Listeners Criticize Bush Coverage

Some listeners are still angry and not only about Bob Edwards' imminent departure (more on that later), but about how politics seem to affect stories that are not, at first glance, highly partisan.

First -- the response to NPR's Don Gonyea and his question to President Bush during the live press conference on April 13.

'A guy who I've never heard from -- Don'

The president called on Gonyea for the last question of the evening. (See Web Resources at the bottom of the page for the complete exchange between Gonyea and the president, from the White House Press Office.)

"Q" is for "questioner."

THE PRESIDENT: Let's see, last question here. Hold on for a second. Those who yell will not be asked. I'll tell you a guy who I've never heard from -- Don.

Q: I appreciate it.

THE PRESIDENT: It's a well-received -- (laughter.)

Q: Following on both Judy's and John's questions, and it comes out of what you just said in some ways, with public support for your policies in Iraq falling off the way they have -- quite significantly over the past couple of months -- I guess I'd like to know if you feel in any way that you've failed as a communicator on this topic? Because --

THE PRESIDENT: Gosh, I don't know. I mean --

Q: Well, you deliver a lot of speeches and a lot of them contain similar phrases, and they vary very little from one to the next. And they often include a pretty upbeat assessment of how things are going -- with the exception of tonight's pretty somber assessment, this evening.

THE PRESIDENT: It's a pretty somber assessment today, Don, yes.

Q: I guess I just wonder if you feel that you have failed in any way? You don't have many of these press conferences, where you engage in this kind of exchange. Have you failed in any way to really make the case to the American public?

THE PRESIDENT: I guess if you put it into a political context, that's the kind of thing the voters will decide next November. That's what elections are about. They'll take a look at me and my opponent and say, 'Let's see, which one of them can better win the war on terror? Who best can see to it that Iraq emerges as a free society?'

Don, if I tried to fine-tune my messages based upon polls, I think I'd be pretty ineffective. I know I would be disappointed in myself. I hope today you've got a sense of my conviction about what we're doing. If you don't, maybe I need to learn to communicate better.

I feel strongly about what we're doing. I feel strongly that the course this administration has taken will make America more secure and the world more free, and, therefore, the world more peaceful. It's a conviction that's deep in my soul. And I will say it as best as I possibly can to the American people.

I look forward to the debate and the campaign. I look forward to helping -- for the American people to hear, what is a proper use of American power; do we have an obligation to lead, or should we shirk responsibility. That's how I view this debate. And I look forward to making it, Don. I'll do it the best I possibly can. I'll give it the best shot. I'll speak as plainly as I can.

One thing is for certain, though, about me -- and the world has learned this -- when I say something, I mean it. And the credibility of the United States is incredibly important for keeping world peace and freedom.

Thank you all very much.

'Rudeness and disrespect?'

Most listeners wrote to accuse Gonyea and NPR for what they say is rudeness and disrespect.

An e-mail from listener James Johnson said that NPR contravened its own ethics guide (see NPR ethics guide link below) that insists that all interviewees must be treated respectfully:

My questions are: 1. Do you think Mr. Gonyea treated the president with respect? 2. Do you think Mr. Gonyea behaved with integrity? 3. Do you think Mr. Gonyea approached the president's news conference "in an open-minded, sensitive and civil way?"

'President Bush Got Off Easy'

A few wrote to accuse NPR of being not tough enough with the president:

I was extremely disappointed with Don Gonyea's question to the president at the press conference last night... Why didn't Mr. Gonyea ask a question that relates directly to the lives of Americans? Were they given instructions by the White House as to what they were permitted to ask? It sure seemed like that was the case... I thought the president performed poorly, but the press was even worse. It would be refreshing to see the press do some self-analysis on their performance at the press conference. It is sad the president gives so few press conferences. I was hopeful when Mr. Gonyea was given the chance to ask a question, but he just asked another beltway question... Once again President Bush got off easy.

Nick Osness

Independence and Skepticism

I thought Gonyea's question was well within the bounds of fair journalistic practice. Some listeners (and some conservative journalists) seem to think that the president is not to be questioned, especially in public and especially in wartime. But political accountability is also a longstanding American journalistic tradition.

