Listener comments!

♥ 6:01pm
: howdy Ken and techtons ♥ 6:01pm
tom tom the pipers son: tghe fickle finger of fred….hello ken... 🤖 ♥ 6:02pm
Bas NL: Hi Ken! Tell it to us gently, please! Hi all! ♥ 6:03pm
Adi From Sheffield: Good evening. 🤖 ♥ 6:04pm
Jeff Moore: On Fred Rogers Flipping the (Double) Bird:

boingboing.net...

🤖 ♥ 6:05pm
Ken From Hyde Park: They won't be satisfied until this entire country is de-funned-ed. ♥ 6:05pm
common: wonderful photo! hi ken, all 🤖 ♥ 6:05pm
Webhamster Henry: Hi Terrestrial Ken!   6:07pm
Fredericks: I thought it was the "Corporation Of Public Broadcasting." ♥ 6:08pm
Zip7: CPB funding has always been a fun chew toy for rightwing rottweilers. They'll miss the opportunity for grandstanding when it's gone. 🤖 ♥ 6:08pm
Webhamster Henry: Is C-SPAN also supported by congress? 🤖 ♥ 6:09pm
Will thee SG OCNY: Good evening Staysh and all!!!   6:10pm
Fredericks: I thought Ken said Jesse Watters and I got real excited. 🤖 ♥ 6:11pm
Deano de los Muertos: Thanks in advance for this informative fill-in, Staysh.   6:11pm
You: It has evolved to become a salary generating operation that has the legal structure of a corporation. ♥ 6:11pm
Zip7: NPR saw the writing on the wall when Reagan/Stockman sought to abolish funding in '80, so they had funding sent to stations who then had to buy programming from NPR 🤖 ♥ 6:12pm
Deano de los Muertos:

↳ Ken From Hyde Park @6:05

I wonder when Trump will float the idea of a bail-out to help all of the Tesla dealerships ♥ 6:12pm
tom tom the pipers son: how to turn the government into a giant slush fund…. 🤖 ♥ 6:14pm
Ken From Hyde Park: Not to give them ideas, but I'll bet Radio Moscow would be willing to offer them money to take over current NPR stations. ♥ 6:15pm
Zip7:

↳ Ken From Hyde Park @6:14

Evangelical stations can't wait to grab those frequencies on the left of the dial. 🤖 ♥ 6:15pm
-жеи:

↳ Fredericks @6:07

Yes, it's a not-for-profit Corporation ♥ 6:15pm
dale: was given a subscription to smithsonian magazine and j.d. vance's name is at the top of the masthead as a member. i'm sure the content will get diluted and there will be few features on people of color, if any.   6:16pm
You: If what he says is true then why isn’t NPR all republican programming now? 6:17pm
MarciB: Appeasement always works / s 🤖 ♥ 6:17pm
-жеи:

↳ Zip7 @6:15

You got that right. There's a battle going on now in Saint Louis over the KDHX license, with two Christian groups bidding for it and the volunteers and ex-DJs begging the court to not let it be sold 🤖 ♥ 6:17pm
Elena: Here is NYT summarizing the NPR doomsday report from 2011: www.nytimes.com...   6:20pm
Flip: Trump did not have to defund VOA. He simply had everyone put on administrative leave. Therefore, no broadcasting. And everyone who could get out has gotten out.   6:21pm
Flip: There are several lawsuits to prevent the shutdown but as of now, no one is in the building to broadcast anything 6:22pm
morphe': Mr Rodgers = "This really happened" [True??]

"Early one morning, the host and creator of Mister Rogers' Neighborhood parked his humble Impala on a street close to Pittsburgh's Public Broadcasting Station. After a day of taping he came out to the street to find his car was gone. Once he filed a police report, the story was picked up by every media source in the area. Within two days, Mister Rogers returned to the exact spot where his car had been stolen to find it parked and completely intact. Attached to the dashboard was a note that read, "If we'd known it was yours, we never would have taken it."

pabook.libraries.psu.edu...

