Opinion NPR Senior Editor Blasts Lack of ‘Viewpoint Diversity’ After Leftward Lurch: ‘Open-Minded Spirit No Longer Exists’

[Jack V Savage]

The right has been attacking NPR for years now.

Has a single person given even a single example of reporting that is unfairly biased or incorrect?

Apparently not denying climate change disqualifies you from being considered quality reporting.

I think the general victimhood narrative around the media is so strong among modern rightists that it's essentially impossible to even think about for them, as that would entail undermining their whole identity. The only response that I've seen to the fact that the original piece is filled with errors is childish personal attacks and attempts to change the subject.

Same with the broader point that just getting factual matters correct reads as bias to a lot of partisans. No news organization can maintain credibility with serious people if reporting is based on beliefs that regressive tax cuts supercharge growth, that evolution is a hoax, that Trump is the innocent victim of a lawfare conspiracy, that the 2016 election was stolen, that climate change is a hoax, etc. But no news organization can maintain credibility with partisan nutters if it doesn't.

 

[ShadowRun]

Unfortunately, he's a narcissistic psychopath, so it doesn't even register to him.

Just not self aware, intellectually dishonest on purpose, or perhaps accidentally .

As for NPR 87 democrats on staff zero republicans. Definition of a echo chamber

 

[Islam Imamate]

I think they're better, but FOX is such a low bar.

My wife loves NPR so I listen to it regularly and anyone arguing NPR doesn't have a strong left-wing bias is obviously clueless or dishonest.

What do you mean by strong left wing bias? Do you have an example you could link to off the top of your head?

 

[Islam Imamate]

Affiliations​

• American University of Beirut, Member of the Board[40]
• Council on Foreign Relations, Member[40]
• Sunlight Foundation, Member of the Board[40]
• 2011: Youth for Technology Foundation, Member of the Board[41]
• 2013: Truman National Security Project, Policy Fellow, National Security Fellow, and Research Fellow, Democracy & Human Rights Initiative[42][43]
• 2013: Open Technology Fund, Advisory Committee Member[44]
• 2016: World Economic Forum, Member, Global Network Council on the Future of Human Rights[45][46]
• 2018: Oxford Union, on Technology and Empire[47]
• 2019: World Economic Forum Young Global Leader[48]
• 2021: Atlantic Council Democracy & Tech Initiative, Senior Fellow[49][50]
• 2022: US State Department, member of the Foreign Affairs Policy Board[32][33]

Katherine Maher - Wikipedia

en.m.wikipedia.org

Is there something you find objectionable here? Seems like the kind of resume I'd expect from a corporate executive.

 

[Jack V Savage]

What do you mean by strong left wing bias? Do you have an example you could link to off the top of your head?

Here's their front page now:

https://www.npr.org/

I encourage anyone genuinely curious about the issue to look at it and click on any stories that could even possibly show bias. You're going to be very surprised if you buy the Republican narrative here.

I think the inability of partisans to even engage beyond the level of personal attacks is telling.

 

[Loiosh]

Just not self aware, intellectually dishonest on purpose, or perhaps accidentally .

As for NPR 87 democrats on staff zero republicans. Definition of a echo chamber

Please provide an example of biased or incorrect reporting.

Я могу спросить по-русски, если это поможет.

Приведите пример предвзятого или неправильного сообщения.

 

[koquerelle]

Here's their front page now:

https://www.npr.org/

I encourage anyone genuinely curious about the issue to look at it and click on any stories that could even possibly show bias. You're going to be very surprised if you buy the Republican narrative here.

I think the inability of partisans to even engage beyond the level of personal attacks is telling.

How often do you listen to NPR?

What do you mean by strong left wing bias? Do you have an example you could link to off the top of your head?

Nothing special comes to mind. Give it a shot. Listen to the news and shows like Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (a good light-hearted show btw).

What do you mean by strong left wing bias: Strong case of TDS. Shows where everyone is a liberal (they do have the token Republican here and there).

 

[koquerelle]

First off, I'm not a regular NPR listener so I can't comment truthfully about any shift in their stories.

But it is an interesting article and I think that a lot of people will agree with it. It reminds me of why I stopped listening to conservative talk radio. The stories being presented are less and less connected with the cross section of America and have become increasingly niche.

I don't know if the problem is that places like NPR have become more slanted or that audiences increasingly only to want to hear their perspectives. And audiences that want echo chambers put pressure on the business of journalism to feed them what they want. Chicken or egg.

It doesn't get to the point of being a massive echo chamber like Fox.

 

[Islam Imamate]

Here's their front page now:

https://www.npr.org/

I encourage anyone genuinely curious about the issue to look at it and click on any stories that could even possibly show bias. You're going to be very surprised if you buy the Republican narrative here.

I think the inability of partisans to even engage beyond the level of personal attacks is telling.

There's two articles I would say suggest a left wing bias of some sorts

Women of color lag behind in STEM jobs, despite efforts to change

'We created this problem': a pediatric surgeon on how gun violence affects children​

So an article about diversity in STEM and an interview with a pediatric surgeon on how gun violence affects children. I can see how these are two "left coded" stories but my issue is that this approach to media criticism doesn't really consider journalistic integrity and whether or not NPR does or does not have it. Sure there might be some bias in the way certain stories are told or which stories get focused on but on average what I see is a pretty high level of journalistic integrity and a fairly sober approach to reporting.

Nothing special comes to mind. Give it a shot. Listen to the news and shows like Wait Wait Don't Tell Me (a good light-hearted show btw).

