It seems that NPR listeners are grumbling again about the network’s practice of calling President Obama “Mr. Obama,” rather than using “President” on a consistent basis. “A number of listeners have written in recent weeks complaining that NPR reporters refer to President Obama as ‘Mr. Obama’,” notes NPR ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos. But “since the mid-1970s […]
Archive | Public Radio
The college radio “guerillas” who made NPR possible
College Radio Day has come and gone, but I’d like to add a historic footnote to the festivities. College radio broadcasters in the 1960s convinced Congress to fund radio as well as television in the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967. Without that campaign, it is unlikely that NPR would exist. The story is beautifully told […]
NPR: We R2 covering Occupy Wall Street!
It appears that NPR is smarting from charges that it has given the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City and elsewhere short shrift when it comes to coverage of the demonstrations. We’ve noticed some discontent in this area, and so has NPR’s ombudsman in his latest post, citing one complaint from a listener […]
Is NPR really covering the Wall Street protests?
NPR ran a story this morning on npr.org about yesterday’s Occupy Wall Street/Brooklyn Bridge arrests. The piece, bylined as “NPR STAFF AND WIRES,” noted that 700 OWS protesters were arrested for marching on a bridge road. The problem, as this YouTube video indicates, is that the cops appear to have led the demonstrators onto the […]
NPR chides itself for “abortion doctor” reference
There aren’t very many subjects that NPR listeners won’t fight about, including tinnitus, circumcision, and Yellowstone Park bears. But when it comes to abortion—now that’s when you get the 300 comment threads. I’ve got to concur, however, with NPR listener Marcia Bryant of Cleveland, Ohio, who complained about a NPR Morning Edition story calling an obstetrician […]
NPR, professor have he said/she said over “he said/she said” abortion story
NPR is not taking scholar Jay Rosen’s charge that the network has engaged in one of the “lowest forms of journalism” lying down. “Rosen is a journalism professor whose provocative positions on media responsibility and new media have often succeeded in shaking up a sometimes hidebound profession,” notes NPR Ombudsman Edward Schumacher-Matos. “But this time he […]
Undercurrents: getting Native music into the mix
UnderCurrents—one of the best syndicated public radio music shows around, has hit a milestone. “After six years of subverting formatting conventions across the USA, we’ve somehow reached 100 stations!” the show’s host Gregg McVicar wrote to us this week. The magic number loomed when the program was picked up by seventeen members of the […]
KUSF Supporters Protest at Entercom Headquarters
At a lunch-time protest outside Entercom’s San Francisco offices yesterday, KUSF supporters reminded their foes that the fight regarding the future of college radio station KUSF is far from over. Around 50 protesters gathered outside Entercom’s Third Street studios, voicing concerns about the corporate radio conglomerate’s role in the complicated deal that led to the […]
Happy KALW day!
Attention San Francisco public radio lovers—mark your calendars for September 8, because our Board of Supervisors has proclaimed it KALW Day—a day to celebrate the 70th anniversary of the aforementioned public FM radio signal, chartered by the San Francisco Unified School District. Here’s some of the proclamation, which will be delivered at a ceremony at […]
The Wheeler School to Lease FM Airwaves to Rhode Island Public Radio
Last week WELH 88.1 FM in Providence, Rhode Island announced that it was working on a deal to lease its signal to WRNI, Rhode Island Public Radio, for the next 10 years. WRNI currently airs NPR news programming over 102.7 FM in southern Rhode Island and over 1290 AM in Providence. As part of this […]