pointless praise for NPR

[trebblekicked]

is it just me, or is npr the greatest thing in media? not a hint of punditry, no talking heads, no left-right bickering, just interesting reporting.

in the past couple of week i've heard the following:

• an in depth interview with stephen colbert from the daily show
• a replay of an interview with studs terkel circa 1991
• a discussion on self-determination, relating current struggles for independence to wilsonian-era movements
• a multi-part story on the foster-care system that was completely devoid of sob stories
• an interesting bit comparing privatization of social security-type programs in britain and chile with possible american plans

and almost as important, i've heard none of the following:

• repetition of talking points
• backhanded slights aimed at this political party or that
• doubting the validity of tsunami damage estimates
• partisan bickering

i wasn't a big listener until i started commuting 45 minutes to work every other day. once i got tired of hearing the new modest mouse album, i turned on the car radio for the first time in years. it's a relief, to put it lightly. news without politics. information without opinionated analysis. listening without anger. thank you, national public radio.

[zimv20]

yes, npr is awesome, even though they've been going downhill for years.

pri is also awesome. and wbez does some very nice work, too.

[IJ Reilly]

The NPR news programs are my lifeline, especially now that our regional newspaper is owned by those people in Chicago.

I don't know what you mean by going downhill. I think NPR is doing a better job than ever, especially when contrasted against most of the rest of the news business.

[zimv20]

I don't know what you mean by going downhill. I think NPR is doing a better job than ever, especially when contrasted against most of the rest of the news business.
in comparison, yes, npr has simply degraded more slowly.

a friend of mine worked there for many years, and through him and others i met who work there, i got the inside scoop of all the politics, much of which involved an ongoing struggle between corporate direction ("we need to be more like CNN!") and old timers ("no! we do in-depth analysis!").

i've also gotten the scoop on what kinds of stories are run and not run. i will not provide specifics, but i will say the political environment is having an influence.

[IJ Reilly]

I'd wager the politics in any given newsroom is reliably fierce. I'm sure they run and kill stories for both good and bad reasons. I can only judge by the final product, which is what I hear on NPR news, and I don't think it's changed very much.