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Angry at NPR? Don't take it out on WBUR

By adamg on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 2:35pm

WBUR's Andrew Phelps tweets:

WBUR is now allowing donors to specify their money not go toward NPR programming.

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Comments

By toddr4fun on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 3:11pm.

I think it's a good opportunistic move. Great local content deserves great local support.

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By Nepotist on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 3:42pm.

At first, this looks like caving to Sarah and the knuckledraggers, but it's a great lesson in free speech. Both Juan Williams and NPR are learning that speech, no matter how free, has consequences. If you aren't willing to accept those consequences, you are either completely ignorant of your "rights" or a coward. Kudos to each side on this one, but big kudos to NPR. That said, I don't think NPR's going to lose a dime on this.

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By Dave on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 4:48pm.

How about you fill us in on what the "consequences" were when Nina Totenberg expressed the hope that a Senator and his grandchildren would get AIDS.

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By Nepotist on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 5:21pm.

Where was that question 15 years ago... you know, when she actually said it? Answer: Nowhere, because in the context of her statements about Sen. Helms and his views on HIV and AIDS and actions on HIV- and AIDS-related items in Congress, nobody considered it noteworthy. Just because the Weekly Standard finds it convenient to bring up that statement without any hint about its relevance to the the conversation at the time doesn't mean it's equivalent to the Williams situation. Do you vet the talking points at all, Dave, or do you just blurt them out?

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By Dave on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 6:20pm.

They're "talking points" when you don't have any other answer.

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By Nepotist on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 9:31pm.

when a select few media outlets of a certain disposition use them to gin up outrage about an event no one could muster so much as a harumph about 15 years ago. "But Brawndo's got electrolytes!" Say it a few thousand more times and maybe it'll mean something someday.

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By Brett on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 9:33pm.

Required reading:

http://www.npr.org/yourturn/ombudsman/2003/031029....

Then:

http://mediadecoder.blogs.nytimes.com/2010/10/22/n...

"We are a news organization that exists to serve the First Amendment,” she said. “The issue, again, was, Juan Williams, on several occasions — with the thing that happened earlier this week being only the most recent — violated our news code of ethics, to which he is beholden as a news analyst. And it happened again and again. And this time, we decided that enough was enough. That is not a First Amendment issue."

Juan said:

"I mean, look, Bill, I'm not a bigot," Williams continued. "You know the kind of books I've written about the civil rights movement in this country. But when I get on the plane, I got to tell you, if I see people who are in Muslim garb and I think, you know, they are identifying themselves first and foremost as Muslims, I get worried. I get nervous."

Nina (fifteen years ago) said:

"I think he ought to be worried about what's going on in the Good Lord's mind, because if there is retributive justice he will get AIDS from a transfusion or one of his grandchildren will get it…"

One was a direct expression of personal, racist views. The other was a joke.

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By Sarcastic Sam on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 3:26pm.

...he's going to get $2Million from Fox.

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By anon on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 5:04pm.

the man may be smart but he has no common sense. He so obvious. Alot of people have there fears and hangups about. the unknown. AS a child you may blurt out something stupid or hurtful but your parents will teach you . to keep your mouth shut. pinch you. AS a person of color what he said was embarrising Its right up there with jesse going to himme town or utube thing when he was going to castrate someone. when he said that they could see the donation money going up in smoke. did you think they was gonna give him a pay raise or an award???????

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By anon on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 3:54pm.

doesn't funnel foreign money toward political campaigns.

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By Nepotist on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 5:26pm.

Why would the Chamber of Commerce use its influence to create a situation advantageous to the businesses/corporations among its members? It already has the National Retail Federation cranking out the propaganda about how well the consumer sector is doing and how government doesn't need to involved itself when those businesses are doing just fine with their local tax abatements, citizen status and newfound ability to pump money into the political system thankyouverymuch. Those corporations are just citizens like me and you! Why should they be oppressed by draconian law that deprives them of their God-given right to manipulate the system? Damn Obama and his black-... I mean BALD-faced lies!

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By anon on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 6:40pm.

Notice something interesting. No conservatives are trying to prevent people from appearing on NPR, but liberal interest groups and their media outlets are trying to prevent people from appearing on Fox News.

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By anon on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 8:43pm.

Because Faux news and its loser lackeys are trying to completely destroy and defund NPR, that's all.

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By Stewart on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 9:14pm.

You're a goddamned anonymous genius, aintcha?

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By Nepotist on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 9:33pm.

Conservatives want to pull the 2% federal funding of NPR. By their logic, that would stop EVERYONE from appearing on it. I'd say that counts as prevention.

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By John-W on Sun, 10/24/2010 - 9:47pm.

Anytime someone starts with "Now, I'm not a bigot..." you're almost guaranteed a racist comment. Now, I'm not a bigot, but when I get on the T and it's full of people who look like Juan Williams, I feel a bit nervous. I don't think every black person is a criminal and obviously we can't paint an entire group for the actions of a few criminals, but it's just how I feel... Somehow that just doesn't sound reasonable does it? At least not to me it doesn't.

Juan Williams is there on Fox to say these things so they can provide cover for those Fox viewers who really feel like "it's them damn sand-n***rz, kill em all." Now they can say "Well gee, I feel the same way as that black guy, so I guess I'm not racist, it's just a natural reaction to 9-11."

Until we can bring corporate America under control (starting with Fox) I'd say this country is headed right down the pooper.

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By O-FISH-L on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 12:21am.

When NPR CEO Vivian Schiller pleads "It's not about Fox News, it's not about a political agenda" guess what? It's ALL about Fox News and a political agenda not liberal enough for Vivian. As many wise men have said, "When they say it's not about the money, it's about the money." How long before Schiller is shown the door or decides to pursue the proverbial, other opportunities? PS -- If Williams doesn't have a psychiatrist and Schiller "joked" that he has mental illness, isn't that hate speech? OTOH, if he does have one and she was aware of this as his boss, isn't it a HIPPA violation? NPR may have bigger financial problems (lawsuit) than millions in canceled donations and canceled federal funds.

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By anonpr on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 12:45am.

I specifically donated because of this kerfuffle. Those who are criticizing probably were not regular contributors anyway. See this NYT article. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/23/business/media/2...

Of the thousands of complaints that have saturated NPR in the wake of Juan Williams’s firing earlier this week, some of the most telling have been from callers describing themselves as long-time “viewers” of NPR who warn that they are going to “stop watching.”

NPR, of course, does not have viewers, it has listeners. But the public radio organization has come under severe criticism — largely from people who are not listeners, it believes — for having fired Mr. Williams, an analyst who was employed by both NPR and Fox News when he said on Fox that he felt fearful when he saw people in “Muslim garb” on an airplane.

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By gary on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 12:40am.

I wish I could do the same with my 1040.

There's lots of thing my fed dollars pay for I wish they didn't.

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By Barkley on Mon, 10/25/2010 - 11:19am.

and pay for roads used only by smaller, more efficient vehicles. Let the blowhards in their F150-550s, truck-based SUVs and NASCAR-sized trailers foot the rest of the bill. like myself who have no idea of how a society works -- like myself -- from just picking and choosing what they pay taxes and fees for like it was a night at the Sizzler.

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