NPR: NPR Ombudsman

January 30, 2008

IS NPR IGNORING RON PAUL?

UPDATE: Click here for the most recent coverage of Ron Paul, including relevant facts and campaign strategies. Paul has since decided to leave the presidential race, but his informational page will remain online for a while longer.

UPDATE: Story aired on All Things Considered Feb 18, 2008
PRIMARY CHALLENGE TO RON PAUL IN TEXAS -- To say that Ron Paul, the Republican congressman who is running for president, marches to his own drum is fair statement. He opposes the war in Iraq (he was one of six House Republicans to vote against it), and has broken with his party on an assortment of issues. While this has brought him fame, and money, from Internet donors, not everyone back home in his Texas congressional district is happy with him. And in the March primary, he faces an opponent who is far closer to the Bush administration than Paul is. David Davies reports.

--Chantal de la Rionda, Office of the Ombdusman

It's easy for the media to dismiss Republican presidential aspirant Ron Paul.

Political journalists know that candidates with Paul's iconoclastic ideas -- ending federal income tax, abolishing government departments and withdrawing from the United Nations --seldom get far at the ballot box.

But the mainstream media dismissal overlooks the phenomenon of public interest in the libertarian doctor and congressman from Texas:

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January 23, 2008

BOOKING FRONTRUNNERS

--Alicia Shepard

The Sunday before the New Hampshire primary, an NPR assistant editor who books interviews turned on her computer to find an unexpected email from Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign.

"If HRC wanted to do Morning Edition tomorrow could we make that happen?" wrote a Clinton media scheduler at 10:49 a.m.

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January 16, 2008

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Every day my office answers dozens of questions and investigates a variety of concerns from NPR's audience. We thought it would be useful to post answers to some of the more commonly asked questions, including the office's objectives, the difference between NPR and local stations, funding, corrections, underwriting policies and just what is an Ombudsman and how do you pronounce it?

If your concern is not addressed here, please feel free to contact me.

--Alicia C. Shepard

What is an Ombudsman?*
An Ombudsman is the public's representative in an organization, charged with responding to public questions, criticisms and complaints. An Ombudsman works to provide clear explanations, and/or mutually satisfactory solutions between the public and the organization. Ombudsmen can be found in government, corporations, hospitals, universities as well as at news enterprises.

Sweden appointed the first formal ombudsman in 1809 to handle citizen complaints about the government. The word is pronounced "om-BUDS-man" and is Scandinavian in origin.

Alicia "Lisa" Shepard is NPR's Ombudsman and sees no need to change the title to Ombudswoman. She is an award-winning media critic, university lecturer on media ethics, and former newspaper reporter. Ms. Shepard deals with public queries about journalistic issues; and reports some of her findings in her weekly column.

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January 9, 2008

WELCOME TO MY WORLD

--Alicia Shepard

Within the last day or two, an NPR correspondent or host has probably made a mistake on air. I don't know what it was, but I'm quite sure it happened.

Why? Because journalism is an imperfect craft and despite the highest standards and best intentions, mistakes can happen whether stories are produced under tight deadlines or even when the pressure is off.

No matter how hard we work to report accurately and fairly, we journalists- at NPR and across the news media- can and do get names wrong, make mistakes in news judgment, miss stories and sometimes fail to make that extra phone call. Errors of commission or omission can happen no matter how hard NPR journalists work to get you breaking news, help put the day's events in context or tell stories that may mesmerize you in ways that leave you smiling in delight.

After a year-long hiatus, NPR's Office of the Ombudsman is back in business with a weekly Wednesday column, radio appearances and talks. As the new ombudsman, my goal is to work with NPR staff to make its journalism more transparent and help explain to listeners the often seemingly mysterious way news decisions are made at NPR.

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January 8, 2008

DISCUSSION GUIDELINES

Every public forum has its own guidelines. Here are ours. Please keep them in mind while posting a comment.

We welcome comments on any of the columns, but 48 hours after the initial posting of a column, the Ombudsman will leave the conversation. Please keep posts to 200 words or less, as we reserve the right to edit for brevity and clarity, and will not post comments that do not abide by the guidelines.

--Chantal de la Rionda, Office of the Ombudsman

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