective coverage and the constructed narratives and the overt bias in what kind of people and perspectives they choose to give a platform to. I'm honestly surprised that anybody would expect NPR to be neutral or defend it as such. Their entire staff is extremely liberal. The idea that there would be a media organization staffed almost exclusively by liberals that put out totally unbiased journalism sounds like pure fantasy to me. I think journalism in general will always tend to have a liberal bias, because the type of person who ends up in that career tends to be a liberal. It's similar to what's happening in academics. For whatever reason, liberals are just more likely to end up as teachers and TAs and professors and deans etc. Academics and journalism are both, to a certain extent and to varying degrees, nation-wide liberal echo-chambers.

losteric 9y ago
Where are the liberal insane Sean Hannitys or O'reilly's? Not on NPR. Can I trust NPR will blindly support Democrats? No, they're friendly but still critical. NPR is a news station that leans left - and you're right, most people that seek the truth also lean left for some reason. But the left has nothing like "Fox News". There are no liberal infotainment channels that spread propaganda so blindly and unashamedly as Fox News. Drawing parallels between any news station and "Fox News" is an insult.
- systemvanilla 9y ago
  > Drawing parallels between any news station and "Fox News" is an insult. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.
- mc32 9y ago
  The way NPR does the lean is quite interesting in that it's not usually obvious. When they slant something what they will do is either pick someone on the opposite side of something who is off the rails or ineloquent. Or, when the opposition has an argument, they often will challenge the argument. When they have the side they agree with on, rather than challenge they tend to ask supporting questions. That said, Greene and another do make an attempt at being fair while still showing their side, as opposed to Hinohosa or McEvers, for example.
  - systemvanilla 9y ago
    > When they slant something what they will do is either pick someone on the opposite side of something who is off the rails or ineloquent. Or, when the opposition has an argument, they often will challenge the argument. When they have the side they agree with on, rather than challenge they tend to ask supporting questions. This is the modus operandi of NPR and Fox News (and increasingly, every news source). These tactics allow them to masquerade as journalism and maintain a patina of credibility, because they can engage in it without ever exposing a compact-enough unit of dishonesty that people can point to and discredit them with. People seem to understand that there's a difference between a news article and an opinion piece, but not enough people understand that the curation and editorial process itself is another opportunity for an opinion piece (and one that doesn't necessarily produce opinion pieces or factual inaccuracies as its output).
    - mattmanser 9y ago
      I don't know Fox News or NPR, but as an outsider, you're clearly just spouting a load of nonsense. exposing a compact-enough unit of dishonesty I used to rotate right, left and centerist papers back in the day, but the insanity you're peddling is clearly just trying to undermine journalism itself, rather than attack a particular point of view. This is just the same crap the Trump's doing, dressed up in big words. Tar it all with the same brush, undermine it all, leave everyone believing there's no truth anywhere. Where today's left-leaning news is calm and fairly unbiased and today's right-leaning news is proper loony. And that hasn't always been the way, in case you're wondering, the roles have reversed. All, unsurprisingly, from a green account.
okaram 9y ago
NPR may lean 'left', but it tries to be journalism (Fox News is entertainment and propaganda); if you want to find something like the Fox News of the left, check DemocracyNow, or ThinkProgress
- banned1 9y ago
  Often, it's more activism masked as journalism.
unethical_ban 9y ago
That's horse shit. I listen to npr a lot, and yes, they have narratives. Of all the happening in the world, there is daily a story about someone who happens to be overcoming the adversity of homosexuality, or being of color (not colored). But that choice in coverage does not compare to calling editorial entertainment news, or flat out lying to their listeners. The big difference is when I really think NPR screws up a story, or is too far left, I write them and feel like someone might listen on the other end. Good luck with that on Fox.
ew6082 9y ago
We need to distinguish between NPR the human interest/artsy radio station and NPR News. NPR TV news hour is legitimately the most moderate and unbiased TV news left standing, at least when i watched it last (admittedly been a while).
- humanrebar 9y ago
  The tone may be unbiased, but the implied narratives and selection of stories is not.
  - debaserab2 9y ago
    I don't really see the problem with that, though, as long as you're aware of it as you listen to it. There's just no right wing counter to NPR, and to compare it to Fox News or Breitbart is complete nonesense. I'd love to find a media outlet with real journalistic integrity that draws the narrative from a right wing perspective but it just doesn't seem to exist. They seem to either go the route of tabloid style news coverage or indulge way too many conspiracy theories to even take serious.
    - humanrebar 9y ago
      > ...There's just no right wing counter to NPR Basically every right wing magazine and journal had a podcast of some sort. Usually several. Find worthwhile writers for The National Review, The Weekly Standard, The Federalist Society, and Ricochet. Then find them on podcasts, either as hosts or guests.
- mtberatwork 9y ago
  I think you are referring to the PBS NewsHour. (PBS != NPR)
  - uncletaco 9y ago
    Nah. He's referring to Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Also, this entire conversation is really ignoring how networks like Fox News and NPR work. When they play to their audiences they're not really concerned with biases, they're concerned with playing to their audiences. Each network will probably guarantee its listeners/viewers 2-3 hours of solid reporting per day. For Fox News its when Brett Baier and Shep Smith come on. For NPR its Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The websites on the other hand do traffic in pushing stories they believe their audience wants to hear, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms and I think all sides of this argument need to acknowledge that hard news happens only a minority of the time and the rest of the time is spent on soft news (infotainment, talk shows, etc.). I think its also important for us to be able to recognize that soft news is almost always going to be biased because its main purpose is to entertain you with information rather than inform you. Also, NPR sits somewhere between cable and broadcast news. I say that because NPR, like broadcast news channels, has local affiliates all over the country that raise their own funding and do their own reporting. If I'm not mistaken its your local affiliate who chooses what you listen to for news and who buys programs throughout the day.
afpx 9y ago
Assuming that's true, do you have any theories on why people who seem to have liberal bias (++) end up pursuing journalism, research, and teaching? (++): And, I'm not even sure what the colloquial definition of liberal means anymore. It seems like it's a word used to thought-shame people with whom one disagrees.
- rtpg 9y ago
  Re the liberal bias definition, this entire comments section has made me feel like this. Liberal bias is thrown at media outlets that basically do no economic or deep policy coverage in the first place. How do you detect CNNs liberal bias between two pieces on shark week?? And it's total overton window BS too. Loads of NPR listeners will be like "yeeeeees of course there's liberal bias on NPR" but Fox News / Breitbartsters treat their stuff as some sort of objective truth. /Rant Trite answer to your question: younger people living in cities tend to be Democrats. Those people end up being reporters in places like DC (95% Democrats). Why would the nation's capital end up being so democratic? One has to wonder
steverb 9y ago
As a right-of-center person I find NPR's news coverage to be really reasonable. Whenever I hear someone earnestly categorize it as the left wing version of Fox "News" I take it as a evidence that the person has never actually listened to NPR.