🤖 ♥ 6:24pm
-жеи:

↳ morphe' @6:22

The story of Mister Rogers flipping the bird: boingboing.net... ♥ 6:25pm
Zip7: Children's Television Workshop was one of the five PBS production centers funded by CPB fron the outset, along with WGBH, WETA, WNET and KERA 6:26pm
morphe':

↳ -жеи @6:24

My " [True??]" was about the car theft story as I did not try to verify.. ♥ 6:27pm
zachary:

↳ -жеи @6:24

Hahahaha! Love it. Of course it was for a song. ♥ 6:28pm
zachary:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:08

Good question. No. C-SPAN is not supported by Congress.

www.c-span.org...

"C-SPAN is a multi-platform public service with offerings on television, online, radio and social media. It is a private, nonprofit organization created in 1979 by the cable television industry to provide long-form, unfiltered and balanced public affairs programming. C-SPAN receives no government funding, funding comes through license fees paid by television providers — the cable and satellite companies that offer C-SPAN to their customers as a public service — and through advertisements on our digital platforms."

  6:28pm
wenzo: Shoot I missed half the show… did the public broadcasting-pocolypse happen yet…? 🤖 ♥ 6:29pm
Handy Haversack: Enjoying this, Ken, thanks. Just stuck in the kitchen. ♥ 6:31pm
zachary:

↳ wenzo @6:28

Fires everywhere! ♥ 6:31pm
egould: 'Change or Die'. Typical libertarian response. 6:31pm
βrian: I've heard of podcasts, but I don't think I've actually heard one. ♥ 6:31pm
Mark T: Great show and very informative. Thanks   6:31pm
Fredericks: I am concerned about the Berliner part of this show. ♥ 6:32pm
Hunterian: Ha, nice insertion of the Antiques Roadshow zinger, Staysh! ♥ 6:32pm
zachary: I wonder if public radio stations were more public (provided avenues for community members to have shows) if we would be having this conversation.

I miss Public Access TV shows.

♥ 6:32pm
Zip7: If federal funding gets axed, look for more specific commercial tie-ins   6:32pm
Fredericks:

↳ zachary @6:28

Thanks, Zachary. 6:35pm
morphe':

↳ Zip7 @6:32

WNYC is doing commercials for some laundry service .... so bizarre ... 🤖 ♥ 6:35pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ zachary @6:28

Thanks C-SPAN was fun to listen to on Jan 6, 2021. ♥ 6:36pm
egould:

↳ zachary @6:32

That is an astute question, Zachary. Alot of the messaging from NPR does have an air of elitism, insularity, and good old job preservation. 🤖 ♥ 6:37pm
Ken From Hyde Park:

↳ Zip7 @6:32

"And now, we send you to 'Car Talk,' sponsored by Monroe Muffler." ♥ 6:37pm
dale: i wonder what click and clack thought about tesla. 🤖 ♥ 6:37pm
-жеи:

↳ morphe' @6:35

Is it a hallucination-free laundry service? 🤖 ♥ 6:38pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ dale @6:37

85% of that show was them diagnosing some engine problem from the imitation people did over the phone. ♥ 6:38pm
egould:

↳ dale @6:37

I don't know, but I bet it involved alot of wheezy laughing at in-jokes. 6:38pm
morphe':

↳ egould @6:36

You mean ads for expensive Boarding Schools and "select wines" delivered to your door?? ♥ 6:38pm
zachary:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:35

No problem. I'm a really big C-SPAN fan.

Yes. Wild on a lot of historic events. And it is all in the archives [like WFMU].

I really enjoy their call-in programs. So many great guests and topics discussed.

