NPR Listeners Flunk Newscast for Scrutiny and Mockery of Joe the Plumber

Apparently, the listening audience of National Public Radio is not completely liberal, or at least not entirely a club of Obama fanatics. On Friday’s All Things Considered, anchors Michelle Norris and Melissa Block read some listener mail, and none of the listeners quoted were happy about NPR’s scrutiny and mockery of Joe the Plumber, the man who dared to ask Barack Obama about punishing success with tax hikes. Like others, NPR pointed out Joe’s unpaid tax lien:

NORRIS: We've learned a lot about him since then, including as our coverage yesterday pointed out, that he owes about $1,200 in back taxes. Andy Melton of Midlothian, Virginia was one of many listeners who didn't think our scrutiny was appropriate.

BLOCK: He writes, "Let me make sure I understand. If I'm given the rare opportunity to stand face to face with a presidential candidate, I need to have all my financial affairs in order and be briefed on the tax code before posing a difficult question lest I suffer the wrath of worldwide media scrutiny."

NORRIS: Our coverage also included a piece of satire, a trailer for an imagined TV show.

(Soundbite of television show)

ANNOUNCER: He's a small businessman who's not afraid to get his hands dirty.

JOE the PLUMBER: Credit lines clogged? Ben Bernanke's bidet. I'm on it.

ANNOUNCER: Joe the Plumber. It's the blockage, stupid.

NORRIS: Well, some of you did not find the humor in that, including David Murmur of Branchville, New Jersey.

BLOCK: "This mocking radio parody was completely absent of any comedy, he writes. In fact if comedy were even near that skit, it would've shriveled and died."

NORRIS: Ouch! We got another harsh review from Tim Dickson of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. He writes, "I really want to like the bits of satire that ATC plays, but this is just really, really not funny. If you take all the funniness in the world and get rid of it, that's how much is there."

BLOCK: They love us, Michele. They've really, really love us.

NORRIS: Well, just not yesterday.

Credit goes to NPR for reading these letters on the air. It's something that other newscasts should emulate (NBC Nightly News has done a little bit of it.)

Here’s a little bit more of the script by Bruce Kluger, to prove it’s utterly unfunny:

ANNOUNCER: In a world of fiscal chaos, in a nation of flanged and insulated pipes, only one man can ensure the soundness of our economy and the smooth flow of our household sewage.

(Soundbite of phone ringing)

JOE THE PLUMBER: Joe the Plumber.

ANNOUNCER: From the creators of The West Wing, Dirty Jobs, and Bob the Builder comes a new series that probes the depths of political intrigue, even as it plunges the hairball from the powder room floors. Joe the Plumber.

(Soundbite of phone ringing)

JOE THE PLUMBER: It's Joe.

HANK PAULSON: Joe, Hank Paulson here. Look, we've got ourselves in a heck of a mess, and I'm hoping you can help us. Wall Street's going down the drain. Credit's plugged up, and it looks like the trillion dollar bailout might not be enough. The economy is in the toilet. What can we do?

JOE THE PLUMBER: Have you tried using a snake?