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from Editorial: NPR aka Home of the Unqualified
* Referring to a complaint from “listener Stephanie Bowman” about a “media blackout” on Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney and Ralph Nader, Simmons insists that “isn’t quite correct.” She goes on to list three days when Bob Barr was mentioned on NPR programming (May 12,, May 26 and July 28). Three days of coverage! Why, he should be polling at 98% with that ‘intense’ coverage! Is Simmons really that STUPID? Yes, she is. She wants to insist that “NPR’s Chicago bureau covered the weekend Green Party Convention” — then they didn’t cover it very well because that convention started on THURSDAY. Or is NPR on a different work week than the rest of the country?
* Simmons wants people to know that Ralph “Nader, and his running mate Matt Gonzalez have had 48 mentions during this political cycle, mostly after Nader declared his candidacy in February.” Ron Elving embarrasses himself (NPR’s senior Washington editor”) arguing that “as these candidates make news or participate in debates, NPR will report it.” Really? Where is NPR’s coverage of the BonusGate scandal coming out of Pennsylvania? But even when a Nader, Barr or McKinney ‘makes news’ on the NPR scale, Ron says it’s won’t matter because covering them “will not amount to much more than a small fraction of the coverage devoted to the two major parties’ nominees.”
* Simmons notes that “the election guide on NPR’s Election 2008 webpage features only presidential candidates McCain and Obama. In the interest of fairness, however, Rudin is working on getting the other candidates represented before the end of summer.” Really? And who will work on Simmons IGNORANCE? The only CANDIDATES currently are Bob Barr, Cynthia McKinney, Ralph Nader and Chuck Baldwin. Barack Obama and John McCain are NOT YET their parties’ nominees. The election guide could be fixed to include everyone in about ten seconds which is about how long Ken Rudin worked putting together the “Veepstakes” crap.
Filed under: News
So why don’t you do something? Why don’t you team up with Nader supporters and Barr supporters and demand coverage?
And why aren’t you pointing out that Bill Moyers does his weekly Obama Hour and will not invite Cynthia on?
He wanted to talk race, race, race all during the primary and still does. But we’re not supposed to note that the only Black candidate is being shut out by him? Or that all his guests discussing race are men?
NPR and PBS need to cover Cynthia and we need something like a Day ___ and no interview with Cynthia by Moyers.