5 ms·

I have no idea why people believe NPR to be progressive. The joke name "Nice Polite Republicans" exists for a reason. Liberal news coverage of homeless issues r

I have no idea why people believe NPR to be progressive. The joke name "Nice Polite Republicans" exists for a reason. Liberal news coverage of homeless issues rarely takes a progressive framing, anyway.

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brianwawok 5y ago
> The Pew survey found that the NPR audience tends Democratic (17% Republican, 37% independent, 43% Democratic) and centrist (21% conservative, 39% moderate, 36% liberal). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR_controversies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR_controversies
- belenos46 5y ago
  Yes. And "democrat" != "actually liberal". The guy in the white house, sending Israel billions of dollars in aid while the Israeli government massacres civilians is a democrat, for fuckssake.
  - Google234 5y ago
    Imagine supporting a terorist state in Hamas. Fortunately most democrats aren’t regressive leftist - yet.
    - belenos46 5y ago
      Big yawn. Imagine suggesting that the hundreds -that we know about- of folks killed while just trying to live their damn lives constitute "a terrorist state" If I was that bad at basic logic, I'm not sure I'd tell on myself like that.
fortran77 5y ago
I like NPR. But they're certainly progressive/left leaning. On the subject of homelessness, they've written many thoughtful stories: https://www.npr.org/search?query=Homelesss&page=1 https://www.npr.org/search?query=Homelesss&page=1
- deleted 5y ago
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- sib 5y ago
  Yeah... I have a hard time imagining anyone in the US describing today's NPR as "nice polite Republicans"... Perhaps Bernie Sanders would possibly describe them as centrist?
  - DevKoala 5y ago
    People with extreme views believe that everybody who doesn’t pursue the extreme is against them.
    - throwkeep 5y ago
      The us vs them mindset. With us or against us. Not good. It'll send us back in time if we let it.
jollybean 5y ago
They are small-c conservative progressives. They are not into spectacles or aggressive populism, generally correct, a little effete, but are definitely progressive. They are like the 'Vermont' or 'Nice Schoolteacher' or 'Librarian' of Journalism.
- koolba 5y ago
  Promoting an author who’s book is literally titled, “In Defense of Looting”[1] isn’t progressive. It’s promoting the breakdown of the rule of law. That wasn’t an accident either. [1]: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/08/27/906642178/one-authors-argument-in-defense-of-looting https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/08/27/906642178...
  - alisonkisk 5y ago
    The book is about looting as a reaction to the breakdown of the rule of law.
  - jollybean 5y ago
    The title of the piece is: "One Author's Controversial View: 'In Defense Of Looting'" To the extent that they identify that the view is labelled with the editorially appropriate moniker: 'Controversial' - I'm glad that people have a chance to speak their minds. 'Covering' a book or a perspective is not overtly 'promoting' it. If they're drawing from a wide perspective (they don't quite though), then this would be a good thing.
    - koolba 5y ago
      Even NPR had to admit that it was wrong to publish that story, or at least do so without calling it out as factually inaccurate: > This Q&A with a provocative author did not serve NPR’s audience. You and several other NPR fans pointed out that NPR’s own prior reporting contradicted some of the things this author was saying. On top of being wrong about recent events, the author’s characterization of the Civil Rights Movement is a distortion and oversimplification. http://view.nl.npr.org/?qs=7c7fd141a65180ed1dafb8fed91fa4fa3a98cc9ddb5e1c630eed6cca2c53e4b96de6a53174fb80e12e8eae28bb6fa32d61d4bb777c5e8ba984bb4fd2e7490f1649b3f5bcbc02139168015005279940e0 http://view.nl.npr.org/?qs=7c7fd141a65180ed1dafb8fed91fa4fa3...
gaze 5y ago
Yeah NPR is largely for wealthy college educated liberals, who largely gesture towards helping the homeless but have no substantial interest in doing so. NPR has had numerous articles that take the small business owner’s perspective over the worker, and other such things. They are in no way left-leaning.
throwkeep 5y ago
Surely you jest. Source 1: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/01/americans-main-sources-for-political-news-vary-by-party-and-age/ft_2020-04-01_newssources_02/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/01/americans-m... Source 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-peZ7IeD2w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-peZ7IeD2w
AuryGlenz 5y ago
There’s an easy litmus test for news organizations - words. Do they use Latino or Latinx, for example? Illegal alien vs. undocumented immigrant vs refugee. Sex vs gender assigned at birth (usually when talking about a trans person). NPR used to be fairly centrist, but these days they’re far to the left. If I turn on my car there’s about a 9/10 chance my local station will be talking about some form of identity politics. That’s all the radio, though. I believe they at least try to approach the center in their online articles.
- tomjakubowski 5y ago
  When you tune into public radio you're most likely not listening to NPR. Public radio stations draw their programming from many sources, including in many cases shows produced by the station. NPR does distribute more content to public radio stations than do APM, PRI/PRX, or WNYC, but their programs don't comprise a majority of public radio content. Unfortunately your litmus test especially doesn't work that well for NPR, at least in one example. They distribute (but do not produce - partly because it wouldn't meet their editorial guidelines) a show about issues facing Latin Americans in the United States called Latino USA. Yet nobody who listens to it would deny the show takes quite a strong progressive stance on political issues. I'd also add that NPR's most popular shows, the newscasts Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition, are all remarkably boring politically and take a sort of weaker sauce version of the BBC's neutral and somewhat hostile approach to interviewing, regardless of political bent.
  - AuryGlenz 5y ago
    The hosts of All Things Considered regularly use latinx, but at least the last time I heard them use a Hispanic reporter they used the word latino. I don't know if that was a change in policy or if the reporter doesn't like the word themselves. All Things Considered may be "boring" politically, but they are far from neutral - I don't listen to the other two very often. Easy example - for weeks, if not months, they called what was going on at the border "Trumps Family (sometimes Child) Separation Policy," even though anyone informed knew the very first day that it was not his policy. It wasn't until the story finally started to die down did they used the (at least somewhat) correct phrase "The increase in family separations due to Trump's zero tolerance policy."

