"NPR journalists may not participate in marches and rallies involving causes or issues that NPR covers, nor should they sign petitions or otherwise lend their name to such causes, or contribute money to them," Senior Vice President for News, Ellen Weiss, wrote in a memo Wednesday morning. "This restriction applies to the upcoming John [sic] Stewart and Stephen Colbert rallies."
"However, no matter where you work at NPR you should be very mindful that you represent the organization and its news coverage in the eyes of your friends, neighbors and others," Schiller continued. "So please think twice about the message you may be sending about our objectivity before you attend a rally or post a bumper sticker or yard sign. We are all NPR."
What the hell?
You know personally I find the National Public Radio a little dry and humorless at times. I believe they would benefit greatly from letting their hair down and having some damn fun.
If you feel that this is patently unfair you can contact them here and tell them so.
Speaking just for myself, if an NPR employee decides to break the rules and come out for a couple of helpings of sanity any drinking they do afterward will be on me. I will start a "sanity tab" at the bar and they can drink until they forget exactly WHO they work for, and possibly their name.
And I promise not to try anything naughty. Unless you want me to of course, in which case you are in luck, because essentially EVERYTHING I do turns out to be naughty in one way or another.
As far as I know, the NPR's new president is an ardent Republican.
ReplyDeleteThat explains it all...
Did they get the same email for the Beck event?
ReplyDeleteThanks for posting this Gryphen. We DO need to complain, BIG TIME!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad they have that policy.
ReplyDeleteNPR is the the news source I trust the most... alongside, of course, Steward & Colbert.
Anyone see the O'Donnell Coons debate?
ReplyDeleteDid O'Donnell stand behind a jet airplane to prepare her hair?
Off topic but way too fun not to share:
ReplyDeleteInfluential Ultra-Orthodox Rabbi Pulls Support From Carl Paladino Over Apology For Homophobic Remarks
We New Yorkers are having a riot ball over all this stuff!
THIS. MUST. GO. VIRAL.
ReplyDeletehttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/christine-odonnell-song_n_761865.html
Seriously, we need to know: Did they get the same memo before Beck's rally?
ReplyDeleteWe listen to our NPR station because it's the one of two public radio stations locally which broadcasts news. Otherwise, we refer to it as Not Particularly Relevant radio, or, Nervous Professor Radio, or No Perspective Radio, or. . .make up your own.
ReplyDeleteOne of my best friends works in the IT dept of NPR.
ReplyDeleteIt is a VERY liberal atmosphere, but they are very serious about maintaining objectivity, which is what we need from a news source.
You think they're dry and humorless?
At least they're not "entertainers" like Beck.
So come on. Be realistic here.
How quick would FOX jump on competing journalists who attended a Jon Stewart rally?
Gryphen...you would be calling them biased if they were FOX covering the Beck rally. This is as it should be.
ReplyDeleteI'll pitch in to that bar tab. I'd love for one of them to forget their own name! LOL
ReplyDeleteI'm outraged! And will never again offer a penny of support to NPR.
ReplyDeleteSounds like a professional approach. News reporters should report the news, not be part of the news. All of the staff has the responsibility of earning the confidence of the public.
ReplyDeleteI have no problem with this memo. People complain (bit@h)all the time about how the news isn't objective anymore (Most times its not) and here's NPR stating they want to be seen as objective and reminding employees of it. Yeah, they might be a little dry at times, but I like them.
ReplyDeleteToo bad the memo didn't cya with a sentence like "the same rules and admonishments that were applicable in the Glen Beck - restore rally are, of course, in effedt for the Sanity rally and every other rally held any where in the world for any cause.
ReplyDeleteI once worked at a company that sent out a memo telling all employees not to patronize a local bank and reminding us that it was possible to detect that information from payroll records.
The NPR managers ego must be just as large.
This is the standard for news organizations. Anything else gives the appearance (whether real or imagined) of a lack of impartiality.
ReplyDeleteBush put several conservatives on the NPR board. If the board says "jump," or "don't jump," the employees must. Doesn't matter if all the employees are liberal - only the "bosses" count.
ReplyDeleteLet me see if I have this straight. The NPR rule is if you disagree with Glenn Beck and you go to his do, it's OK.
ReplyDeleteBut if you agree with Jon Stewart and want to go to his do, you can't.
What nonsense. NPR must have been taken over by overcautious bean counters.
Most principled and experienced journalists won't participate. Most can't get out of the observer mode to clap hands in church! Besides in the big leagues there is the reputation to consider. Doesn't look good to be flapping ones arms or a sign at a political rally. Reputation and pay checks are good enforcers of ethics.
