Americans woefully misinformed on government funding of NPR

5% share of the federal budget that Americans believe goes toward funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
.01% share of the federal budget that actually goes toward funding the Corporation for Public Broadcasting source

» That 5% figure represents the median prediction Americans made when asked how much of the US government’s spending goes toward funding NPR’s parent organization. Very off-base, yes–but that’s just the median guess! Insanely, 5% of respondents believed that half of the country’s entire budget is given to the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. Relatedly, the average respondent thought foreign aid accounts for 10% of the budget, when it’s really more like 1%.

Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

I recognize the magnitude of this news – and that it comes on top of what has been a traumatic period for NPR and the larger public radio community. The Board is committed to supporting NPR through this interim period and has confidence in NPR’s leadership team.
NPR Board of Directors Chairman Dave Edwards • Discussing what happens next, as CEO Vivian Schiller resigns from her job with NPR. Her resignation, caused by a gotcha clip where NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller was caught saying things critical of the Tea Party to a couple dudes pretending to be Muslims. (How do these people get duped?!) “The Board accepted her resignation with understanding, genuine regret, and great respect for her leadership of NPR these past two years,” Edwards notes. We feel all those things, too. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

schiller #1 Last night, NPR’s Senior Vice President for Fundraising, Ron Schiller, pushed up his resignation two months. The change was caused by the release of a gotcha video clip. He’s now resigning “effective immediately.”
schiller #2 The CEO of NPR, Vivian Schiller, who’s unrelated to Ron, has resigned herself in the wake of the news. That was fast. Point to James O’Keefe: Your guys went past “finish him!” and scored a fatality on NPR. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

It’s not a bigoted statement. I said what I meant to say, that it’s an honest experience. … I have a moment of anxiety, of fear, given what happened on 9/11.
NPR news analyst Juan Williams • Defending his comments on Muslims that got him fired from NPR. He made this comment on Fox News today – and he made his earlier comment (that “people who are in Muslim garb” at the airport make him “nervous”) on “The O’Reilly Factor.” NPR has been getting some harsh rebukes from the right about all this, and we’re going to say, they’re deserved to some degree. It’s obvious what he meant – he still has some lingering post-9/11 fears, even if they’re a bit misguided – and we don’t think they were anywhere near as bad as the comments Rick Sanchez made that got him fired. Sure, they were questionable, but how many people share Williams’ opinion on this? If anything, he’s reflecting a view that isn’t uncommon (as proven by the whole “Ground Zero Mosque” drama), even if it is straight-up racial profiling. source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 4 Comments • Permalink

I played a large role in spawning the controversy in the first place. I think it was pretty cowardly and irresponsible for her not to being willing to address it.
Glenn Greenwald • Describing his conflict with NPR Ombudsman Alicia C. Shepard, who responded to his criticism of the radio network’s policy of using the phrase “harsh interrogation techniques” instead of “torture,” but didn’t mention him in the response. Greenwald goes further to say that he invited her on his radio show, but she declined because she apparently didn’t “want to get into a shouting match.” Greenwald just wants her to have a conversation with him about it. He promises no shouting. • source

Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Apr 2011 23:30