Gary Knell
http://thedianerehmshow.org/shows/2012-06-07/gary-knell
NPR recently announced a downturn in corporate sponsorship. The falloff in revenue has led to speculation about cuts in staff and programing. Gary Knell is NPR's president and CEO. He succeeded Vivian Schiller, who was ousted after the release of a tape in which an NPR executive disparaged conservatives and in the wake of firing Juan Williams. These incidents nearly cost public broadcasting its federal funding. Knell joins Diane to discuss NPR's future as it faces many challenges, including financing, competition for audience and changing technology.
Guests
Gary Knell
president and CEO, NPR.
Comments
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From Cincinnati:
How is NPR news and political shows different from New york Times, Washington Post, etc. The news material is largely the same and the guests in the political shows are largely the same as these private media. Some NPR programs are unique, but others are hardly distinguishable. Please tell us why these "very similar" programs should be publicly supported. If you disagree with "very similar", please explain how a political talk show is different if all its guests are from "the same" outlets.
KadeKo:
Your personal bias is showing.
How many times on NPR boards do you see people complaining about the pro-Romney position or that NPR is "Nice Polite Republican" radio? Those that go about their life with a specific bias generally view an alternate opinion as simply WRONG. It is not another point of view or another path to the summit.
The left complains just as bitterly as the right. You are an example thereof.
When Diane runs, not one, but two shows painting George Zimmerman as a predatory racist prior to the release of the actual facts of the case, Mr. Knell is correct to gently telegraph, as he does here, that The Diane Rehm Show is an expensive production that overwhelming substantiates the claims of liberal bias against NPR, charges that Robert Siegel, or even Diane's own substitute guest hosts, for that matter, don't produce nearly as egregiously.
Listen to the gently chuckling man you are interviewing, Diane, and read the tea leaves. NPR stands a much better chance of saving itself over the long run by putting its revenue into impartial news operations that others are abandoning rather than into psychologically self-serving white Oprahs.
For that matter, they could even more easily solve the problem simply by retiring Diane "for health reasons" and replacing her with Katty Kay, a professional, impartial interviewer.
Dear Gary Knell,
http://thesaurus.com/browse/robust?s=t. Great interview and thanks for the work that you do.
I started listening to NPR in the mid 70's and can remember from the first that the right wing complained about the liberal bias, what most people I know would call "telling the truth". They were always upset when Nixon's lies and deception were exposed, then when Reagan's lies and deceptions were exposed, and guess what? They exposed Clinton's lies and deceptions, but that wasn't noticed by the right. The right only wanted to hear the news reported the way they wanted it. They finally got FOXNews, and not satisfied with onlly hearing the right leaning "news" there, continue to criticize what they don't want to hear. Yes, everyone on the NPR staff has their own opinion, but as a child of a small businessman, raised in a republican household, who enlisted in the Marines out of high school and served in Viet Nam, went to college on the GI bill, and have been gainfully employed since 15 (now 62) I believe NPR tells it straight, and with only a very few exceptions, always gets it right. If it's not what you want to hear, tune in FOX.
StLouis,
NPR IS Nice Polite Republican. They have this fantasy (I first heard about in their ombud interview 2 years ago) that they can "appeal" to right-wingers without debasing their journalistic product, but somehow they'll get these righties to listen to them and value them and treat them as a valid voice.
If they give into the bully just a bit more, the bully will stop. If that idea has changed, it's news to me.
You really gotta dive into the right-wing media, for as long as you can stand, to see how little they care about actual reportage and accuracy.
For the largest part, the right-wingers who give a damn about actual journalism got beaten to a bloody pulp in a locked room by the right-wing propagandists. I don't know what happened there, but when I see who's representing the right in mainstream media, it's pretty damn clear.
I worked at NPR for 5 years on and off throughout my early twenties. It was my dream job, but, sadly, turned out to be a nightmare. My boss, whose name I won't mention in honor of her memory, was actually told by higher ups that they didn't care about quality. Hers was one of the sound and quality-rich, engineer dependent programs that NPR made its name on, though they let her go without a second thought when she pushed back against NPR's degradation of quality. As a 30-year-old former journalist whose heart was broken by the profit driven decisions of NPR execs -- please know your listeners DO care about quality. Do your best to turn the tide--invest in field offices, sound-rich quality, and in engineers to join reporters in the field. In honor of my former boss, and all those who've been disheartened by the last decade's decisions of NPR, don't get caught up in the cheap, quickened pace of contemporary media. NPR's original mission should be once again the guiding light.
