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People who criticize NPR for being explicitly Republican or promoting some specific corporate or government agenda are missing it.
That& #39;s not the issue.
The issue is that NPR has internally defined a goal of "objectivity" that prizes ignoring ones own passions, views.
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That& #39;s not the issue.
The issue is that NPR has internally defined a goal of "objectivity" that prizes ignoring ones own passions, views.
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It is a problem throughout journalism--as @jayrosen_nyu and others have articulated.
One that thinks there is some thing called "neutrality" that is a coherent goal and which has no crisis mode, when one side is just plain wrong.
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One that thinks there is some thing called "neutrality" that is a coherent goal and which has no crisis mode, when one side is just plain wrong.
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But the deeper issues at NPR have nothing to do with ideology or politics.
It is a profoundly inward-looking, bureaucratic, fearful, hierarchical culture that is nearly incapable of taking in outside information, reacting thoughtfully and boldly.
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It is a profoundly inward-looking, bureaucratic, fearful, hierarchical culture that is nearly incapable of taking in outside information, reacting thoughtfully and boldly.
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It& #39;s more like Xerox or Blockbuster or other legacy cos that were built for one biz model and can& #39;t shift.
The ideology/journalistic ethics stem from that bureaucratic culture.
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The ideology/journalistic ethics stem from that bureaucratic culture.
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It has all the hallmarks of a stagnant decision-making process:
- the most powerful person, not the best idea, wins every disagreement.
- criticism or new ideas are seen as rude threats.
- huge risk aversion. innovative experiments that fail are quickly condemned.
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- the most powerful person, not the best idea, wins every disagreement.
- criticism or new ideas are seen as rude threats.
- huge risk aversion. innovative experiments that fail are quickly condemned.
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I left NPR in 2013, but folks at NPR do call me often when they are unhappy or curious about the outside world.
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