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06 Jan 2011 19:52

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Politics: The Juan Williams after-effect: NPR shakes up its leadership

  • cause NPR decided to quickly fire news analyst Juan Williams for saying that Muslims made him feel uncomfortable, which drew a lot of controversy and led Fox News to hire him full-time.
  • effect After an investigation into what happened, NPR’s Senior VP for News, Ellen Weiss, resigned, and CEO Vivian Schiller won’t be getting a bonus this year. Them’s the breaks. source

22 Dec 2010 10:44

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Politics: Dear Nina Totenberg: We shouldn’t have been so quick to judge

  • Jeesh, these folks need a life – and perhaps a touch of the Christmas spirit, as well.
  • Nina Totenberg • Explaining her meaning behind apologizing for calling something a “Christmas party” on PBS the other day. The explanation? She was actually ripping on the Department of Justice for calling the event a “holiday party,” essentially leveling the kind of criticism on them as bloggers leveled on her. Dear Nina: We shouldn’t have been so quick to judge. We’ll hold off until you say something outlandishly bad about Jesse Helms again. (thanks goes to hman‘s awesome tumblr for the link) source

21 Dec 2010 10:31

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Politics: NPR’s Nina Totenberg: Sorry for saying “Christmas party,” guys

  • If you were looking for an exact point where political correctness has gone too far, this one probably works. See, NPR’s Nina Totenberg actually apologized for saying the phrase “Christmas party,” as if that’s going to offend people. The only people it will actually offend are the far-righties that will see this as another reason that NPR shouldn’t exist. Bad idea. source

23 Oct 2010 18:06

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Culture: Point to “Pictures of Muslims Wearing Things” in NPR spat

Aziz Ansari: Born Muslim. He wears clothes, but not the kind that raised Juan Williams’ eyebrows. He’s not alone, as the “Pictures of Muslims Wearing Things” Tumblr proves. source

23 Oct 2010 15:58

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Politics: NPR realizes Juan Williams’ firing not handled very well

  • I got the impression that [management] felt they had acted rashly and without deliberation. When [Schiller] made the psychiatrist crack, it just made matters much, much worse.
  • An NPR employee • Discussing the feeling they and many of the other staffers had about Juan Williams’ firing earlier this week. In the wake of the firing, which president Vivian Schiller even admitted was poorly-handled, the radio network is in fear that conservatives will choose not to donate to member stations, or worse, that Republicans in Congress will use the situation as an excuse to cut federal funding to member stations, which are much more reliant on it than the mothership. source

21 Oct 2010 21:44

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Culture: Huckabee: We must end this practice that doesn’t exist

  • demand In the wake of Juan Williams’ firing, Mike Huckabee has called for Congress to stop all federal funding of NPR.
  • reality The federal government doesn’t provide any direct funding to NPR. A worthy cause to fight for, Huck! source

21 Oct 2010 13:44

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Politics: NPR’s firing of Juan Williams pretty much a huge mess

  • 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
 

02 Aug 2010 11:06

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Music: “The Suburbs”: Arcade Fire’s new album available to sample

  • Pitchfork gave it an 8.6 today. It’s been universally feted by other critics (minus The Boston Phoenix, which seems to be contrarian for the sake of being contrarian). It’s got people using big words to describe how awesome it is. But hey, decide for yourself. NPR has the Arcade Fire’s “The Suburbs” up for streaming today. You can therefore decide if the Pitchfork guy is full of crap or if the Boston Phoenix guy wasn’t really loved as a child. Your pick. source

23 Jul 2010 14:00

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U.S.: RIP Daniel Schorr: They don’t build journalists like him anymore

Dude is IN CONGRESS smoking a cigar while at a hearing about whether Nixon tried to give him a job. He worked for both CBS and NPR in his lengthy career. He died today at 93. source

01 Jul 2009 22:24

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Politics: More NPR “torture” drama: Was Salon’s Glenn Greenwald ignored?

  • 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