Fox Wages War Against NPR As News Corp. Donates
Millions To Support It

Fox News frequently lambasts National Public Radio as a "bias[ed]," "defamatory" news outlet, and attacks have intensified of late because of the recent forced resignations of two of its top executives. However, Fox News parent company News Corp. appears to harbor a different view of NPR's value considering the media conglomerate's subsidiaries have donated at least $2 million to fund and sponsor the nonprofit organization.

Fox HasMade A Habit Out Of Attacking NPR Over The Years

Fox Invents Conspiracy Theory That"NPR Is Working" With FCC To "Censor Talk Radio." From Fox News' Fox & Friends:

DICK MORRIS (Fox News contributor): We spend $500 million onNPR. And in the budget discussions that are going on now, I think theRepublicans should insist on zero funding NPR. And it's easy for them to do.You simply don't pass an appropriations bill for them. You carve it out, youput it separately, and you vote it at zero. I think they can do that. But NPRhas a backup plan.

NPR is working with the Federal Communications Commission,the FCC, to basically censor talk radio. What they're going to do is set upcommunity advisory boards for each station that will report to the FCC on howwell the talk radio station is doing on serving the community. Ratings don'tmatter, but the opinion of this board matters. And the FCC can then fine thestation and give the fine to NPR. And that's the plan that [President] Obama isgoing to be pushing this year.

[...]

STEVE DOOCY (co-host): One of the ways that I understandfrom your notes, one of the things they're trying to do to crack down on localstations that might run Rush Limbaugh or Sean Hannity or the Brian KilmeadeShow, and that is that they would have a requirement that at least 25 percentof the programming be locally produced, and that's very expensive for littlestations in some cases. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 3/9/11]

O'Reilly: "The Truth Is ThatNPR Is A Liberal Organization And Always Has Been." On his Fox News show, Bill O'Reillyaired excerpts from a video released by conservative activist James O'Keefe showingcontroversial statements made by an NPR fundraiser, andstated:

O'REILLY: NPR announced today that Ron Schiller would beleaving the company and issued a statement saying they are appalled, appalledby Schiller's comments, which are, quote, "contrary to what NPR stands for,"unquote. But does anyone believe that?

The truth is that NPR is a liberal organization and alwayshas been. At times they do good reporting, but the culture is left-wing. That'swhy the feds can no longer fund it. NPR rightly points out that it did notaccept a bogus $5 million check from the phony Muslims at the lunch. But likethe ACORN sting, Mr. O'Keefe has succeeded in embarrassing an organization thattakes public money. We once again urge Congress to stop the madness. NPR andPBS should compete in the marketplace. [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 3/8/11]

O'Reilly: "Once Again, NPR EmployeesAre Seen Spouting Left-Wing Verbiage." The next day on The O'Reilly Factor, O'Reillystated:

O'REILLY: The head of NPR, Vivian Schiller -- out of there.Just one day after embarrassing undercover tapes of two NPR fundraisers werereleased, Ms. Schiller announced her resignation. That's because, one again,NPR employees are seen spouting left-wing verbiage. The Corporation for PublicBroadcasting well knows it is on the verge of losing all federal fundingbecause of this kind of stuff.

Last night on the Factor, we showed you the tapeswhere the two NPR fundraisers were seen to be sympathetic to the Palestiniancause. And they don't like Republicans very much either, so why shouldRepublicans pay their salaries or at least a portion of them? No longer canfunding for public broadcasting be justified in this country. [Fox News, TheO'Reilly Factor, 3/9/11]

Monica Crowley: NPR Isn't"Interested In The Equal Exchange Of Ideas." During a panel discussion of NPR on America'sNightly Scoreboard, Fox News contributorMonica Crowley stated:

CROWLEY: A dollar is too much for NPRbecause of this kind of outrageous bias. And, like [legal analyst] Lis [Wiehl],in the mid-1990s, I actually served as a commentator for NPR for one year. Theyclaimed that they wanted more conservative viewpoints, which I was happy toprovide, but they constantly censored me, David; they constantly rejected mycommentaries and wouldn't put me on the air. So any idea that they'reinterested in the equal exchange of ideas is outrageous. [Fox Business, America'sNightly Scoreboard, 3/8/11]

Fox & Friends Accuses NPR Of A "Record Of Offensive, Bias Coverage." On Fox & Friends,co-hosts Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, and Gretchen Carlson repeatedly airedsegments attacking NPR for its decision to terminate Williams' contract, oftenaccusing NPR of having a "record of offensive, bias coverage" and ofhaving employees with "histor[ies] of intolerance." Kilmeade askedviewers to weigh in on whether NPR should receive taxpayer dollars,"especially in light of what we now know they've done in the past"and what happened with Williams. [Fox News, Fox & Friends, 10/22/10]

Hannity: NPR "Is Using Your TaxDollars Yet Again To Showcase Their Liberal Bias." Discussing syndicated columnistMark Fiore's satirical animated video about the tea party posted on NPR'swebsite, Hannity stated that "National Public Radio is using your tax dollarsyet again to showcase their liberal bias. Now in a new Web video NPR attacksthe tea party movement. Now here's a portion of the 'Learn to Speak Tea Bag'video lesson. Keep in mind, you paid for this." After airing a clip of thevideo, Hannity said, "[W]e have NPR using your money to slam Americans whohave the courage to voice their opinion." [Fox News, Hannity,1/5/10, via Nexis]

• NPR posted Fiore's satirical op-ed, "Learn To Speak Tea Bag," along with an animated video on its website, writing: "Learning a new language doesn't have to be hard, especially when 'Tea Bag' is so minimalistic! Mark Fiore offers his personal take in this animation." [NPR, 11/12/09]

Krauthammer On NPR: "It's CompletelySkewed Politically."In May 2005, Fox News contributor Mort Kondracke stated that "there is noreason why the government" should be funding public broadcasting, saying that"it is time for PBS to be, quote, unquote, 'liberated.' " Fox News contributorCharles Krauthammer later stated: "I think that this is a completely obsoleteidea of having a publicly funded network in an age of 500 cable channels." Headded: "It's completely skewed politically, and it deserves a quiet, honorabledeath." [Fox News, Special Report with Brit Hume, 5/9/05, via Nexis]

O'Reilly: NPR "Uses Its Power To ...Advance Left-Wing And Defamatory Causes." In October 2003, O'Reilly discussed public fundingof NPR and asked Rep. Cliff Stearns (R-FL): "How much longer do I have topay for this outfit which is so blatantly unfair, and uses its power to, youknow, advance left-wing and defamatory causes? What do I have to pay forthis?" [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 10/8/03, via Nexis]

O'Reilly Suggested NPR Is"Censoring Right-Wing Voices." On the May 20, 2002, edition of his show, O'Reilly saidthat NPR "may be censoring right-wing voices, even though NPR gets closeto $3 million a year in tax money, and much of that coming from right-wingvoices." Fox News contributor Cal Thomas, who in O'Reilly's words, was"sacked" by NPR, later stated that "[m]ost of the news" atNPR "is filtered through the liberal prism, meaning bigger government isgood, higher taxes to soak those terrible rich, successful are good. Gays arebasically good. We ought to have gay rights for everybody. All feminist issuesare true and correct." Thomas later stated that NPR is "[v]ery proPalestinian." [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 5/20/02, via Nexis]

O'Reilly: "NPR Is An Exclusionary,Politically Correct Propaganda Machine." On the January 7, 2002, edition of his show, O'Reilly askedif NPR should "be called the National Propaganda Radio Network." Helater stated that "[t]he federal government gives [NPR] approximately $3million in tax money each year. But for my money, NPR is an exclusionary,politically correct propaganda machine not at all interested in freespeech." [Fox News, The O'Reilly Factor, 1/7/02, via Nexis]