  6:38pm
Fredericks: Bill Maher isn't conservative? 6:39pm
morphe':

↳ Ken From Hyde Park @6:37

"Car Talk" ... ""..now there's a name I haven't heard in many a year ..."   6:40pm
GC in Bmore: Bill Maher SEEMS progressive to some sheltered people. He’s basically a pot smoking mouth breathing walking man cave.   6:40pm
Sam: Why should NPR give up government money just so they can stay ultra-liberal? Why not just try to be objective? I’m so tired of biased news sources.   6:41pm
Marie in Chicago: I don't think NPR broadcasts progressive news or from a progressive slant as much as it tries to be neutral. Just because the staff and audience are progressive doesn't mean the news it broadcasts is. I think network news is conservative and has been for a while ♥ 6:42pm
zachary:

↳ egould @6:36

Thanks, egould. I think with the development of podcasting (audio and video), it's easy to see that people love exercising their First Amendment rights and create media.

What do you think?

When I did listen to NPR (I mainly just read the articles now, among other news sources), it was full of so many ads...I mean underwriting.

And, to a point I think that was made earlier, many of the shows do not originate from the local stations and the amount of time the location station has to broadcast original material is very low.

  6:42pm
Marie in Chicago:

↳ GC in Bmore @6:40

Yeah, he says he's progressive, liberal but it doesn't seem like that to me ♥ 6:42pm
melinda: I think I started listening to WFMU when Car Talk went off the air and I needed a Saturday morning show to listen to.   6:43pm
GC in Bmore: I listen to more npr than most WFMU folks I bet. What I notice lately is plenty of religion coverage, and a TON of coverage of commercial culture, like sports and pop music. I always wonder—-can’t I just get that from commercial media? Football scores?? Anyway not much on labor issues for example. ♥ 6:43pm
Zip7:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:41

Excellent point. We have to remember how far to the right the country has swung. And my god look at the likes of the Sinclair stations 🤖 ♥ 6:43pm
mndave: I don't pick up on a left-lean from NPR at all. If anything, it has kneecapped itself by trying to treat both sides as equal and not fact-check obvious falsehoods.   6:43pm
Marie in Chicago: Who is going to willingly give up such a large chunk of funding? 🤖 ♥ 6:44pm
Webhamster Henry: Public broadcasting is not progressive, but just by being in a super right wing, fact ignoring broadcast world, they seem that way. ♥ 6:44pm
egould:

↳ zachary @6:42

I agree with you. And I think the member stations would do better from themselves if they were more 'Community Radio". It's easier to get funding from the people that actually participate in local radio. Or people that listen to actual local radio.   6:44pm
Marie in Chicago: I don't think NPR has gotten more liberal as much as the country has gotten more conservative (largely because of the increase of conservative media)   6:45pm
Fredericks: Mike Pesca did a good interview with Mr. Berliner a while back.

Ich Bein Ein - by Mike Pesca - Pesca Profundities

♥ 6:45pm
melinda:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:41

I stopped listening many years ago because I wanted to take a break from news and WFMU filled the void, but I know many left-of-center people who say it isn't neutral at all anymore.   6:45pm
GC in Bmore: Today—-nothing but NPR pope coverage all day long. Not sure where this guy Uri gets off. ♥ 6:46pm
zachary:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:41

I like to look at media from a apologist/sympathizer lens.

Using this surfaces where the entity lies politically and usually where they believe their audience is, too.

For me, I value criticality in my media.

♥ 6:46pm
Hunterian:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:44

I completely agree with that assessment, though I understand why Berliner said what he did.   6:47pm
Fredericks:

↳ wenzo @6:28

Look around, man, look around. ♥ 6:47pm
Zip7:

↳ egould @6:44

A big problem was the role consultants played at public stations beginning in the '80s. ♥ 6:47pm
northguineahills: tuning in for the end... ♥ 6:47pm
egould:

↳ GC in Bmore @6:43

Yeah I listened to the NPR station in Asheville, NC a few weeks ago. Everytime I listened, it was a segment on a TV series on Netflix, or an interview with a TV star on a show on Netflix. Vapid. 🤖 ♥ 6:47pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ egould @6:44