Isn't that a comedic quiz show? I don't know if that's good evidence of bias in their reporting.

I have listened to lots of NPR and I can't say I agree with the grim assessment I see here. Its true that there is a center left cosmopolitan tilt to it, hence stories like an unmarried lady host interviewing an unmarried lady author about her book centered around being an unmarried lady. But when it comes to getting sober reporting about current events there's really not many other sources that are better or even comparable. The kind of people who rail against NPR are the types to listen to something like Breaking Points or The Daily Wire which I think are more overtly partisan and adhere to a lower standard of journalistic integrity.

What do you mean by strong left wing bias: Strong case of TDS. Shows where everyone is a liberal (they do have the token Republican here and there).

What do you mean by TDS? I listened to NPR during the Trump years and if anything it was among the most dry coverage I heard about Trump. What in particular do you think NPR got wrong in regards to Trump?

Do you think that news orgs should have quotas for Republicans and Democrats?

 

[Jack V Savage]

How often do you listen to NPR?

I read for my news, almost exclusively. I read them a lot.

There's two articles I would say suggest a left wing bias of some sorts

Women of color lag behind in STEM jobs, despite efforts to change

'We created this problem': a pediatric surgeon on how gun violence affects children​

So an article about diversity in STEM and an interview with a pediatric surgeon on how gun violence affects children. I can see how these are two "left coded" stories but my issue is that this approach to media criticism doesn't really consider journalistic integrity and whether or not NPR does or does not have it. Sure there might be some bias in the way certain stories are told or which stories get focused on but on average what I see is a pretty high level of journalistic integrity and a fairly sober approach to reporting.

I read the first story completely, and the headline is kind of bad (in that it doesn't really capture what the piece is about). I think it's a framing and subject that wouldn't really interest rightists (or Republicans), but I wouldn't call the piece itself biased. Skimmed the second one, and it's more of that--like you say "left-coded" but not biased. BTW, that's a funny thing you see in the discourse. "Is violent crime a big problem?" Republicans: Yes. Democrats: Not really. "Is gun violence a big problem?" Opposite. BTW, for what it's worth, violent crime has been dramatically coming down the past couple of years.

 

[ShadowRun]

Please provide an example of biased or incorrect reporting.

Я могу спросить по-русски, если это поможет.

Приведите пример предвзятого или неправильного сообщения.

What are you doing with google translate, that Russian ? Since you don’t know not to use the internet and search for things here ..

---

30 sec search

https://nypost.com/2021/04/02/npr-i...laptop-story-was-discredited-by-intelligence/
https://nypost.com/2021/04/02/npr-i...laptop-story-was-discredited-by-intelligence/

https://news.yahoo.com/npr-claims-limited-scientific-evidence-134756122.html


https://www.npr.org/2018/04/11/601630079/npr-retracts-story-that-did-not-meet-its-standards

 

[Loiosh]

What are you doing with google translate, that Russian ? Since you don’t know not to use the internet and search for things here ..

---

30 sec search

https://nypost.com/2021/04/02/npr-i...laptop-story-was-discredited-by-intelligence/
https://nypost.com/2021/04/02/npr-i...laptop-story-was-discredited-by-intelligence/

https://news.yahoo.com/npr-claims-limited-scientific-evidence-134756122.html

Try harder.

Those are relatively minor retractions (which every paper does) and one is a tweet.

This is the damning evidence that NPR is biased?

Вы серьезно, товарищ?

 

[Loiosh]

this approach to media criticism doesn't really consider journalistic integrity and whether or not NPR does or does not have it.

I tried to address this with @panamaican who said he didn't know or care if NPR was biased or bad. How is that not all that matters here?

 

[Islam Imamate]

Try harder.

Those are relatively minor retractions (which every paper does) and one is a tweet.

This is the damning evidence that NPR is biased?

Вы серьезно, товарищ?

The fact that they even issue retractions for such minor things if anything indicates the level of journalistic integrity they have. Does The Daily Wire issue retractions?

 

[Loiosh]

The fact that they even issue retractions for such minor things if anything indicates the level of journalistic integrity they have. Does The Daily Wire issue retractions?

Doubt it, but honestly I have no idea if they release written articles or are even considered news.

Fox issues retractions, like when they broadcast that Liverpool was a Muslim "no go" zone.

 

[ShadowRun]

Try harder.

Those are relatively minor retractions (which every paper does) and one is a tweet.

This is the damning evidence that NPR is biased?

Вы серьезно, товарищ?

Yea you’re wrong it can’t be bias , with that level headed ceo and the life long democrat who been there for 25 years is just making up stuff

The fact that they even issue retractions for such minor things if anything indicates the level of journalistic integrity they have. Does The Daily Wire issue retractions?

Two bias outlets one public funded one not . But don’t let that get in your way

 

[Islam Imamate]

Two bias outlets one public funded one not . But don’t let that get in your way

Do you think that NPR is comparable in its bias to The Daily Wire?

 

[Loiosh]

Yea you’re wrong it can’t be bias , with that level headed ceo and the life long democrat who been there for 25 years is just making up stuff

Two bias outlets one public funded one not . But don’t let that get in your way

Considering how weak your attempt was, it's a shame you didn't learn anything.

 

[Loiosh]

Do you think that NPR is comparable in its bias to The Daily Wire?

They think CNN and MSNBC are as biased as Fox, despite the fact Fox had anchors campaigning with Republican politicians.

They've completely broken with reality.

 

[Cajun]

Funny how the piece in the OP fell apart so people have shifted to various attacks on Maher (who didn't even join until last month).

Bill Maher?