NPR essay on losing "America's trust"

[Azrael]

cool

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

 

[garrow]

"Two thousand years ago the proudest boast was "civis Romanus sum." Today, in the world of freedom, the proudest boast is "Uri Berliner."
--President John F. Kennedy, Rudolph Wilde Platz, June 1963

 

[jr/shotglass]

cool

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

Ooo man ... that's one rabbit hole I'm not even going to start going down.

 

[Alma]

I think the lack/loss of curiosity Berliner acknowledges (and should have addressed more to make the essay stronger) is a real issue in journalism, and one that is often driven by ideology to some extent as reporters are scared to push back against the wave for myriad reasons.

They're afraid to lose their jobs and all their friends. I think that pressure is real.

 

[Azrael]

They're afraid to lose their jobs and all their friends. I think that pressure is real.

And yet conservative outlets - presumably unconcerned about losing jobs or friends - have turned up nothing.

Maybe these are just hard stories to cover.

 

[swingline]

cool

Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump)

Don't ever send me to Truth Social again.

 

[Alma]

And yet conservative outlets - presumably unconcerned about losing jobs or friends - have turned up nothing.

Maybe these are just hard stories to cover.

The three stories in the essay? Any story?

 

[justgladtobehere]

A couple of things I'd like NPR to do. Map their stories, really get an idea of what makes the air, and what doesn't. If the network wants to be the voice of people who aren't heard elsewhere? Fine - I get it, but I also imagine a lot of viewers hear the news reports on All Things Considered and Morning Edition and don't "connect" with it. They can solve this by upping their story counts - tightening the longish feature stories, and refocusing their main emphasis on stories that impact the most people - they would still have room for the "here's an interesting story I bet you don't know about" things, but right now there seem to be too many of those that they bleed into each other.

A problem with this is that NPR isn't a monolith. ATC and Morning Edition probably have some idea of what the other is doing, but a lot of NPR programs are produced by stations and a bunch of what you hear on an NPR station or public radio station isn't even distributed by NPR.

 

[Azrael]

The three stories in the essay? Any story?

The post you quoted refers specifically to the Hunter Biden story.

Criminal conspiracies are difficult to report.

 

[DanOregon]

A problem with this is that NPR isn't a monolith. ATC and Morning Edition probably have some idea of what the other is doing, but a lot of NPR programs are produced by stations and a bunch of what you hear on an NPR station or public radio station isn't even distributed by NPR.

NPR does a show called "Today Explained" that is excellent. Usually topically, a deep dive, on something that matter - sometimes something different - but they present it so well. First part is always the "problem/situation" - second part is what happens next.
Frankly, I blame Ira Glass. This American Life IS exceptional - and great. But I sense that style of storytelling has crept into most corners of NPR. TAL does it well - but we don't need that style of storytelling when it comes to news reports from Gaza or a natural disaster. heck, I even hear that style on the top of the hour news headline reports and local coverage.

A story about a food bank running short of food or volunteers will include a minute of audio of someone shopping for canned vegetables...."Pears? No, don't need pears haha...Peaches, there's the one!" Seriously. And enough with the mood music on news stories.

 

[justgladtobehere]

People on the daily shows should take a hint from the fact that TAL and Radio 360 produce about 20 shows a year and that they miss sometimes.

 

[Alma]

Exactly. How do you have a shared national culture when you no longer even have a shared set of basic facts? And really it isn't uniquely an American problem. Look at all the far right splinter movements ramping up across Europe.

The default setting for a shared national culture isn't necessarily what the left says it is, though. Surely Trump's lies have separated culture greatly, for sure, tho.