There are actually a number of community commercial/non commercial stations here in the Mid Hudson. Radio Kingston, WGHQ, WGXC, WVKR, WDST, WKZE, Robin Hood Radio in western CT...   6:48pm
Marie in Chicago:

↳ mndave @6:43

I agree, for example, it would present he said/they said in terms f political campaigns to such a degree without presenting any facts. That became really clear to me during the Bush years   6:48pm
wimpy: I think it’s funny npr is painted in such a progressive light, since I would hardly use that word to describe them ♥ 6:48pm
zachary:

↳ GC in Bmore @6:43

I have noticed that in their print articles, too. NPR has shifted towards the younger demographic by covering pop culture, music, movies, TV shows, etc. ♥ 6:48pm
northguineahills: cool, found the rez on google maps....   6:49pm
queems: the only time i put on npr is for bbc news hour 🤖 ♥ 6:49pm
mndave:

↳ egould @6:47

That's actually one of the reasons I turned off from it in the mid-2010s. They were choosing not to report on additional significant news stories and favoring puff pieces like a local-yokel 6pm newscast. 6:49pm
morphe': kwso.org   6:49pm
wimpy: Sorry, should’ve scrolled up ♥ 6:49pm
egould:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:47

Are those NPR stations? Or true community radio a la WFMU? 🤖 ♥ 6:49pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ wimpy @6:48

"cowardly" might be a good adjective... But when National News broadcasters decided a major reportable news source was random tweets, I really had to check out.   6:50pm
Fredericks:

↳ GC in Bmore @6:40

Thank you. He does occasionally appear open-minded.   6:50pm
Dean: "Car Show"...not "Car Talk"...is an informative, entertaining, intellectually enriching weekly radio program about all aspects of automobiles, not just call-in Q&A funny ha-ha. It has aired continuously since 1973.
https://archive.kpfk.org/index.php?shokey=carshow

I find NPR unlistenable for so many reasons. (But then I find the NYT unreadable.) Everything is spun as a kind of human interest story, cloying and banal at the same time. I'm not surprised to learn that the organization feels entitled.

♥ 6:50pm
zachary:

↳ Zip7 @6:47

Huh. I never heard that before. Makes sense. Any recommendations to read more on the topic? 🤖 ♥ 6:51pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ egould @6:49

Some have a little Pacifica content. The NPR station here is WAMC, which has a constellation of repeater stations. 🤖 ♥ 6:51pm
mndave:

↳ egould @6:49

WGXC I know is operated by Wave Farm and I think they are 'true community radio' ♥ 6:51pm
zachary:

↳ egould @6:44

Yes. Put the Public back into Public Broadcasting. Novel. ;-)

And in all of my non-profit work, the more involved people, the more they will give when asked.

🤖 ♥ 6:51pm
Ken From Hyde Park: The United States government breaks a treaty? That never happens! 🤖 ♥ 6:51pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ mndave @6:51

They sure are! also, the home of former WFMU DJ Mayuko!   6:51pm
Buddy Ripp: Totally agree, Marie. I listen to a lot of NPR and have for almost 30 years. But most of my listening is to try to gauge where they are on the political spectrum. Anytime I encounter someone who says something is progressive and they themselves are not progressive, I ask for examples of what they think makes people Progressive. These are educated people I’m talking about. They never ever have given me an answer that would be an example of progressive politics. In fact, I’ve gotten more conservative policy answers, and examples than liberal. Might as well say that these people cannot tell the difference between liberalism and progressivism.   6:51pm
Fredericks: I remember when NPR was fun. 🤖 ♥ 6:52pm
-жеи:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:42

I just cant take NPR anymore. I think it's become way way worse in the last ten years. Not that I loved it before that   6:52pm
Marie in Chicago: My dad was a huge fan of c-SPan. I haven't seen it in a while but I have a beef with mainstream news, ie, I'm not seeing regular coverage of what is happening in Congress. I mean, come on!!!! Tell us what our elected officials are doing. 🤖 ♥ 6:52pm
-жеи:

↳ mndave @6:51

WGXC is now airing Techtonic!! ♥ 6:52pm
northguineahills:

↳ Dean @6:50

wow, i agree w/ dean on two things, i can't listen to npr (albeit it is a compromise when in the car w/ my parents), and i can't stand the NYT. ♥ 6:52pm
PaulRobeson1925: Hi Hi! Hi ♥ 6:52pm
melinda:

↳ -жеи @6:52

Cool! 🤖 ♥ 6:53pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ -жеи @6:52

Yes! Techtonic is turning into its own network! ♥ 6:53pm
Zip7:

↳ zachary @6:50

I wrote about it 25 years ago. PM me and I'll send you the article. It's a sad story. ♥ 6:53pm
melinda:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:52

My mom too. I was myself when it was part of my cable lineup many years ago. 🤖 ♥ 6:53pm
Webhamster Henry: But I tell you , if these community stations could get KenzoDb, it would be a revolution in local involvement! ♥ 6:54pm
Hunterian:

↳ -жеи @6:52

I think the SNL and Harry Shearer parodies of NPR have had their finger on the problem for a very long time. ♥ 6:54pm
northguineahills:

↳ Hunterian @6:54

yep! 🤖 ♥ 6:54pm
mndave:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:53

Do you know how many stations use kenzodb? I remember looking at the website to see if it had a list and couldn't find one. ♥ 6:54pm
Dan S: I haven't caught this whole show, but what I've heard is interesting. My take is that the basic motivation of the Trump regime to defund public radio and TV is the belief that an informed American public is a terrible thing. Ever read "1984" by George Orwell? One of three core principles of the all-powerful Party is "Ignorance Is Strength."

Also, after they kill off the part of the opposition they can by defunding, Trump and his ilk will try to kill off the rest by other means, like declaring them "terrorists." Being a WFMU listener/supporter could end up getting you deported or imprisoned, or both.

♥ 6:54pm
egould:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:53

This is very true. The WFMU app is the best. ♥ 6:54pm
zachary:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:52

C-SPAN is great. Glad to hear your father was a fan. What did he enjoy on the channel. There's so much. I really like searching for non-fiction authors or political players in their archives. So many panels, conferences, interviews, etc.

I would recommend listening to Washington Journal. A call-in show that covers current topics. The second round of calls is an open forum and you can hear a lot of thoughts and opinions from across the country.

🤖 ♥ 6:55pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ mndave @6:54

Ken would know better than I! ♥ 6:55pm
melinda: I need to look into WGXC again, it came to my attention when Rancho Thatchmo was doing fill-ins on the Drummer stream, I think he was there too. ♥ 6:55pm
zachary:

↳ -жеи @6:52

Woah! Awesome:

wavefarm.org...

♥ 6:55pm
northguineahills: thanks, ken, jesse, uri and sue. this was good and informative. ♥ 6:56pm
Zip7: Doug Schulkind posted this on his show: "I can be quite critical of NPR, but it comes from a place of love. Like the way you would expect so much more from a sibling. My wife and I are 'sustaining' supporters of our local NPR station. There is virtually no other source of sane local news in Pittsburgh." ♥ 6:56pm
northguineahills:

↳ zachary @6:55

my old friend who do the wavefarm! (they started as a pirate station in brooklyn, as free103point9.org....   6:56pm
Fredericks:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:41

I agree. NPR is far from "liberal" and "ultra" is, at least, an inaccurate choice of words.

Progressive folks might just prefer facts.