But NewsCorp. Properties Have Given Millions Of Dollars To NPR

News Corp. Subsidiaries Have GivenAt Least $2 Million To Fund And Sponsor NPR. According to annual reports and donor lists postedon its website, NPR has received at least $2 million from News Corp.subsidiaries, including from the media company's cable, film, television, andpublishing operations. Here is the complete breakdown from 2002 to 2008, thelast year for which NPR has made its annual reports available on its website:

2008:

• $250,000 -$499,999: Fox Searchlight Pictures

• $100,000 -$249,999: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

     FX Networks

• $50,000 -$99,999: Fox Broadcasting Company

2007:

• $500,000 -$999,999: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

     FoxSearchlight Pictures

2006:

• $50,000 -$99,999: Fox Searchlight Pictures

 NationalGeographic Channel

2005:

• $50,000 -$99,999: 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

2004:

• $50,000 -$99,999: Fox Searchlight Pictures

2003:

• $250,000 -$499,999: Fox Searchlight Pictures

2002:

• $50,000 -$99,999: FX Networks

[NPR,accessed 3/11/11]

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Wisconsin 14 at Capitol tomorrow to 'thank the
people' and join recall battle

SEIU International

The Wisconsin 14 will be joining the thousands marching in Madison tomorrow:

The 14 Dems will join together and walk to the capitol Saturday in what amounts to a celebration of their "homecoming," senator Chris Larson said in an interview a few moments ago.

The move is meant to signal that even if Governor Scott Walker was able to push through his proposal rolling back bargaining rights, the Democrats' decision to return does not represent an acknowledgement of defeat. Instead, they're returning home to join the battle to recall the Republicans who supported Walker.

"Tomorrow all 14 of us will head to the capitol, where we're going to thank the people of Wisconsin for stepping up."

And in what should be a sight to see, Wisconsin farmers are planning to join them?on their tractors:

Farmers plan to show their frustration with the budget repair bill. And they're pulling out some heavy machinery.

The Family Farm Defenders are planning a Tractorcade for Saturday, the 12th in Madison and rounding up local support. Local leaders said Governor Walker's budget would take a big hit to rural communities because of cuts to education and BadgerCare.

On the recall front, check out the details on this:

Daily Kos has commissioned Public Policy Polling to conduct polls in all eight of the districts where Wisconsin Republican state Senators are targeted for recall.

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First Legal Challenge to Walker Anti-Union Bill
in Wisconsin Denied, But Case Will Continue

Wisconsin's anti-public employee bill is signed, but the Secretary of State will take the maximum 10 days to publish the legislation, which means it won't officially become law until March 25 at the earliest, and probably not until the following Monday,[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/2v0GITCF9o4/

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NPR Is "Fair": Conservatives And Media Critics
Defend NPR's Reporting

Media critics and conservative commentators are responding to the recent controversy over NPR by praising the network's reporting. In addition, some Tea Party activists say that NPR's coverage of their group has been "fair."

Conservative Commentators Praise NPR

Blankley: NPR is "fair."Media Matters interviewed TonyBlankley, a conservative syndicated columnist and former Newt Gingrich presssecretary:

"I've been on NPR regularlyfor a very long time," [Blankley] said. "From a personal perspectivethey have always given me plenty of access, I am clearly a right-wingcommentator so I cannot complain. There's a conservative on and there's aliberal on, so that's all fair."

He added, "It is what theirview is on what constitutes news. They are much more concerned with what isgoing on in the third world. That is a news judgment. For every story they runon conditions in some third world country, it is space not used for some storythat we conservatives think is relevant to a conservative audience."

Still, Blankley stressed theability of conservatives to appear on NPR and speak their mind: "No editoror host has ever suggested, 'Could you not be quite so conservative on thisshow?' I have been open and free to express my opinion." [Media Matters, 3/11/11]

Medved: "NPR Tries HarderTo Be Fair Than Just About Any Other Media Source." Media Matters interviewed conservative radio host Michael Medved:

"I think NPR tries harder tobe fair than just about any other media source. It doesn't mean they succeed.They do give evidence of trying," said Michael Medved, a syndicatedconservative talk radio host. "I listen almost every day to MorningEdition and All Things Considered. I think that they do as good a job asanybody in media in reporting the news."