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brianwawok 5y ago

> The Pew survey found that the NPR audience tends Democratic (17% Republican, 37% independent, 43% Democratic) and centrist (21% conservative, 39% moderate, 36% liberal). https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR_controversies https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/NPR_controversies

belenos46 5y ago
Yes. And "democrat" != "actually liberal". The guy in the white house, sending Israel billions of dollars in aid while the Israeli government massacres civilians is a democrat, for fuckssake.
- Google234 5y ago
  Imagine supporting a terorist state in Hamas. Fortunately most democrats aren’t regressive leftist - yet.
  - belenos46 5y ago
    Big yawn. Imagine suggesting that the hundreds -that we know about- of folks killed while just trying to live their damn lives constitute "a terrorist state" If I was that bad at basic logic, I'm not sure I'd tell on myself like that.

fortran77 5y ago

I like NPR. But they're certainly progressive/left leaning. On the subject of homelessness, they've written many thoughtful stories: https://www.npr.org/search?query=Homelesss&page=1 https://www.npr.org/search?query=Homelesss&page=1

deleted 5y ago
[deleted]
sib 5y ago
Yeah... I have a hard time imagining anyone in the US describing today's NPR as "nice polite Republicans"... Perhaps Bernie Sanders would possibly describe them as centrist?
- DevKoala 5y ago
  People with extreme views believe that everybody who doesn’t pursue the extreme is against them.
  - throwkeep 5y ago
    The us vs them mindset. With us or against us. Not good. It'll send us back in time if we let it.

jollybean 5y ago

They are small-c conservative progressives. They are not into spectacles or aggressive populism, generally correct, a little effete, but are definitely progressive. They are like the 'Vermont' or 'Nice Schoolteacher' or 'Librarian' of Journalism.

