The Obama Administration isn't the only government-funded entity campaigning against Fox News. "NPR reporter pressured over Fox role" headlines an article by Josh Gerstein on Politico's Web site. It begins:
Executives at National Public Radio recently asked the network’s top political correspondent, Mara Liasson, to reconsider her regular appearances on Fox News because of what they perceived as the network’s political bias, two sources familiar with the effort said.According to a source, Liasson was summoned in early October by NPR’s executive editor for news, Dick Meyer, and the network’s supervising senior Washington editor, Ron Elving. The NPR executives said they had concerns that Fox’s programming had grown more partisan, and they asked Liasson to spend 30 days watching the network.
At a follow-up meeting last month, Liasson reported that she’d seen no significant change in Fox’s programming and planned to continue appearing on the network, the source said.
Story Continues Below Ad ↓NPR’s focus on Liasson’s work as a commentator on Fox’s “Special Report” and “Fox News Sunday” came at about the same time as a White House campaign launched in September to delegitimize the network by painting it as an extension of the Republican Party.
One source said the White House’s criticism of Fox was raised during the discussions with Liasson. However, an NPR spokeswoman told POLITICO that the Obama administration’s attempts to discourage other news outlets from treating Fox as a peer had no impact on any internal discussions at NPR.
Later in the article, an NPR spokeswoman is quoted:
"There’s no relationship between the White House’s criticism of Fox and any discussions about Fox that we’re having.”
Liasson has appeared on Fox News for a dozen years. Has the concern over her relationship with Fox News been building over all this time and did it take this long for NPR executives to take action? And possibly a bigger question: When did NPR become so concerned about media bias?
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Loyalty oaths will be next
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:30 ET by FranksamAnd I thought it was the fascists that required purity and dedication to a cause, including oaths of loyalty. Hang on a minute...I guess that's still true. What was I thinking?
It's all part
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:34 ET by Mike Batesof the new transparency.
You were thinkng ...
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 14:09 ET by Mallet HeadYou were thinking fascism was a thing of the 'rightwing.' Book suggestion, "Liberal Fascism" by Jonah Goldberg.
If I forget
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:41 ET by FranksamIf I forget to mention that I'm being sarcastic, I almost always am. The fascist Left is certainly what I was thinking about.
Click--click ----click
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:46 ET by ThisnThatClick--click ----click ----click ----click ----click ----click ----click ----click ----click ----click ----click ----click --HALT!
Your papers, please. Ve mus zee if dey are int order! Come mit us; I zee dat some questions mus be asked. Come along quietly, please.....
Nawwwww, it'll never happen here. Right? Right? 250,000 dead soldiers from 1941-1945 was our payment -- our guarantee, in fact -- that this would never happen in these United States of America. Right? Right? OMG, I hope I'm right.
__________
"mmm, mmm, mm. Barrack-Hussain-Øbama↓." - The liberals coolaid drinking song
But NPR
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:50 ET by Mike Batesmust be doing this for us, right? If we're not smart enough to arrive at the "correct" conclusion, they have to step in for our own protection.
NPR
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:50 ET by PeterDDid NPR ask Juan Williams to not appear on FOX news also? After all he is also on NPR. Or is NPR being sexist in singling out the woman, or racist is singling out the white woman? Or racist and sexist for not caring about Juan Williams appearances on FOX and only caring about hers?
My head hurts from trying to use liberal reasoning.
Wonderful Juan
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:53 ET by Mike BatesI believe NPR asked that, when appearing on Fox, Juan not be introduced as having an association with National Socialist Radio.
Re Williams
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:21 ET by slickwillie2001Yep:
NPR Veep Urges Juan Williams to Drop His NPR Affiliation [Feb, 12, 2009]: http://newsbusters.org/blogs/tim-graham
PeterD---
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 18:21 ET by matthewdeanThe reason your head hurts is because liberal reasoning is an oxymoron.
MD
"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
I don't get it, why wouldn't
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:51 ET by Radical1979I don't get it, why wouldn't they want someone on the left on what they consider a right network? It would get their message out to the network most people watch. Of course if leftists stopped appearing on Fox altogether they could point to that as proof of right wing bias...
Getting it
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 12:55 ET by Mike BatesI don't get it, why wouldn't they want someone on the left on what they consider a right network?
Are you presuming they're looking for a legitimately balanced discussion? Plus, I doubt if they perceive Mara or Juan as being "on the left."
Liasson should be happy that her National Government Radio...
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:01 ET by R D Helm...bosses have only requested she shy away from Fox, because I am guessing it won't be too terribly long before she, along with Juan Williams, will probably find themselves being more strongly discouraged, if not much closer to being verboten, from appearing on same.
"There’s no relationship between the White House’s criticism of Fox and any discussions about Fox that we’re having.”
