NPR listeners: Speech is for me, not for thee
The Washington Times’ Jennifer Harper reports this morning that NPR’s foray into conservative talk radio was met with dismayed NPR listeners, apparently unaccustomed to conservatives on that taxpayer-funded broadcaster;
National Public Radio listeners who tuned in to “Morning Edition” during the last four days of February found some atypical programming around 6:30 a.m. during the broadcasts.
“Conversations with Conservatives” was heard during morning-drive time with host Steve Inskeep and a conservative of the day with much on his mind.
[…]
According to NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard, more than 60 angry e-mails and phone calls arrived at the network, calling the programming “shameful” and a “lovefest with radical, right-wing nuts.” There were only a few, she said, that praised the series as “refreshing” and “articulate,” among other things.
Imagine that – having an opinion that runs counter to that of the regular programming on NPR is “shameful”. Actually, it should give NPR execs some pause – if running a few 7 minute spots of conservatives shock your listeners, maybe what conservatives have been saying for years is true – NPR is nothing but Leftist propaganda disguised as mainstream programming.
And if you have to experiment with conservative shows to get a “sampling” of conservative opinion, maybe you’ve been fooling yourselves all along.
Of course. The open-minded, tolerant listeners of NPR were shocked to find a sliver of opinion that didn’t fit their template of how the world works. Shameful indeed.