3 ms·
I once got on the air as a caller to NPR or some other beltway radio show where a TSA rep was trying to justify scanners and all kinds of other things. I asked
by arca_vorago 11y ago
I once got on the air as a caller to NPR or some other beltway radio show where a TSA rep was trying to justify scanners and all kinds of other things. I asked if the rep read Bruce Schneier regarding the fact that the TSA was simply security theatre, and then asked about the former head of TSA who approved the scanner purchases and then went to work for the company making the scanners. He deflected like a pro and afterwards I could no longer call in, as I would immediately get disconnected. Honestly though, I was most angry because those are the sort of things that real reporter worth their salt should be asking, but NPR is such a tamed softball throwing limpdick entity I consider them almost as bad as CNN. Just listen to any given interview with anyone of note. Never a tough question to be heard. BBC is slightly better but I shouldn't have to rely on a fucking British propaganda outlet to hear even a modicum of good reporting. It's sad that these days RT and Al Jazeera english have better reporting on the US than any other mainstream shows I know of. (not counting the handful of very good youtube/podcasts,etc)
They know it's all theatre and don't care because the guys at the top are making tons of money playing the revolving door system, and no one is going to do anything about it because the beltway is full of kissasses and naive idiots "just trying to pay the mortgage."
- wahsd 11y ago>"NPR is such a tamed softball throwing limpdick entity I consider them almost as bad as CNN" I used to have rather high regard for NPR until, and I don't know if this has just changed or I just started realizing that NPR has significant backers that are not only Republican and Conservative in spirit, but also beltway bandits, big recipients of government contracts. I always feel like NPR is really not all that different than Fox News albeit far less angry and hateful, but always quick to tuck their tail and throw a flash-bang at any possibility that light is shone on certain things. It really reminds me of the self-congratulatory liberal aristocracy that loves to make itself feel better with insignificant and meaningless efforts.
- wahsd 11y ago>"NPR is such a tamed softball throwing limpdick entity I consider them almost as bad as CNN" I used to have rather high regard for NPR until, and I don't know if this has just changed or I just started realizing that NPR has significant backers that are not only Republican and Conservative in spirit, but also beltway bandits, big recipients of government contracts. I always feel like NPR is really not all that different than Fox News albeit far less angry and hateful, but always quick to tuck their tail and throw a flash-bang at any possibility that light is shone on certain things. It really reminds me of the self-congratulatory liberal aristocracy that loves to make itself feel better with insignificant and meaningless efforts.
- josho 11y agoWelcome to the system. If a show / journalist asks hardball questions they'll quickly find that they no longer have access to the folks worth interviewing. This is the self-censorship model that's well established here. We may have a free media, but with self-censorship like this, it's effectively only marginally more free than a state run system. Al Jazeera meanwhile has absolutely no chance (I'm assuming here) of getting an interview with a high level player, so they can pose hard hitting questions as they have no downside risk in doing so.