A community of NPR critics monitoring NPR for its corporatist, Pentagon friendly, pro-US foreign policy coverage of the news.

Wednesday, February 17, 2010

SIGHS OF OMISSION

What is not reported is often more indicative of bias than what is reported. Ignoring a story completely while playing up another demonstrates a subterfuge not readily detectable to the listener. It is no coincidence that the story that gets omitted would send NPR’s puppetmasters into a tailspin if aired.

On Saturday, February 13, 2010, according to Reuters (and several other outlets)


ST. PETERSBURG, Florida (Reuters) - Thousands of Floridians demonstrated against moves to allow offshore oil drilling on Saturday along the east and west coasts of the state in a protest dubbed "Hands Across the Sand."

I thought maybe I missed a mention of it on NPR, so I did a search on their website—‘offshore oil drilling protests in Florida’ --- and came up with zero results. Then, I decided to do a search on their website for Tea Party protests and came up with 47 results. Do we need rocket science to conclude why NPR would spend precious air time covering every move the tea party makes like the for-profit conference in Nashville with only 600 attendees and ignore statewide protests of offshore oil drilling with 1000’s in attendance?

There are countless examples of NPR’s convenient omissions that protect their right wing brethren. The day the Minnesota election results were finalized was the last time I heard Al Franken mentioned on NPR. However, I did a search on their website for Al Franken and got 298 hits. This is after he’s been in office for more than six months. Scanning most of the Franken hits, I found they were mentions associated with his role on the Judiciary Committee during Judge Sotomayor’s confirmation.

Al Franken’s win in Minnesota was not exactly a mean feat unless you’re a right wing media outlet. With Franken, the accolades are omitted. NPR announced

Democrat Al Franken won Minnesota's Senate race Tuesday…

In contrast, NPR raved about Scott Brown, the recent winner in the Massachusetts Senate race, ad nauseum. Recently, I searched the NPR website for his name and there were an impressive 706 results! This is after he’s been in office less than a month.

Consider the language from NPR’s website for Scott Brown.

Senate’s New Maverick, Takes His Seat
- The GOP’s new ‘IT’ boy

As I see it, self-censorship reigns with NPR’s carefully crafted ‘embellish and/or omit’ policy that serves their puppetmasters while ‘protecting’ their listeners from the truth.

3 comments:

gDog said...

Perhaps "Zinns of Omission" would also work as a title. Mainly because Zinn was one of many whose scholarship was routinely omitted from NPR discussion because of its populist and authentic content. Other Zinns include Amy Goodman and just about any of the many free-thinking, hard working and investigative journalists she has on her show.

The Black Agenda Report does occasionally make it on NPR - usually to bash Obama - in ways I usually agree with, but still...there is only ever obligatory mention of Mumia Abu Jamal since Mumia And Npr in 3/26/96...14 years ago. Kinda like the 9 Wounded Knee mentions since 1997.

RepubLiecan said...

But it's only news if it's good news for us Republiecans!!! Then again, everything is good news for us, so they must be wracking their little brains deciding which is the best news for us.


"Zinns of Ommission" Thanks for the laugh, goopDoggy.

Can we start calling it Never a Progessive Radio?

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