Medved said he opposes federalfunding for NPR and added that he might donate to the network if it gave upgovernment funding.

He also told Media Matters:"NPR is not like ABC or CBS or NBC. I think they make a genuine, constantattempt to try to play it up the middle. They have gotten much better. Therewere very, very serious complaints from the Jewish community some years back aboutcoverage of Israel and I think the coverage of Israel is much more fair ...They have improved." [Media Matters,3/11/11]

Reynolds: "I Have FoundThem To Be Fair ... I Think NPR Does A Good Job." Media Matters interviewed conservative blogger Glenn Reynolds:

Incomments to Media Matters, Reynolds added: 

"There is no question that NPRgenerally has a leftist slant and attitude, but I have certainly gone out of myway to praise them on a number of occasions. They have done some Tea Partycoverage that has been good."

Reynolds said: "I have praised their coverage on the Nidal Hasan story, and they were ahead of the curve on that. They were on top of that. I think they do a good job, they are conscientious."

"My own interaction with them has been fine, " he added. "I have found them to be fair. I think their coverage is often quite good. I think NPR does a good job." [Media Matters, 3/11/11]

Tea Party Activists Call NPR'sCoverage Of Their Group "Fair"

Tea Party ActivistKatrina Pierson: NPR's Coverage Of Our Group Was "Fair." Media Matters interviewed Dallas TeaParty official Katrina Pierson, who said that NPR was generally biased but thatits 2009 profile on her particular group was "fair":

[Media Matters] How would youdescribe their interactions with DTP and what are your thoughts on thereporting they produced?

[Pierson] I think NPR was verycordial to our group. They actually came to TX and spent a few days with usvisiting our homes, and our work places. They attended meetings and askedquestions. I enjoyed having them here. I think the reporting that they ended upusing for All Things Considered, it was fair. It could have been more inclusiveof the actual diversity of our group. Our founder married to a Columbian thatspeaks very little English. They speak Spanish in their home. I'm anafrican-american woman that does the neighborhood training and mediaappearances. And with race having been an important issue with regards to TeaParties, I was shocked that they didn't much reporting on that topic.

The story that they did, however, we believe was as fair as we would get from such a liberal organization. [MediaMatters, 3/11/11]

Tea Party ActivistLisa Davis: "We Are All Very Pleased With" NPR's Story On Dallas Tea Party. Ina December 11, 2009, post, conservative blogger Glenn Reynolds published a notefrom "Lisa Davis of the Dallas Tea Party":

Robert Siegel, host of NPR's "All Things Considered," was in theDallas area last week and attended several DTP gatherings. He'd called andstated he'd like to do a story and asked if we would agree to let some of the"happenings" be recorded. "Of course" we said. "As long as you are fair."WELL...he was! The story was on Mr. Siegel's "All Things Considered" this pastWednesday (December 9). Here's the link.

He attended our neighborhood Tea Party, Sarah Palin's booksigning, a Tea Party coordinator meeting, and interviewed the founders andsteering personnel. It turns out he understood that we are not only protestingand rallying, we are also educating our community. Considering that NPR has ahistory of being liberal organization, word is that we are all very pleasedwith the representation! [Instapundit.com, 12/11/09]

Medved: NPR'sTea Party Coverage "Is More Fair Than What You Tended To Get On Network News."Asked about NPR's Tea Party coverage, conservative radio host Michael Medved toldMedia Matters: "It is more fairthan what you tended to get on network news." [Media Matters, 3/11/11]

Media Critics Praise NPR: "The Best Radio NewsIn America."

