My local NPR station mingled its glowing Occupy Wall Street coverage over the last few weeks with a pledge drive. A few days ago, I heard the station manager declare the drive at an end. Then she noted that fully a quarter of the drive’s funding came from “corporate sponsors.” She thanked them profusely.
Now that the pledge drive has finished, NPR can return to singing the praises of anti-corporate protesters.
Hadn’t thought about that. Good point!
That is what is so crazy making about many liberals, they don’t walk their own talk. Like Al Gore hysteria over other people driving SUVs but has a fleet of them himself. They don’t have my respect. When people will walk their own talk, then I will listen.
Two Points.
First, Huston, your shot at NPR is cheap. You’re better than that.
Second, Jennvann wrote, “When people will walk their own talk, then I will listen.” Liberals don’t have a monopoly on hypocrisy Jenn. We Christians are no better following the teachings of the Savior than our liberal friends are following their beliefs. Fact is we all come up short.
Thanks for the feedback, all!
Ken, how is pointing out an obvious hypocrisy a cheap shot? As much as I seem to pick on NPR lately, I really do love them–that’s why I listen so often!
Are you saying they’re just not good enough at being anti-corporate? That they should reject those contributions and thus be more wholly in line with leftist dogma? Why should they? They aren’t really a liberal media outlet, are they?
NPR isn’t really liberal any more. It’s just that by simply telling a story in a non-judgmental way, they are so different from our other media outlets that it seems like they’re taking sides.
If I wanted to do a radio story on Occupy or a Tea Party rally, I would go down there and interview people who are actually protesting. I would give them time to talk and try to find a representative sample of the ideas and opinions of the group. I’d let them speak for themselves. What most of our media does is show a bit of video footage usually with one of their “reporters” spouting off in front, then cut to a studio panel of nitwits who have no knowledge of the protestors (or sometimes anything else) and let them yell at each other for awhile.
Huh. I mostly agree here, too. I might say that the ratio of positive/negative depictions given of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street in the mainstream media, even NPR, is pretty disproportionate, but still…I quite agree with this. For what it’s worth, I have a fairly low opinion of most talk radio and online conservative outlets, too; also, Fox News is more tabloid glurge than anything substantive, whether or not anyone would agree with the ideology.
Huston, I’m saying they do some many stories well that this one flaw could and should be over looked. We are after all obligated to seek out that which is praiseworthy, virtuous, etc. We aren’t obligated to point out their weaknesses along the way exposing them to ridicule. A minor point for sure but one I felt like making yesterday morning when I read your post.
Occupy wall street is not anti-corporate in general, it is anti-corporate corruption.
J, yes–I actually said that at the beginning of a post a few weeks ago.
http://gentlyhewstone.com/2011/10/15/occupy-wall-street-and-the-tea-party/
However, there certainly are strong elements monopolizing the Occupy scene that are virulently anti-capitalist. They clearly say so themselves.
While there certainly are anti-capitalists in the Occupy movement, they can hardly be said to monopolize it. There are a lot of strains ranging from libertarian to socialist to anarchist among the people attracted to the movement, but it seems to me the unifying force is a realization that there is no way to change the system while playing by its rules. Whether I am a progressive wanting universal health care or a libertarian wanting to end the Fed, I have to recognize that our political system is no longer capable of any sort of significant change and that calls for desperate measures.
Will the tactics of the Occupy movement work? Who knows. Will anything else work? Absolutely not.