In these letters to the editor, readers comment on Thane Conriocht’s letter “Public Radio Needs to Set Aside Its Political Bias.” Radio World welcomes letters to the editor on this or any story. Email [email protected].
Political Reporting Made Simple
I agree, wholeheartedly, with Thane Conriocht’s letter concerning political bias on public radio.
Many years ago, while visiting an out-of-town relative and getting my first-ever look at C-SPAN, I thought: “Now THIS is what public broadcasting (TV and radio) should be!”
My meaning: [Public broadcasting] should offer viewers (and listeners) unfiltered, unvarnished, unbiased and straightforward glimpses into our government in action (or, “basic information service at face value,” in Conriocht’s words). In contrast, NPR and PBS frequently present the exact opposite: Filtered, biased and often one-sided opinions (typically left-leaning and sometimes intended to sway, but subsidized by all U.S. citizens).
In contrast, truly public broadcasting (using public airwaves) should be, in my opinion, closer to this: Simply point a camera (and a microphone) at Congress (and toward other governmental activities) and broadcast it completely unfiltered (via the public spectrum), thereby affording everyone — not only cable-TV subscribers — full access.
Now THAT would be in the true spirit of public broadcasting … and everyone, of all political stripes, should be able to get behind it.
Alas, unfortunately, some would undoubtedly still fight their loss of a subsidized spigot for spewing propaganda.
— Michael Saffran, SUNY Communication Lecturer Emeritus, Rochester, N.Y.
Leftist Propoganda?
I find the this writer’s comments exactly mirror the present right wing authorities and barely half of the voters’ methods of blaming their own prejudices on the “other half.”
As a longtime NPR listener, I feel that the material I hear on NPR radio is inclusive and pretty much fair.
If I say that the present administration is dismantling democracy at a rapid pace, is that truth or leftist propaganda?
I urge people such as Thane to look at themselves in that light, and recognize the mirror they are gazing into.
— Lou Judson, intuitive audio and radio producer, Novato, Calif.
An International Perspective
For 48 years I have been listening to public radio and viewing public TV in the USA — even now that I am out of the country — and never ever have I felt that I was subjected by them to distorted reality, liberal content, one-sided news and opinion or leftism and “diminished truth.”
After all, I don’t know what liberalism and leftism are in America other than the ideas of those who are opposed to the governing party. God forbid America changed face and course and became a conservative society.
Further, I have been listening to foreign radio stations for 62 years on a daily basis and I can’t think of more than three or four stations approaching the level of professionalism and neutrality of the American public stations.
Frankly, these two articles appeared before my eyes like thunder in clear skies. It is clear to me that such views are the result of the propaganda and the actions of our President who can never accept media [that is not] expressing his ideas and his interests.
— Fotios Padazopulos
[Related: “Is the Truth Too Much to Ask?“]