Podcasting is a great way to allow listeners like me to enjoy and even discover NPR shows that I normally wouldn't hear because of my schedule. (On Being is an example, which airs at 6:00 a.m. on Sunday, but which I enjoy with my coffee when I wake up much later in the day.)
Thank you for all the podcasts, and please keep them coming.
KadeKo:
So shows like DR, On the Media, Tavis Smiley, On Point, Tell Me More, etc. are part of a right wing, Republican bias? Wow. Your bias is really showing. Turn off NPR and turn on MSNBC; you'll find what you're looking for over there. Try Al Sharpton's show. You should find it to be fair and balanced.
I haven't noticed a dearth of coverage of the Tea Party at all on NPR for the last several years. On the contrary, it gets a great deal of coverage. I don't have a problem with that, per se, but I'd like to hear more investigative pieces that get to the heart of the Tea Party, its leaders and its funders. I welcome Mr. Knell to NPR and wish him the best of luck.
mellifluous wrote:
"I'm dismayed and disgusted by this canard continually repeated by "conservative" commenters "
I think I can help you mellifluous.
Forest Service should not subsidize logging.
Companies should pay for mining royalties.
Energy companies should pay for the privilege of drawing out oil, natural gas, etc. from public lands.
Broadcasters should pay for the privilege as well ... and they do.
It is actually the LIBERAL AGENDA that has been skating for decades having a FREE platform on NPR.
Just because commercial radio with a liberal agenda has failed every time it has been tried does not justify either NPR or the Fairness Doctrine.
As a Jewish Republican professsor with a PhD in Communications I think I can tell why people think you are biased. Diane in noting that the recording of bashing of conservatives by a representative of NPR was done by a right-wing activitist (!) she never called Ms. Tottenberg who publicly wished for the death of our then VP nor called the person who fired Juan Williams a left-wing activist. I guess the left bias is in the DNA of many NPR broadcasters.
I know this won't make it through a screener.
@Arkus Duntov...
You sir, are nothing short of insane.
According to one source claiming to be present at the creation, "FOX News" was not set up as a journalistic organisation; Ailes was explicit in their early days that advocacy was the sole goal...he also was in the habit of bullying a particular person for his accent, and other people as opportunities presented themself.
I would like to give a citation fro the story, the source claimed that he assisted in its formation, on his personal blog...because I am not a (right|left|libertarian|bizarro) conspiracy nut, I am _not_ going to insist that this means this person were being "silenced" by "forces", it's more likely that he got tired of his blog and stopped paying GoDaddy. (It is possible that he didn't want to offend future possible employers.)
So take this with a grain of salt---even if I could find the source, that wouldn't be proof, though I did check his résumé on-line from a seemingly independent source, and he was at "FOX News" in its early days.
No, not right-wing bias.
Beltway Inbred bias, scared to be leftwards of the parameters of debate, of the rest of the commercial media, itself too scared to stray from what the screeching of Fox and Rush and the WSJ editorial page state as the narrative.
NPR is piss-pants scared of being called liberal and it affects their output negatively. They bend over backwards trying to please bullies who will only continue to bully them.
Every media entity which isn't propaganda needs to have a political brain in its head and realize who the fudge their enemies are. NPR is a naive sucker for this crap and until they stop doing this, they'll just get beat up and wonder why everyone doesn't love them.
And On The Media? Hey, that show spent an hour in the summer of 2008 seriously considering, having placid-sounding professors on, listening to "both sides" about whether candidate Barack Obama was actually a socialist!
That's not how a media crit show fights back against propaganda.
This is all too often the kind of stuff NPR excels at.
I'm listening to NPR in Finland via radiochannel YLE Mondo - it broadcasts foreign channels daily. NPR is among my favorites, a good way to maintain language skills as well. I just arrived home, driving from work and listening to Diane and Gary - interesting to hear about public radio's position in USA compared to what we have here and how the public sees it. I enjoy listening to NPR. Greetings from Finland!