LMAO! - Right, and I'm the Sheik of Araby, A-hab the A-rab, and the Queen of Sheba all rolled into one.
-Dave
Our elected representatives have failed us.
A-hab the A-rab
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:03 ET by Mike BatesDave, I have the feeling, when the PC re-education camps are ready to roll, you'll be one of the first enrolled.
Mike,
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:39 ET by R D HelmLOL-You're probably right. In fact, they likely already have the obligatory straw mat ready to issue to me, complete with my initials.
Of course, they will have to catch me first. :-)
It just floors me that somebody at National Proletariat Radio truly believes we are all stoopid enough to buy into the idea that none of this has anything at all to do with what Obama and his czars and czarinas are currently up to, particularly in the areas of media and communications.
No student of (non-revised) history can look upon all that is happening today without having their pucker factor increase substantially.
We have seen this movie before, several times.
-Dave
Our elected representatives have failed us.
stoopid enough
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:44 ET by Mike BatesIt just floors me that somebody at National Proletariat Radio truly believes we are all stoopid enough. . .
Well, Dave, the American people did elect He Who Walks on Water, so NPR's contempt for the public intelligence doesn't seem all that out of order to me.
Mike,
Tue, 12/08/2009 - 00:17 ET by R D HelmLOL - Don't get me started on the government-schooled rObamabots, their stupid T-shirts, or their bumper stickers, as to this point, I have successfully resisted the urge to grab them by the collar in a decidedly rude manner, and ask them just what, exactly, were they thinking last November?
-Dave
Our elected representatives have failed us.
Let's hear what they have to say
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:03 ET by RoussePersonally, I am always interested in the comments of Juan Williams and Mara Liasson on FOX News Special Report, and would be very disappointed if NPR forced them to quit. That wouldn't improve NPR's reputation.
I don't watch NBC, ABC, CBS, or CNN---so I don't know if other reporters from NPR appear on those networks. Does anyone know?
NPR doesn't want Fox viewers to hear liberals?
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:05 ET by bpjamHow else are Fox viewers going to know what the 'conventional wisdom' is amongst the Lamestream Media/Washington Press Corp? Mara is a dim bulb but she reliably recites whatever is being banted around in the NPR newsroom on Fox News.
Does NPR not WANT any of their 'personalities' to be known by the public? Or do they want them to continue to remain anonymous by appearing on NPR?
I like your use of
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:12 ET by Mike Bates'personalities'
Show us your papers pleaseeeeeeeeeee
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 13:25 ET by TomoramaNPR comments on "the obvious bias of Fox", then WHY THE BLEEP does Fox have NPR's OWN Top political correspondents that LEAN LEFT on if they are sooooooooooooooo biased?
Real simple even for NPR.
What the gutless Liberals are trying to do is pull back all their people that appear of Fox, so they can say gotcha, Fox has no liberals on their shows, therefore they are totally biased.
The FACTS are that Fox has FAR more Liberals on than anyone else has Conservatives and it "aint" close.
Will this get a big story like the guy Burns that Fox let go last year hammering them? Nevermind, I know the answer.
A great man once said, YOU only get out of life what YOU put into it, he obviously wasn't a liberal.
A great man once said, YOU only get out of life what YOU put into it, he obviously wasn't a liberal.
It's hard to know how much
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:26 ET by ThisnThatIt's hard to know how much of this is coming directly from the WH, but I suspect there's a strong link there. The WH might just be spelling it out very clearly for NPR -- get with our program, or get lost -- no more access. Not that NPR needs to be pressured, but just saying.
__________
"mmm, mmm, mm. Barrack-Hussain-Øbama↓." - The liberals coolaid drinking song
I'll bet Mara's eyes were bugging out when they told her that
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 14:12 ET by SickofLibsOh wait...
But seriously, if Madcow is say a ten on the moonbat scale of 1-10, Mara is no more than a two or three. I find her actually pretty reasonable as part of the Fox All Star panel. Sometimes you'd never even guess she was a lib when it comes to criticizing the Royal Court.
Pretty reasonable
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 14:32 ET by Mike BatesEarlier this year, Mara said on Fox that Obama's cash for clunkers fiasco was like a mini-Katrina. In response, NPR's ombudsman wrote:
Whether Liasson likes it or not, making a gaffe on Fox reflects poorly on NPR -- as many listeners have let me know.
So what was the gaffe?
I agree. Liasson is about
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:26 ET by stratmanI agree. Liasson is about as Centrist in her words as anyone, and there are darned few of them in the Media.
I'd bet she is a Democrat but she has journalistic integrity to keep her ideology from prejudiciously overwhelming the news she is reporting/commenting on.
I like her on Fox News Sunday with Wallace.
