March 28, 2011

The Bias They Can't See: The NPR Set's Lack of Self-Awareness

By Mark Browning
"Some of my best friends are conservatives." That seems to be the attitude expressed by those within NPR who claim that the taxpayer-funded network is not liberal. These people deny their own liberal bias just as vehemently as "respectable" people have long denied their racism. We should not take this denial as untruthful. Instead, we have to understand where these people live and where they come from. They honestly believe, I would argue, that they play the journalism game very close to, if not right down, the middle. Such bias is probably more troublesome, more difficult to confront than Bull Connor turning the water hoses on civil rights marchers.This week, Bill Moyers, a long-time feeder at the public broadcasting trough, denied the existence of liberal bias at NPR. In a piece published at Salon, Moyers made a very strong statement:We've heard no NPR reporter -- not a one -- advocating on the air for more government spending (or less), for the right of abortion...(Read Full Article)