Thank you for this opportunity to voice an opinion... First I am a regular listener to NPR and Classical station next to it and that is my only choice. Your DR Show is a must daily and I thank you. My comment: I am getting some use of long standing CDs and internet music. Saturday especially has become time for my Irish and Jazz recordings. But I will always be your fan and a regular for morning radio. I am in San Antonio, TX and retired, but volunteering. Army Vet, of Korean war times. (That is old!) Served in Germany. Always exercise my voting privileges. Just to let you know my personal view(s). Thank You, sincerely, Al
Thank you for this opportunity to voice an opinion... First I am a regular listener to NPR and Classical station next to it and that is my only choice. Your DR Show is a must daily and I thank you. My comment: I am getting some use of long standing CDs and internet music. Saturday especially has become time for my Irish and Jazz recordings. But I will always be your fan and a regular for morning radio. I am in San Antonio, TX and retired, but volunteering. Army Vet, of Korean war times. (That is old!) Served in Germany. Always exercise my voting privileges. Just to let you know my personal view(s). Thank You, sincerely, Al
It would be nice to get NPR to have more in-depth reporting on the Tea Party (and not the edited nonsense we see on the media) and of the 'occupy' movement that has morphed from people with concerns to be openly considered to anarchists, haters, and single-agenda people.
Balance and objectivity would be a good addition.
Thank you for noting I am insane... It take it that you are an expert given that you might be that yourself. Denial is not a river in Egypt.
Thank you for noting I am insane... It take it that you are an expert given that you might be that yourself. Denial is not a river in Egypt.
Diane rocks! NPR rocks! Right wing radio and their followers have rocks in their head.
Well, then in FOX's eyes you just aren't a Real American: a twenty-year-old Keyboard Kommando advocating our invasion of Everywhere and the torture of anyone who 'looks at us funny' from the damp safety of his mother's basement is a better citizen as far as FOX were concerned, a more productive person, and probably looks better too (despite all those Doritos).
Sorry.
If media consumers generally go where they are agreed with and NPR listener are mostly democrats, well?
"In an era of deep-seated political divisions, conservatives and liberals are increasingly choosing sides in their news preferences."
"National Public Radio’s audience is holding steady as well: 16% of Americans regularly listen to NPR. In contrast to the talk radio audience, the NPR audience is fairly young, well-educated and Democratic. Fully 41% of regular NPR listeners are Democrats, 24% are Republicans.'
http://www.people-press.org/2004/06/08/i-where-americans-go-for-news/
Arkus nails it in all counts.
Diane and Gary both know that NPR is liberal-oriented, they are both smart people. They also both know where their voluntary contributions come from - which is clearly the left.
As Arkus stated, after a while, the bias is obvious, if somewhat understated - but what difference?
Everyone knows Fox is openly blasting the democrats and the left 24 hours a day - no one denies it.
But don't pretend that NPR isn't promoting democrat interests, and once you have been listening for a time, every NPR personality demonstrates this bias, from Diane Rehm to Melissa Block to Michelle Norris (especially Norris) to Terry Gross.
Bottom line is that public money supports NPR, and NPR unmistakably supports democrat positions.
NPR will find a way to get funding, when public funding is removed. You don't think that these people are going to let their enterprise, and therefore their livelihoods, fail, do you?
Another thing: as long as they are getting public money, they should be forced to hire and use an exact 50% male to female announcer ratio.
I am tired listening all these uptight liberal women all day, and they way they over-emphasizing every word. It's like listening to nails on a chalkboard, even more so with the younger women NPR uses.
It is a relief when Robert Siegal is delivering the news, Siegel is the best voice on NPR.
Forget all the controversy, ignore all the crap. All I have to know is that I like & enjoy Diane Rehm along with 90% of all NPR programing. Keep it simple, people- don't make things harder than they have to be....
We got a Socialist,Marxist,Muslim,Radical Christian,Kenyan,Fascist,white man hating Tar Baby occupying the (White House) wink .I know these FACTS because Fox News told me so.
_________________________________________
Right wing listeners are used to the constant message of the Fox Propaganda Network,that whenever that Fox pounding is missing,a claim of bias immediately appears.
Smoot wrote:
"Everyone knows Fox is openly blasting the democrats and the left 24 hours a day - no one denies it. "
Not everyone "knows" that, Smoot. And, yes, I am denying it. Fox always, and I mean ALWAYS presents both sides in its news programming and even in a lot of its commentary programming. Bill O'Reilly is one of the favorites for the left to beat up on, but when you look at his guest list, it always includes both viewpoints. That's just a fact. Can you say the same of Sharpton or Maddow?
"I know these FACTS because Fox News told me so."
That's a lie, Patsy.
Unless you can provide a link to a Fox News broadcast or transcript.
After reading all of the earlier comments, it's obvious the truth and information sometimes (or always) hurts.
Diane, thank you for providing the highest quality programming available.