🤖 ♥ 6:56pm
Bas NL: Warm Springs seems way cool.   6:56pm
Marie in Chicago:

↳ -жеи @6:52

I really like certain programs and I listen to some of the larger staples (eg, Morning Edition) off and on. I love Brian Lehrer on WNYC (local) and I really like Weekend Edition Saturdays (with Scott Simon). Sometimes I like MarketPlace. The there is Q (Canadian) and then there is New Sounds. I also like the hourly recaps and the BBC News   6:57pm
Marie in Chicago:

↳ Marie in Chicago @6:56

and Fresh Air.   6:57pm
Fredericks:

↳ Sam @6:40

Have you checked out "Ground News," Sam?   6:58pm
Marie in Chicago: Conservatives just want to kill it and now they have more power ♥ 6:58pm
steveo: Great interviews today, Ken. Thank you ♥ 6:58pm
PaulRobeson1925: The stereotype of world news we see in America is “where is Malaysian flight 370” and “look at the destroyed building in this country” 🤖 ♥ 6:58pm
Will thee SG OCNY: Thank you Ken and others ♥ 6:58pm
egould: Thank you, Ken and guests. Very informative.   6:58pm
Marie in Chicago: Yes, Ken, great show. Great show, chum @) 🤖 ♥ 6:59pm
Webhamster Henry:

↳ melinda @6:55

WGXC also is a point for other art radio projects like the Basilica 24 hour drone fest and the astounding Reveil, a 24 hour mix of webcam audio at dawn as the terminator goes around the world: soundtent.org ♥ 6:59pm
Richy4619: appreciate y'all   6:59pm
Marie in Chicago:

↳ PaulRobeson1925 @6:58

I agree and where is the worst fire? ♥ 6:59pm
melinda:

↳ Webhamster Henry @6:59

neat! 🤖 ♥ 6:59pm
Webhamster Henry: Radio Kingston broadcasts a lot of Kingston protests and other local events. ♥ 7:00pm
PaulRobeson1925: Native America where did you go 7:00pm
morphe': Thanks Ken and all !!!!

F-ed up times ...

USAID shot dead

Wealthy White South African asshole defunding health care to poor South Africans ...

🤖 ♥ 7:00pm
Bas NL: Thanks Ken! Very informative show. And thanks to all the guests. 🤖 ♥ 7:00pm
Ken From Hyde Park: Authoritative governments don't want a free-thinking, well-informed populace. They want to operate without anyone questioning them. Thanks for standing in tonight, -жеи. 🤖 ♥ 7:00pm
Elena: Thank you! ♥ 7:00pm
zachary:

↳ Zip7 @6:53

Thanks, Zip7. I just sent you a connection / contact request.

Corruption of institutions and systems is horrific.

  7:00pm
Marie in Chicago: I think the viewpoint that NPR should give up its federal funding to become progressive is ludicrous and would kill it once and for all ♥ 7:01pm
zachary: Thanks Ken and everyone!   7:01pm
Marie in Chicago:

↳ Ken From Hyde Park @7:00

right-o 🤖 ♥ 7:01pm
mndave: Morbidly curious to look for NPR's coverage of their defunding... ♥ 7:01pm
Zip7: Great show, Ken -- informative and insightful. 🤖 ♥ 7:01pm
Webhamster Henry: Thanks Ken, for this edition of "On The Media" www.wnycstudios.org... ♥ 7:01pm
zachary:

↳ Ken From Hyde Park @7:00

Hear, hear. More speech and publishing is critical. ♥ 7:02pm
egould:

↳ Ken From Hyde Park @7:00

All governments are authoritarian. ♥ 7:03pm
zachary:

↳ egould @7:02

By their very nature. 🤖 ♥ 7:07pm
Handy Haversack: Thanks, Ken!   7:07pm
Marie in Chicago:

↳ zachary @6:54

Hi Zachary, it really is great. My dad watched all all, literally. He could get into the hearings in a major way and I watched it all with him when there. He left school early to work on the family farm but he had a hungry mind and a lifelong interest in politics and public policy ♥ 4:28pm
Lizardner Dave !: Listening on archive here, it's interesting that what Ken said about how local NPR stations feel about podcasts is exactly how commercial television stations feel about network-owned streaming services ,e.g. NBC stations hate Peacock, CBS stations hate Paramount + for exactly the same reasons. If you don't want the other stuff local stations provide (news and syndcated programming) you just go to a streamer to watch network programming and never tune in to a local station.