The Washington Times’ Jennifer Harper reports this morning that NPR’s foray into conservative talk radio was met with dismayed NPR listeners, apparently unaccustomed to conservatives on that taxpayer-funded broadcaster;
National Public Radio listeners who tuned in to “Morning Edition” during the last four days of February found some atypical programming around 6:30 a.m. during the broadcasts.
“Conversations with Conservatives” was heard during morning-drive time with host Steve Inskeep and a conservative of the day with much on his mind.
[…]
According to NPR ombudsman Alicia Shepard, more than 60 angry e-mails and phone calls arrived at the network, calling the programming “shameful” and a “lovefest with radical, right-wing nuts.” There were only a few, she said, that praised the series as “refreshing” and “articulate,” among other things.
Imagine that – having an opinion that runs counter to that of the regular programming on NPR is “shameful”. Actually, it should give NPR execs some pause – if running a few 7 minute spots of conservatives shock your listeners, maybe what conservatives have been saying for years is true – NPR is nothing but Leftist propaganda disguised as mainstream programming.
And if you have to experiment with conservative shows to get a “sampling” of conservative opinion, maybe you’ve been fooling yourselves all along.
Of course. The open-minded, tolerant listeners of NPR were shocked to find a sliver of opinion that didn’t fit their template of how the world works. Shameful indeed.