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.

After a newsy introduction read by host Steve Inskeep, the June 13 piece began this way:

"Blonde, beautiful and outspoken, the spotlight loved Erin Callan. Fortune magazine called her one of four women to watch," said NPR business reporter Yuki Noguchi. "Callan cut a striking figure in her crochet-style dress, gold dangling earrings and high-heeled boots."

Today's "Sound Off" features listener comments regarding NPR's coverage of Dennis Kucinich's proposal to impeach President Bush, correspondent location sign-offs and Senator Clinton's speech on June 3 .

In the last decade, Kenya has enjoyed a surge in press freedom, a trend that's paralleled the opening up of Kenya's political system. One of the best testaments is the phone call from the editorial director for the Nation Media Group, who wanted an Ombudsman for his papers in Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda and two other countries in East Africa.

In the past I have made exceptions and posted comments, but let's stay on topic. Think of it this way -- if you hosted a book club meeting at your house, you wouldn't want someone to show up and insist on discussing reality TV shows.

Now that the column is in its 5th month, I'd like to offer a gentle reminder to refer to our Discussion Guidelines. I'd encourage you to keep them in mind while posting in the future.

Thanks and happy reading,
Chantal de la Rionda
Office of the Ombudsman

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?

Last week, I was at a two-day workshop on how to better cover race and ethnicity. There won't be a column this week, but I am including an email that a listener sent me about race and the Sean Bell story. Bell was a young, unarmed African-American who New York City police killed hours before his wedding. On April 25, the three officers were acquitted. One officer was white; the other two black. Should NPR have mentioned the race of the officers?

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.

Now just about anyone can see the 17-minute movie that some consider more inflammatory in Muslim-majority countries than the Danish cartoons that sparked riots in 2006.

In the pre-Internet world, the so-called mainstream media played the role of gatekeeper: determining with authority what the public did and did not need to know. Much more editorial censorship existed. But now the public can get any information it wants through the Web -- with or without the news media's guidance. Everything -- in good taste or bad -- gets out in cyberspace.

One issue that arises for NPR is whether the network should provide direct links to potentially offensive material it reports on.

That didn't gibe with what Carlson, an Evanston, Ill. high school science teacher, knew about Wright. Later, Carlson did a quick Internet search using "Wright" and "anti-gay," and discovered that what he had heard on NPR was, in fact, wrong. In a piece edited before broadcast, ATC had put something on air without checking to make sure it was correct.