koolba 5y ago
Promoting an author who’s book is literally titled, “In Defense of Looting”[1] isn’t progressive. It’s promoting the breakdown of the rule of law. That wasn’t an accident either. [1]: https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/08/27/906642178/one-authors-argument-in-defense-of-looting https://www.npr.org/sections/codeswitch/2020/08/27/906642178...
- alisonkisk 5y ago
  The book is about looting as a reaction to the breakdown of the rule of law.
- jollybean 5y ago
  The title of the piece is: "One Author's Controversial View: 'In Defense Of Looting'" To the extent that they identify that the view is labelled with the editorially appropriate moniker: 'Controversial' - I'm glad that people have a chance to speak their minds. 'Covering' a book or a perspective is not overtly 'promoting' it. If they're drawing from a wide perspective (they don't quite though), then this would be a good thing.
  - koolba 5y ago
    Even NPR had to admit that it was wrong to publish that story, or at least do so without calling it out as factually inaccurate: > This Q&A with a provocative author did not serve NPR’s audience. You and several other NPR fans pointed out that NPR’s own prior reporting contradicted some of the things this author was saying. On top of being wrong about recent events, the author’s characterization of the Civil Rights Movement is a distortion and oversimplification. http://view.nl.npr.org/?qs=7c7fd141a65180ed1dafb8fed91fa4fa3a98cc9ddb5e1c630eed6cca2c53e4b96de6a53174fb80e12e8eae28bb6fa32d61d4bb777c5e8ba984bb4fd2e7490f1649b3f5bcbc02139168015005279940e0 http://view.nl.npr.org/?qs=7c7fd141a65180ed1dafb8fed91fa4fa3...

gaze 5y ago

Yeah NPR is largely for wealthy college educated liberals, who largely gesture towards helping the homeless but have no substantial interest in doing so. NPR has had numerous articles that take the small business owner’s perspective over the worker, and other such things. They are in no way left-leaning.

throwkeep 5y ago

Surely you jest. Source 1: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/01/americans-main-sources-for-political-news-vary-by-party-and-age/ft_2020-04-01_newssources_02/ https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/04/01/americans-m... Source 2: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-peZ7IeD2w https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o-peZ7IeD2w

AuryGlenz 5y ago

There’s an easy litmus test for news organizations - words. Do they use Latino or Latinx, for example? Illegal alien vs. undocumented immigrant vs refugee. Sex vs gender assigned at birth (usually when talking about a trans person). NPR used to be fairly centrist, but these days they’re far to the left. If I turn on my car there’s about a 9/10 chance my local station will be talking about some form of identity politics. That’s all the radio, though. I believe they at least try to approach the center in their online articles.

tomjakubowski 5y ago
When you tune into public radio you're most likely not listening to NPR. Public radio stations draw their programming from many sources, including in many cases shows produced by the station. NPR does distribute more content to public radio stations than do APM, PRI/PRX, or WNYC, but their programs don't comprise a majority of public radio content. Unfortunately your litmus test especially doesn't work that well for NPR, at least in one example. They distribute (but do not produce - partly because it wouldn't meet their editorial guidelines) a show about issues facing Latin Americans in the United States called Latino USA. Yet nobody who listens to it would deny the show takes quite a strong progressive stance on political issues. I'd also add that NPR's most popular shows, the newscasts Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Weekend Edition, are all remarkably boring politically and take a sort of weaker sauce version of the BBC's neutral and somewhat hostile approach to interviewing, regardless of political bent.
- AuryGlenz 5y ago
  The hosts of All Things Considered regularly use latinx, but at least the last time I heard them use a Hispanic reporter they used the word latino. I don't know if that was a change in policy or if the reporter doesn't like the word themselves. All Things Considered may be "boring" politically, but they are far from neutral - I don't listen to the other two very often. Easy example - for weeks, if not months, they called what was going on at the border "Trumps Family (sometimes Child) Separation Policy," even though anyone informed knew the very first day that it was not his policy. It wasn't until the story finally started to die down did they used the (at least somewhat) correct phrase "The increase in family separations due to Trump's zero tolerance policy."