Auletta:NPR tries to "present the news with real fairness and balance." Media Matters interviewed New Yorker media writer Ken Auletta:

Ken Auletta, the top media writer forThe New Yorker, said, "I think NPR has the best radio news inAmerica."

"They do a very good news job. Idon't believe they have a conscious political bias. My sense is that when Ilisten to NPR, I feel that they try to be fair," Auletta added. "Theytry to present the news with real fairness and balance. Fox News, too often, isnot fair and balanced. Private radio rarely fills the void that NPR fills,which is serious news."

Asked about the undercover tapes,Auletta urged people to listen to NPR's actual coverage.

"If you ignore that idiot'scomments and can listen to NPR, you would be much harder pressed to find abias." [Media Matters, 3/11/11]

Rainey: "NPRgenerally represents both sides of an issue." MediaMatters interviewed Los Angeles Timemedia writer James Rainey:

"NPR generally represents bothsides of an issue and tends to high journalistic standards,"said James Rainey, media writer for the Los Angeles Times."When lawmakers on Capitol Hill, from both parties, are being candid theywill tell you that they listen to NPR to get good, thorough coverage of the bigissues facing the nation." [MediaMatters, 3/11/11]

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What "running twice' REALLY means for Mississippi

Mississippi Republicans have become quite cavalier in saying that they really don't care if the redistricting process breaks down or if it heads to court.  They say the cost of the extra election won't be an issue if we have legislative elections in 2011 and 2012, because there's already a presidential election scheduled for 2012.

Not so fast, oh self-proclaimed party of fiscal responsibility.  20 years ago, Mississippi faced the exact same situation Republicans are threatening to put us in again.  Here's what happened the last time legislators abdicated their duty and didn't get lines drawn in time for just one legislative election:
1991 (Year of statewide and legislative elections)
Regularly scheduled primary elections: September 17, 1991.Regularly scheduled runoffs: October 8, 1991.Regularly scheduled general election: November 5, 1991.
1992 (Year of presidential election)
Regularly scheduled presidential primary: March 12, 1992.Special legislative primary: August 4, 1992.Special legislative runoffs: August 25, 1992.Regularly scheduled general election: November 3, 1992.
Notice anything?  Yeah, those two extra elections in 1992, the year of a presidential election.  And elections cost money.  So when Republicans tell you they're not worried about running twice, you have to ask yourself: what kind of fiscal responsibility is that?

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Sen. Lautenberg Decries the "Toxic Tea" Being
"Brewed" by the Tea Party Republicans

Sen. Frank Lautenberg stood up on the floor of the Senate in opposition to just how radical the so called astroturf "tea party" agenda is with the proposed budget cuts that have come out of the House and that have been embraced by their "tea party" members of the Senate as well.

Lautenberg Decries Senate Republicans' 'Toxic Tea' For Students, Women And Environment:

Sen. Frank R. Lautenberg (D-NJ) decried the "toxic tea" being "brewed" by the Tea Party Republicans in Congress on the floor of the Senate Thursday, highlighting proposed cuts to early education funding, college tuition assistance, women's health care and environmental protections.

"Here in Congress, Tea Party activists have seized control of the Republican side of the aisle -- and it is far from a tea party for lots of jobless people and those qualified to study in college but unable to pay the freight," Lautenberg said in prepared remarks.

"Now that they are in power, we see they're brewing Toxic Tea -- a dangerous concoction that will create pain for our children and bring shame to our country," he said.

"We know that cutting critical programs now brings sky-high prices later -- in more illnesses and a less-educated society," Lautenberg said. "So we look at the future and we say we must invest in our children, our environment and medical research. But every time, they say: 'No.'"

"Ask any parent if they want their kids to drink from that teapot. We need to gather together for birthday parties, school graduation and lots of smiles instead of their toxic tea parties. Let's reject the House Republican Tea Party approach to funding our government," Lautenberg said.

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Sometimes "mother nature" isn't so motherly.

