I like the rage, but I missed the story. I can't listen to that shit anymore. It eats me up.

Wait, so we don't like Planet Money anymore? Why?

I am so behind on my hipster bingo card.

As public-radio business shows go, I prefer Marketplace.

I'm doing *the wave* for Joe Beese at this moment!

TODAY IS ANGRY DAY!!!!

No shit today is angry day. I've spent the last five hours chewing up rocks and spitting out gravel. Now I would just like to sit in a vat of whiskey and cry.

Joe Beese lives in Utah, TrishaLynn. I don't think they grow hipsters there.

I heard that this morning and it pissed me off too.

I heard that story too thinking that was some of the dumbest shite I've heard on there in some time. I also don't often listen in. What a load of crap.

He was trying soooo hard to make the attendees look hypocritical but he just couldn't. I mean, how the fuck is a person from Japan supposed to get to Copenhagen without, at some point in the trip, flying in a plane?!!

So, don't do a story segment on the $1 million that is going to 3rd world recipients and investigate exactly how the off-seting works. Because, you know, carbon-sharing is about to become the newest big international market. No, please don't do THAT! Just keep your thumb up your ass and sound like a first year communications student asking stupid questions that REPEATEDLY go nowhere.

/Joe Beese inspired rant complete.

NPR has been doing the New York Times thing of responding to criticism of left bias by bending way over to the right. I don't listen to their news much these days other than On The Media. And Marketplace but that's not actually NPR, its from another group. Marketplace has a place in my heart for having Robert Reich on fairly often.

NPR has been doing the New York Times thing of responding to criticism of left bias by bending way over to the right.

I do agree. There was a profoundly softball story about the teabagger movement on ATC last week. On Thursday they mentioned 'boy, did we get letters!" They deserved them. No followup questions, no challenges, in any of the interviews. Just chuckly relaying of superficial information.

Hoping the trend doesn't continue, because NPR is my main news source and I used to really credit them for being the last bastion of an independent press based on the idea of an informed citizenry.

That teabagger story really set my teeth on edge, too, precisely because no-one was challenged on any of their assertions and yet the story went on for a very long time. I make a point of donating to my local station during the local programs, not during Morning Edition or All Things Considered because it seems that the local news reporting tries harder to challenge the assertions of interviewees and spokesmen--regardless of who they represent.

Yeah, Marketplace is (or was the last time I checked) from the Org that grew out of Garrison Keillor's radio empire. When I was working in Pasadena, they acquired the station from Pasadena City College and made it quite listenable. Since leaving L.A., I haven't listened to Radio much, Public or otherwise.

The whole Teabagger movement is either going to destroy the Republican party (good) or grow powerful enough to destroy the U.S.A.-as-we-know-it (not so good). I keep seeing Obama as trying to reform-but-support the American System the same way Gorbachev tried with the Soviet System, with potentially the same results. But I digress.

What Miko said. Miko always says everything I am thinking, but, like, 100x better.

Liberal Media, my ass!

So did you rant that negative energy to NPR or just us?

I stopped listening to NPR. I suggest it. I'm more comfortable triangulating my own information from a combination of online sources, the local [like printed in town] paper and talking to people. NPR knows that controversy sells so all their stories wind up having this "on the ONE hand... one the OTHER hand..." nonsense while at the same timehaving that winka winka "we all know how right-thinking people think about this issue" smarminess. I'm with you, a pox on them.

Hrm I still am a pretty dedicated NPR listener but I have to say that for quite some time now I more or less have been increasingly dissatisfied so really I completely sympathize. There has been a marked increase of "Earth is flat: views differ" type reporting in the last few years. I've listened to Marketplace as well for at least the last ten years and while I like staying informed in financial news (as money runs our country) I heard a pretty convincing critique of it from Noam Chompsky. I can't quote it in specifics but basically he was saying that they promulgate a kind of American capitalism as a normal, expected behavior and further push the notion that things like DJIA closing prices are relevant, important news. I don't always agree with Chompsky but I found this argument pretty persuasive (and try to find his actual statements as opposed to my rushed paraphrase, it might have been on Alternative Radio).

(The other problem I have with NPR is that the entire new group of voices seemed selected for some kind of humanizing factor that I just didn't think was really missing. I sure don't need to hear anymore belly laughs from Steve Inskeep, or a choked up Meeeeeeeeeeeshal while I'm just trying to listen to the news. There's been a general increase in human interest stories as well. I miss Bob Edwards.)

That being said I don't think I advocate giving up on them. They are good middle of the road news for America and that is a perspective that one should also have. By all means supplement it with a wide variety of online new (I do) but its really important to have the baseline to understand what is not being reported and what the spin is.

I used to listen to NPR regularly, but during the election last year I just got tired of it. From my class/geographic position it just doesn't seem like it's aimed at me. To me, it comes across as having a distinctively coastal upper middleclass vibe. Whenever discussions come up about college (or if a student reporter is from a college) it's from one of the ivies. The problems they cover aren't my problems or those of people I know, accept when they're presented in an "oh, isn't this quaint" way.

There are some shows I'll follow, but only via podcast. I'd much rather listen to one of local stations or a podcast.