Tuesday, March 15, 2011

NPR's Ira Glass, In The Echo Chamber...

Ira Glass, host of "This American Life" on NPR, defended his publicly-subsidized network from the onslaught of criticism it has received since the release of videotapes demonstrating their deeply-held hostility to conservative Americans.

Well, if you can call this a defense:

Ira Glass went on NPR's "On The Media" show on Friday to discuss the organization's current public troubles, and questioned why NPR is not responding head on to conservatives' charge that it has a left wing bias.

"I feel like public radio should address this directly, because I think anybody who listens to our stations understands that what they're hearing is mainstream media reporting," Glass said.

And mainstream media reporting has no liberal bias, Ira? I suppose it would seem that way to someone who's never stepped out of the box intellectually, and only hears things around him that echo their own worldview. No wonder that Ira believes the porridge served by NPR, the New York Times, and CNN is "just right" - it's the only kind he consumes...

And of course, if NPR is simply doing mainstream media reporting, then why in the world do taxpayers need to subsidize it? Especially since, as per Ira's own admission, their are private companies doing the same exact job while not suckling at the taxpayer's teet?

What's the matter, Ira? Afraid MSNBC won't pick up "This American Life"? Ironically, I could see FOX making an play for it....

No surprise that a man as blind as Glass would finish up by punching himself in his own eye:

Glass acknowledged that journalists tend to be more liberal than the general public, but he said "that doesn't change what is going out over the air."

I'm sure the fact that, in 2008, the New York Times put out a front page story on John McCain's affair with a lobbyist (which never actually happened, but...) and refused to investigate any of Barack Obama's dealings with Jeremiah Wright and Bill Ayers had nothing to do with the editorial biases of their newsrooms and editorial staff, oh no. That's simply "mainstream media reporting".

Ira Glass is this century's version of Pauline Keal, of the New York Times, who famously exclaimed in 1972 upon Nixon's victory, "How can that be? No one I know voted for Nixon!"

Ira likely doesn't know many people who vote Republican, or Tea Party, or who watch FOX News rather than PBS. It makes him very similar to the rest of the NPR staff, but much less qualified to defend their biases. The man in the echo chamber only hears one voice...

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