My heart goes out to the folks in Japan. I know that they are used to natural disasters but that earthquake that hit and the tsunami that followed looks like some seriously scary stuff. The images on television looks more like a Roland Emmerich movie than an actual event. Shout out to my sister and her fam in Seattle. I am glad you all are alright. But keep an eye on those tsunami warnings sis.

I am having Katrina flashbacks watching those poor souls on top of buildings. No power. Water all around them. And all they have is each other. Natural disasters can be b*&^%.
Then, to make matters worse, some of their nuclear reactors have been shut down in wake of the disaster, and one of the the reactors still isn't cooling down like it should. OH LAWD! Could one of you smart people reassure me that there is nothing to worry about, please?

Anyway, I am not going to get political with this post, because this is all about the poor people of Japan. So....wait a minute, did the wingnuts just get political with this tragedy? Yes, I think they did. OK, since you started it; please read this link from 2009 about the possibility of more quakes and tsunamis thanks to....wait for it....wait for it... global warming.

Finally, I have to do a WTF for city officials in Spokane, Washington:

"SPOKANE, Wash. ? Three cleanup workers who were hailed as heroes after finding a live bomb along the route of a Martin Luther King Jr. Day parade said they later lost their temporary jobs after supervisors questioned their handling of the situation.

The men were employed by Labor Ready and doing temporary work for the Spokane Public Facilities District when they found a backpack containing the bomb about an hour before the scheduled start of the Jan. 17 parade.

They alerted police, who were able to defuse the device.

"For the first two days, basically all we did was get chewed out," worker Mark Steiner told Spokane television station KHQ. "We did this wrong. We did that wrong. I don't know what you consider calling 911 wrong after two minutes after we found it."

Steiner, Brandon Klaus and Sherman Welpton had been hired to perform cleanup work during the parade and noticed the backpack on an outdoor bench.

Stacey Burke, a spokeswoman for Labor Ready, said the men were performing contract work for the facilities district and remain eligible to get more work through the temporary employment service when they ask.

"They can still find employment through us," Burke said, adding they had done some work since the bomb was found.

This was the first time that Labor Ready workers had to deal with a live bomb in Spokane, Burke said.

Kevin Twohig, head of the public facilities district, told The Spokesman-Review that the three men "we're messing around with the bomb."

"I think they put themselves at more risk than they needed," Twohig said.

Burke said the men should not have picked up the backpack.

"I would not wish for them to pick up a backpack that has a bomb in it," she said. "I'm sure they didn't know what it was." [Source]

Hmmm, it kind of makes you wonder if those clowns in Spokane got mad because the workers did find the bomb. I am just sayin.

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Salon charts # wives per GOP presidential
candidate

From Salon's War Room:

The number of wives per candidate keeps growing. So much for family values and traditional marriage. Traditionally, men didn't have 3 wives (Newt) and cheat on one, if not several, of them (Newt).

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Late afternoon/early evening open thread

What's coming up on Sunday Kos ?.

• Mark Sumner says you can have electoral margins great enough to move mountains, legislative victories piled up to the stars, but lack one thing?you have nothing. And will be nothing.
• Laurence Lewis will consider the very purpose of government.
• Is it liberal bias to call the Tea Party racist? Or is it just the truth? Kaili Joy Gray will discuss.
• Wisconsin gave it a spotlight, but the epidemic is national. Steve Singiser will look around the country, and discuss why teacher-bashing is suddenly fashionable.
• brooklynbadboy will consider winning the future.
• Chris Bowers will discuss another way you can engage in the fight against austerity and corporate power where you live?and soon!
• Dante Atkins will publicly wonder just whom it is that Republicans deem qualified to be able to vote these days.

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Two [Now Five] Japanese Nuclear Units Still at
Serious Risk

In the aftermath of the devastating earthquakes and tsunami that struck Japan, we've been trying to piece together the status of the nuclear station at Fukushima. There are six units there, and units 1 and 2 appear to be at risk.[...]

Read The Full Article:
http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/firedoglake/fdl/~3/_32P-NyooZQ/

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