Gonyea's question was entirely in keeping with that tradition. The Washington press corps has been accused of stenography in its relations with the Bush administration. That impression has begun to dissipate as the media assumes its more natural attitude of independence and skepticism. Gonyea was respectful, and in my opinion not needlessly deferential.

'A Rare Tour of the Ranch'

The other heavy influx of criticism came after a feature by NPR reporter Ketzel Levine who interviewed First Lady Laura Bush at the Crawford Ranch for Morning Edition on April 15. The interview was about Mrs. Bush's interest in plant restorations on the family ranch and her activities as a naturalist.

Listener Constance Wall was appalled that NPR would put any of the Bushes in a positive light:

I find it distressing that Laura Bush can come on Morning Edition, wandering through her native grasses, and be unchallenged by the interviewer regarding her husband's policies on the environment. By now just about every reputable environmental organization had declared Bush's environmental watch the worst in our history.

Levine did ask some genteel but pointed questions:

LEVINE: And I wonder if you at all feel guilty when you're out carefree and you're working in the garden, or do you let yourself go?

Mrs. BUSH: I would say that, instead, I feel very fortunate. And I know, you're right, our times are so difficult, and they're so challenging for everyone. When you read the newspaper, it's everywhere, you know, not just Iraq, Afghanistan and the United States, but Spain and, you know, everywhere, the whole idea of terrorism and the idea that man -- you know, men and women -- can be so brutal with each other and with innocent people. And there's something in a way that is reassuring about being outside and working in the garden, and that is that time does pass and that life will go on and that all of us, everyone who lives here on Earth, has this beautiful Earth to live on and to seek solace with when we're outside.

Levine is not a political reporter in the Don Gonyea sense. She usually writes and broadcasts about nature and gardening (see Talking Plants). Her reports and essays on Morning Edition often verge on the poetic, and are always very well regarded by the listeners. I thought Levine struck the right tone with Mrs. Bush. Her approach was entirely appropriate for an interview with the first lady.

This interview took years to arrange. But why would the White House seem suddenly amenable and agree to it after all this time?

As I listened to it, I wondered, why now? So did many listeners. Any non-political story around the administration is bound to provoke reactions from people who insist that NPR keep the focus on the war, the economy and the election.

It was an interesting performance by the first lady. The contrast between her husband's answers and hers could not have been greater. I was glad Levine's report aired. But it did leave me -- and many listeners -- with the impression of a kindler, gentler side to the Bush administration at a time when listeners are unwilling to assume that any story with a White House connection can have a non-political side.

A Sense of Loyalty Shaken

Bob Edwards' departure as host of Morning Edition is now a matter of days away. His last appearance is on April 30. The e-mails of protest have tapered off. But NPR has received more than 35,000 -- an astonishing response on any issue.

At a recent conference of broadcast educators, there was an interesting fact presented by Michael Huntsberger that helps explain the passion of the listeners on this issue. Michael is a doctoral candidate in communications at the University of Oregon. He is someone I consider a wise colleague for his able assistance in helping to put together the Public Radio Ethics Guide (see Web Resources below).

Radio Identity

Michael has done research that indicates that radio listeners identify themselves as NPR, or Pacifica or Rush Limbaugh listeners in much greater proportions and with much more emotion than do CBS viewers or San Francisco Examiner readers. To wander slightly into the argot of mass communications theorists, radio listeners self-identify with their radio of choice to a much greater extent than consumers of any other medium. It's known as an aspect of "identity politics."

It occurred to me that the intensity of the reaction of Bob Edwards' departure is due, in part, not just to a long-standing listening habit that is about to be severed. It is about how and where people -- especially public radio people -- see themselves belonging.

Moving Bob out of Morning Edition seems to be calling that self-identity into question. It has been exacerbated by other changes on NPR such as the Wal-Mart underwriting and the Kroc donation. While change is not always detrimental -- it is often beneficial -- many listeners are saying that "their" NPR resembles them less and less.

That may account in part for the extensive sense of loss and outrage that so many are expressing. It's not only about Bob. It may also be about whether people still feel comfortable calling themselves "NPR listeners."