losteric 9y ago

Where are the liberal insane Sean Hannitys or O'reilly's? Not on NPR. Can I trust NPR will blindly support Democrats? No, they're friendly but still critical. NPR is a news station that leans left - and you're right, most people that seek the truth also lean left for some reason. But the left has nothing like "Fox News". There are no liberal infotainment channels that spread propaganda so blindly and unashamedly as Fox News. Drawing parallels between any news station and "Fox News" is an insult.

systemvanilla 9y ago
> Drawing parallels between any news station and "Fox News" is an insult. I'm really sorry, I didn't mean to offend you.
mc32 9y ago
The way NPR does the lean is quite interesting in that it's not usually obvious. When they slant something what they will do is either pick someone on the opposite side of something who is off the rails or ineloquent. Or, when the opposition has an argument, they often will challenge the argument. When they have the side they agree with on, rather than challenge they tend to ask supporting questions. That said, Greene and another do make an attempt at being fair while still showing their side, as opposed to Hinohosa or McEvers, for example.
- systemvanilla 9y ago
  > When they slant something what they will do is either pick someone on the opposite side of something who is off the rails or ineloquent. Or, when the opposition has an argument, they often will challenge the argument. When they have the side they agree with on, rather than challenge they tend to ask supporting questions. This is the modus operandi of NPR and Fox News (and increasingly, every news source). These tactics allow them to masquerade as journalism and maintain a patina of credibility, because they can engage in it without ever exposing a compact-enough unit of dishonesty that people can point to and discredit them with. People seem to understand that there's a difference between a news article and an opinion piece, but not enough people understand that the curation and editorial process itself is another opportunity for an opinion piece (and one that doesn't necessarily produce opinion pieces or factual inaccuracies as its output).
  - mattmanser 9y ago
    I don't know Fox News or NPR, but as an outsider, you're clearly just spouting a load of nonsense. exposing a compact-enough unit of dishonesty I used to rotate right, left and centerist papers back in the day, but the insanity you're peddling is clearly just trying to undermine journalism itself, rather than attack a particular point of view. This is just the same crap the Trump's doing, dressed up in big words. Tar it all with the same brush, undermine it all, leave everyone believing there's no truth anywhere. Where today's left-leaning news is calm and fairly unbiased and today's right-leaning news is proper loony. And that hasn't always been the way, in case you're wondering, the roles have reversed. All, unsurprisingly, from a green account.

