SHOULD NPR INTERVIEW RELATIVES OF STAFF MEMBERS?

During this heated political season, Day to Day interviewed a relative of an NPR staffer for a controversial segment highlighting a Sen. Hillary Clinton supporter who won't back Sen. Barack Obama in November.

Listeners didn't know at the time of the interview that Atlanta attorney and author Barbara LeBey is the aunt of NPR correspondent Laura Sydell. But what they did know was that they didn't like what LeBey had to say about the presumptive Democratic presidential candidate.

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12:19 AM ET | 07- 3-2008 | permalink | comments (0) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

 

WHEN LISTENERS WANT TO SEND MONEY TO PEOPLE IN STORIES

After hearing an NPR piece about a man who risked his life to sneak into the U.S. to earn money for a sick daughter, Kathy Khazen wanted to do something.

So did about 20 other listeners from around the country.

The story of Julio Cuellar was compelling. When Cuellar learned his pregnant daughter had cancer, he knew he needed more money than he earned as a low-paying policeman in El Salvador. He hired a smuggler and tried to get to the U.S. But he didn't make it.

"Julio has diabetes and nearly died in the Arizona desert," NPR Correspondent Jennifer Ludden reported on April 7. "He ran out of insulin and became sick, and his smuggler abandoned him. It was two days with no food or shelter before he was rescued by the U.S. Border Patrol. What would make someone do this -- especially a middle-aged man with a full-time job? Julio's daughter, Guadalupe, blames herself."

Ludden and producer Marisa Penaloza discovered Cuellar at the airport in El Salvador just after he was deported from the U.S. He'd lost 40 pounds, felt humiliated, and was behind on payments for his two-bedroom house.

Then came the emails and phone calls from listeners after the story aired.

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5:11 PM ET | 05-19-2008 | permalink | comments (6) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

 

IS "THE INFINITE MIND" AN NPR SHOW?

UPDATE on May 20, 2008: The Infinite Mind has added an Underwriting page after the recent criticism and added fuller disclosure about a guest.

NPR is a complicated news entity.

It produces 59 hours of original news programming each week heard across the public radio system, the best-known of which are Morning Edition and All Things Considered. Then, it distributes 18 shows such as Car Talk, The Diane Rehm Show, and Fresh Air, which local public radio stations or independent producers create without any direct NPR editorial control.

And then there are other shows on NPR's three channels on Sirius: NPR, NPR Talk, and NPR Now. Some shows are produced by NPR, some are simply distributed by NPR and some are independently produced.

Got that?

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4:14 PM ET | 05-12-2008 | permalink | comments (13) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

 

NPR, NEW YORK TIMES AND SOURCING MILITARY EXPERTS

UPDATE:
Media correspondent David Folkenflik reports on the issue of Pentagon consultants and the New York Times in his story which aired May 1 on All Things Considered.

What are your thoughts?

--Chantal de la Rionda, Office of the Ombudsman

By Alicia C. Shepard
The New York Times revealed last week that the Pentagon has long covertly pressured and pampered more than a dozen retired military officers hired by broadcast networks as analysts to ensure positive spin on the Iraq war.

Among those cited was a military consultant for NPR.

After a two-year investigation, Times' reporter David Barstow described how the Pentagon cultivated military analysts for TV and radio by providing special access hoping in exchange for positive spin on the war, particularly after it started going badly. In some cases, analysts used that access to promote their post-military careers with defense contractors.

Deep into the 7,600-word piece on April 20 Barstow mentioned an NPR military analyst, Army Maj. Gen. Robert H. Scales Jr. (Ret.) in an email he sent to the Pentagon that could be construed as Scales trying to gain favor in order to be sent to Iraq for high-level briefings. Scales denies this.

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2:52 PM ET | 04-28-2008 | permalink | comments (23) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)

 

SHOULD JOURNALISTS VOTE?

-- Alicia C. Shepard

Standing in line to vote in Virginia's primary on Feb. 12, I was at ease because in my state, one doesn't have to declare party preference when you register. But then I got to the head of the line.

"Republican or Democrat?" the clerk seemed to bellow. I hesitated, looked around, and then leaned in close and whispered my answer.

I'm not going to tell you what I said because I am a working journalist.

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7:01 PM ET | 02-20-2008 | permalink | comments (18) | e-mail post | trackbacks (0)