I attended Glenn's Sunday School picnic to see it.
Take away 1: Sarah needs voice lessons or she's going to lose her voice as Bill Clinton did. Screeching from that tight, top range is devil on the vocal chords.
Take away 2: There are some terribly misinformed folk who are energized by Beck and Palin. It's one thing to have an opinion, quite another not to understand the facts and basic civics, especially when quoting the Constitution.
Going to Stewart's for the same reason -- to see it. It should be interesting to see who attends. Wonder if it will energize voters for sanity?
And yes, I am a Chenagrrl!
I think NPR is spot on. I think all journalists should be observers and researchers, not participants. Active participation in a rally besmirches their objectivity. Let's face it, Gryphen. Anyone in the news media could stand to improve their image. Ok maybe not Rachel Maddow. Just sayin'.
ReplyDeleteOT but Palin-related so it falls in the sanity/insanity category.
ReplyDeleteBristol looks thin. How could this happen so quickly?
http://www.zimbio.com/photos/Bristol+Palin/Mark+Ballas+Bristol+Palin+Mint+Bar/jTRF82txCXK
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kBKhpTetPLM
I understand the concept entirely, but it would be nice if Fox News stood by the idea, too.
ReplyDeleteNPR is just doing the right thing here regarding neutrality. I think it's the correct thing to do- it doesn't mean they won't be reporting on the rally.
ReplyDeleteThey also receive some funding from the government so it seems appropriate on that front too. Doesn't give the Limbaughs and Becks
any reason to whine about bias. (not they don't or won't anyway!)
Did NPR post this same restriction about the Beck's "Restoring Honor" rally? If so, it must have been a secret.
ReplyDeleteI stopped giving money to NPR a few years ago when I realized their news arm is a wolf in sheep's clothing.
Emily Z, one of my oldest friends works for a public radio/tv entity (not a local station) and she is an ardent Republican. Reading between the lines of what she tells me, it is inwardly a very right-leaning culture at the decision-making levels.
ReplyDelete...I am with NPR on this one. I look to them to try to take the high road. It is a difficult job wading through the miasma of our society to report on what we need to know in a clear manner. I think they do a pretty good and honest job.
ReplyDeleteMarry me Gryphen?
ReplyDeletethough it is a PRI show, you should listen to "Whad'ya Know?" carried on NPR airwaves..dry and humorless hah!.... http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wyk/arts.artsmain?action=viewArticle&id=1711480&pid=1149&sid=10 plenty or jokes on that palin fellow
ReplyDeleteTwo years ago i saw that NPR was taken by Some government entity that i did not Like.CPB? I will not fund them any more. Their news is bull shit. I wont go on as it will only flame my ability to act sensibly.
ReplyDeleteWay it is.
This is standard journalism ethics 101. Honest. This is taught in journalism school and good news organizations keep their journalists to this ethical code.
ReplyDeleteA friend of mine has worked as a journalist for 3 separate papers. The guidelines are clear. Journalists and those who work for news organizations in any way that influences what is written/said are not supposed to volunteer with campaigns, wear any kind of political clothing or buttons, are not to attend partisan political gatherings, participate in rallies, have political bumper stickers, etc.
News organizations need to appear non-partisan. To do this, journalists have to appear non-partisan themselves. It is the only way to ensure that a news outlet is maintaining a non-partisan approach to news coverage. Or at least a non-partisan appearance. do
I find it rather wise of NPR to enact this policy. Every profession has specific codes of conduct. And NPR is the US gold standard in journalism.
I don't think that journalists should be barred from attending political rallies in general. This rally is high profile. I think a journalist in my community should be able to go to a local rally. But ethically they are not supposed to do so. Journalists are supposed to keep their personal political beliefs private; much more private than most citizens. This is why the journolist scandal was such a big deal. Journalists were discovered talking about their political beliefs. It almost ruined Dave Weigel's career.
NPR is one of the last pure, unbiased news sources we have. They struggle with the assumption that they are liberals because they ask real questions and ask them of a variety of people. NPR covers news that no other organization covers. They have to protect their image. I need them to protect their image.
Fox news told its employees to back away from the 9/12 Tea Party Protest. Sean Hannity was supposed to speak at a 9/12 Tea Party Rally, and Murdock pulled him off the stage at the last minute. While Fox sponsored the Tax Day Tea Party protest, they got a ton of crap for doing so (and lost advertisers). So, Murdock pulled Fox participation. It didn't work. Fox was all over the 9/12 Tea Party Protest. But Murdock realized that he allowed a massive mistake to occur at Fox by allowing staff to host and promote the Tea Party Protests.