okaram 9y ago

NPR may lean 'left', but it tries to be journalism (Fox News is entertainment and propaganda); if you want to find something like the Fox News of the left, check DemocracyNow, or ThinkProgress

banned1 9y ago
Often, it's more activism masked as journalism.

unethical_ban 9y ago

That's horse shit. I listen to npr a lot, and yes, they have narratives. Of all the happening in the world, there is daily a story about someone who happens to be overcoming the adversity of homosexuality, or being of color (not colored). But that choice in coverage does not compare to calling editorial entertainment news, or flat out lying to their listeners. The big difference is when I really think NPR screws up a story, or is too far left, I write them and feel like someone might listen on the other end. Good luck with that on Fox.

ew6082 9y ago

We need to distinguish between NPR the human interest/artsy radio station and NPR News. NPR TV news hour is legitimately the most moderate and unbiased TV news left standing, at least when i watched it last (admittedly been a while).

humanrebar 9y ago
The tone may be unbiased, but the implied narratives and selection of stories is not.
- debaserab2 9y ago
  I don't really see the problem with that, though, as long as you're aware of it as you listen to it. There's just no right wing counter to NPR, and to compare it to Fox News or Breitbart is complete nonesense. I'd love to find a media outlet with real journalistic integrity that draws the narrative from a right wing perspective but it just doesn't seem to exist. They seem to either go the route of tabloid style news coverage or indulge way too many conspiracy theories to even take serious.
  - humanrebar 9y ago
    > ...There's just no right wing counter to NPR Basically every right wing magazine and journal had a podcast of some sort. Usually several. Find worthwhile writers for The National Review, The Weekly Standard, The Federalist Society, and Ricochet. Then find them on podcasts, either as hosts or guests.
mtberatwork 9y ago
I think you are referring to the PBS NewsHour. (PBS != NPR)
- uncletaco 9y ago
  Nah. He's referring to Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Also, this entire conversation is really ignoring how networks like Fox News and NPR work. When they play to their audiences they're not really concerned with biases, they're concerned with playing to their audiences. Each network will probably guarantee its listeners/viewers 2-3 hours of solid reporting per day. For Fox News its when Brett Baier and Shep Smith come on. For NPR its Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The websites on the other hand do traffic in pushing stories they believe their audience wants to hear, but that's a whole 'nother can of worms and I think all sides of this argument need to acknowledge that hard news happens only a minority of the time and the rest of the time is spent on soft news (infotainment, talk shows, etc.). I think its also important for us to be able to recognize that soft news is almost always going to be biased because its main purpose is to entertain you with information rather than inform you. Also, NPR sits somewhere between cable and broadcast news. I say that because NPR, like broadcast news channels, has local affiliates all over the country that raise their own funding and do their own reporting. If I'm not mistaken its your local affiliate who chooses what you listen to for news and who buys programs throughout the day.

afpx 9y ago

Assuming that's true, do you have any theories on why people who seem to have liberal bias (++) end up pursuing journalism, research, and teaching? (++): And, I'm not even sure what the colloquial definition of liberal means anymore. It seems like it's a word used to thought-shame people with whom one disagrees.

rtpg 9y ago
Re the liberal bias definition, this entire comments section has made me feel like this. Liberal bias is thrown at media outlets that basically do no economic or deep policy coverage in the first place. How do you detect CNNs liberal bias between two pieces on shark week?? And it's total overton window BS too. Loads of NPR listeners will be like "yeeeeees of course there's liberal bias on NPR" but Fox News / Breitbartsters treat their stuff as some sort of objective truth. /Rant Trite answer to your question: younger people living in cities tend to be Democrats. Those people end up being reporters in places like DC (95% Democrats). Why would the nation's capital end up being so democratic? One has to wonder

steverb 9y ago

As a right-of-center person I find NPR's news coverage to be really reasonable. Whenever I hear someone earnestly categorize it as the left wing version of Fox "News" I take it as a evidence that the person has never actually listened to NPR.