Really? CHIEF correspondent?
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:37 ET by StarAZShe never seems to have inside info...and her brow knits with consternation if she has to say anything the least but critical of the admin. She usually waits for everyone else to speak--then says, "Me, too..." in effect. Sorry, Mara, but you do.
Explain This
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 14:39 ET by GothampcPeople are complaining that Fox has political bias, so they ask people who have a different political viewpoint than Fox not to appear on Fox? What sense does that make?
That's easy...
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 15:57 ET by Forest for the TreesNPR is run by biased, lefty liberals that want to hush and quiet any opinons that differ from theirs -
Take for just one of the most offensive examples of this - Daniel Schoer (sp?) every time he opens his mouth on the NPR air waves.
So, no small wonder that the NPR execs mirror their reporters and commentators. I can't stand to listen to NPR any more than MSNBC, NBC, ABC, CBS, or the dying CNN media.
Here is the beauty of it, at least so far, we don't have to listen to their codswollop!
Moonlighting?
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 16:40 ET by StarAZDo those "Fox news contributors all" people get paid?...I once asked Joyce Brothers that in an interview and she would not say and was quite rude...actually.
Joyce Brothers
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 17:04 ET by Mike Batesanswered your question, I believe.
Fox News "regular contributors"---
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 18:43 ET by matthewdeanreceive $65,000 per annum, according to an article I read on Dr. Marc Lamont Hill.
Sorry, can't link the above.
MD
"There is no distinctly American criminal class - except Congress."
Mark Twain (1835-1910)
NPR=The Orwellian News Agency
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 18:09 ET by CrashIn other news NPR told Liasson to say fifty hail Barry's and stop going in for her annual mammograms.
Atlas may have shrugged, but, he doesn't blink. Us bloggers are keeping count.
Defund the UN, NPR and social programs before it's to late.
In praise of Mara
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 19:52 ET by UnsaneNPR is showing their true colors here as far as I am concerned.
Mara Liasson is a great contributor to Fox News: she's a Leftist, but both her and Juan Williams present their points of view without resorting to "bomb throwing" or other childish tactics of their brethren elsewhere. Perhaps it sounds crazy, but I can hear what they are saying and their presentation, and think to myself that if I ever ran into them in a bar in DC, we could sit and cuss and discuss the issues of the day over beer or wine and do so in a civil manner. That, considering what passes for Leftists these days, is absolutely refreshing.
What would be awesome is if she gave NPR the "finger" and went all the way over to the "dark side" of Fox News to work as their resident Leftist commentator if things came to a head. Both she and Mr. Williams are good to see at Fox, as far as I am concerned.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
"More partisan"...yeah,
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 20:05 ET by RR GOP"More partisan"...yeah, right.
It only seems that way as this gang of Socialists causes our country to head into a nosedive and more Americans are catching on.
Actually, I wish Fox News would hammer these clowns even harder...but then that might upset the "moderates"...don't want to do that now, do we.
One of the 34% who thinks George W. Bush was a great President. One of the 86% who wants to bring back the stock and pillory.
Juan/Mara
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 21:31 ET by slickwillie2001I've always wondered, in their NPR roles, do Juan or Mara come across as more liberal? I am not curious enough to listen to them on NPR, but I wonder if the enviromnent affects their work.
Good question
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 21:34 ET by UnsaneI'd be very curious about that myself. I have never heard them on NPR, but then, I haven't heard NPR on a regular basis since I was in high school (don't ask). I still find them to be quite refreshing, as they do not come across the way other Leftists do. Leftists they may be, but those two behave rationally and thus though I disagree with them, I can certainly respect them and hear what they have to say.
"CONSUMED DEMOCRACY RETURNS A SOCIALIST REGIME" - Slayer, "Fictional Reality", from Divine Intervention (1994)
Uns,
Mon, 12/07/2009 - 23:59 ET by R D Helm"... but then, I haven't heard NPR on a regular basis since I was in high school (don't ask)."
LOL-Glad to see I wasn't the only one traumatized by that hideous experience.
-Dave
Our elected representatives have failed us.
Jaun and Mara come across
Tue, 12/08/2009 - 13:16 ET by Dan The Man 2Jaun and Mara come across much like they do on other networks. Only when listening to NPR they are the conservative voice. They do tow the NPR/Dim party line and are mostly wrong in that respect.
BTW, I do have to put in a good word for both Mara and Juan...
Tue, 12/08/2009 - 00:09 ET by R D Helm...as they have both shown themselves willing to tell their primary employer to basically go pound sand.
That sort of courage should be respected, regardless of political affiliation, particularly in this hideous age of the (apparently hopelessly) PC-wussified American sheeple.
God bless 'em both.
-Dave
Our elected representatives have failed us.