Whenever you are at a political gathering, look around. How many news media persons do you see participating? You will see some covering the gathering, but you will likely not find any participating.
How do journalists get around this? They work hard to be assigned to cover the protest/march/gathering!
Chenagrrl at 7:02,
ReplyDeleteThere is no reason to assume that NPR didn't tell their reporters not to attend the Beck rally as participants. This specific request became public.
It is also very likely that NPR released this memo because the Stewart/Colbert rallies aren't really political, but are political satire. NPR may have released a memo telling it's employees that NPR views this as a political event and their employees are to behave as if it were a strictly political rally.
Lets face it. We know that these rallies are based on political satire. But the RWNJs all think this is real politics. And many liberal participants will attend this as a political rally because we libs don't get political rallies. We have to wait for Stewart to organize one for us!
*Note to self* Get a job at NPR before Oct 30th and then get your drink on. :D
ReplyDeleteAnonymous @ 9:08 pm
ReplyDeleteI can't speak for other cultures, but my friend works at NPR in Washington, DC, and he is a staunch liberal. He has never been made to feel that it is a right-leaning culture.
Now, that doesn't mean that there isn't some of that in the upper echelon - just not what he encounters every day.
Anyway, I still think that this is correct for NPR to do.
Just because NPR wants its employees to not participate does not mean that they won't be reporting on it.
And I'm sure that the same rules applied for the Beck event. No participating, but reporting. (although honestly my local broadcasts barely mentioned it)
To answer the question in the title of your article, TEACHERS!!!
ReplyDeleteNPR journalists, Gryph, not just "employees."
ReplyDeleteThis is the right call, the correct journalism standard, regardless of political affiliation.
MicMac
Sorry, but I don't think any employer can tell their employees what they can do when they are not at work. The oft used saying "Lincoln freed the slaves" seems appropriate to me here. As long as they are not wearing "NPR" clothing or sign a petitions, "NPR Employee", when they are off the clock, NPR has no business giving them instructions such as this.
ReplyDeleteHow can you be fair and objective if you don't honestly look at both sides.
I asked my teenaged grands if they listened to NPR and got totally blank stares. I think their days are numbered and they should not be doing anything to ostracize those of us "old farts" who do listen to them (make that "used to" listen to them in my case, as they have lost this listener now).
funny.
ReplyDeleteot, but i didn't want to sully the positive obama post with the name "o'donnell". jon and stephen can take it. seems she has something else in common with sarah other than lunacy:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/10/13/christine-odonnell-stumped-supreme-court-debate_n_762067.html
i have noticed a shift in npr's news reporting and have not been happy with it. there are still some favorite reporters, and the cultural reporting is almost always good (as are a prarie home and thistle and the shamrock; ahhh, winter sat. nights...) i've stopped listening to them for news though. now i just get it from many and various sources. someone's got to be accurate out there! and this blog as well, of course.
ReplyDeleteTBH, I would imagine many of NPR's reporters would have felt grossly insulted had someone assumed they might *want* to attend Beck's rally. Why on earth would you tell people someone was so certain you might try to attend that they had send a memo telling you not to? "Who do you think I am??" LOL
ReplyDeleteSmiling has the right of it: reporters watch news, not make it. That's largely been forgotten by the likes of the Anderson Coopers and Huffington Posts of the world, but that's what true journalism is.
I don't know if I agree with you about this one ... Since NPR has been my last resort for getting most of my news (can't do Faux, of course; CNN is too goofy; MSNBC can be troublesome -- although I love Olb & Maddow), I would hope that they WOULD continue to at least appear to be unbiased. If we were to lose them completely to left-leaning thought, they'll be labeled as such and then we have few options left. Just my opinion.
ReplyDeleteAnd you thought that what you heard on NPR was "fair and balanced" reporting of the facts?
ReplyDeleteAs I recall, the Bush Administration was very pleased when the current president of NPR took over. They had more control over the content .....what is that spinning?
I think your complaint is ridiculous. The NPR memo is right on the money. This is why I listen to NPR, because they try to maintain journalistic standards.
ReplyDeleteI would suggest that those who are outraged by this memo are being blinded by their own bias.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting receives federal funding. Thus it is critically important that programming that it funds, such as NPR, remain objective. My experience is that they report the facts, which as we all know is the sign of leaning towards the left. My guess is that its employees are probably left-leaning, therefore would not ever consider participating in a Glenn Beck rally, thus the need to ask them not to participate would not arise.
ReplyDelete"Rally to Restore Sanity" northern style in Wasilla at the Wasilla Middle School on Oct. 30, 8 a.m. We'll watch the DC version and have some fun. Come hang out.
ReplyDelete