Audie Cornish leaving NPR

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love it if NPR brought in some centrist or centrist-right talent to balance the programming.

I've been an NPR fan for 20+ years, but it has been way, way too leftist in recent years. I know this can just be me, right? It has become the radio version of MSNBC.

I realize this will never happen, but I may eventually just tune out entirely.

Disagree. It's exactly what it's been my whole life. As close to neutral as we have in this country.


In terms of inside scuttlebutt...I have none. But...someone I talk to a lot who works at NPR and who fits into some of the categories discussed has done some general eye rolling to me lately about office culture there. This is someone in management who's been there a long time. It does seem like morale is, shall we say, not high.

This show has 1 hour a day on WAMU 4 days a week, https://wamu.org/show/the-takeaway Can you read those show descriptions and say they sounds anything other than far left? Is there anything similarly far right that balances it? The morning and evening drives are more neutral, but NPR as a whole is not.

But NPR as a whole IS the morning and evening drives, ie Morning Edition and All Things Considered. The show you posted is created and produced by and at WNYC -- a station -- not the network.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love it if NPR brought in some centrist or centrist-right talent to balance the programming.

I've been an NPR fan for 20+ years, but it has been way, way too leftist in recent years. I know this can just be me, right? It has become the radio version of MSNBC.

I realize this will never happen, but I may eventually just tune out entirely.

As a European listener, it doesn't seem leftist as much as non-questioning. The US is very much a right-of-center country, and your Democrats aren't progressive or leftist whatsoever! They replace actual social policy-making with "woke" concepts, which is useless lip service to social ideals. So for me, coming from interviews on certain TV and radio channels of various European countries, and expecting interviewers to ask the hard questions, I tune into NPR, and it's just a gentle stream of centrist, or left-of-center warbling. Warbling being the operative word. There is no fight. NPR could broaden its listener base if it could actually make their interviewees squirm a little more, and come at them from all sides of the political spectrum.

This is SO true. If you want to hear an interviewer challenge their guests on the regular you have to listen to BBC Newshour.

[Anonymous]

I have a friend who worked at a major market NPR station and then at a nationally syndicated show. Both places sounded pretty toxic-like getting screamed at if you screw up. No clear path for advancement. Wages are pretty low-particularly for working in a high stress/long hours environment.

[Anonymous]

I had a boss whose sister worked there and said it was a boys club. Also know a friend of a friend who married his intern there. Old enough to be her Dad. This was pre me too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:With the rise of podcasting, there are also numerous other places to do good audio work, many of which can offer much bigger salaries than public radio. That hasn't always been the case.

This. As an NPR alum this trend has been going on since the rise of Slate podcasts. NPR was the final destination for many years, and now there is competition.

That combined with some management and culture problems means this is also an exodus of talented staff of color, also in even more demand from the lily white podcast companies.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love it if NPR brought in some centrist or centrist-right talent to balance the programming.

I've been an NPR fan for 20+ years, but it has been way, way too leftist in recent years. I know this can just be me, right? It has become the radio version of MSNBC.

I realize this will never happen, but I may eventually just tune out entirely.

As a European listener, it doesn't seem leftist as much as non-questioning. The US is very much a right-of-center country, and your Democrats aren't progressive or leftist whatsoever! They replace actual social policy-making with "woke" concepts, which is useless lip service to social ideals. So for me, coming from interviews on certain TV and radio channels of various European countries, and expecting interviewers to ask the hard questions, I tune into NPR, and it's just a gentle stream of centrist, or left-of-center warbling. Warbling being the operative word. There is no fight. NPR could broaden its listener base if it could actually make their interviewees squirm a little more, and come at them from all sides of the political spectrum.

This is SO true. If you want to hear an interviewer challenge their guests on the regular you have to listen to BBC Newshour.

NPR is pro-establishment, more than right or left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:With the rise of podcasting, there are also numerous other places to do good audio work, many of which can offer much bigger salaries than public radio. That hasn't always been the case.

This. As an NPR alum this trend has been going on since the rise of Slate podcasts. NPR was the final destination for many years, and now there is competition.

That combined with some management and culture problems means this is also an exodus of talented staff of color, also in even more demand from the lily white podcast companies.

I used to work in public radio and I think this is a big is issue - management problems, low pay (you can't eat prestige!) and now other options thanks to podcasts. Plus NPR has been slow to embrace podcasts due in part to its governance structure and the influence of the local stations.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Why does everyone on NPR have weird names I love it.

+1

[Anonymous]

She is my number 1 favorite journalist. The most talented there is. Unfortunately, NPR's programming choices have taken a nosedive. Jenn White is absolutely BORING. Boring choices for guests and topics. Maybe Audie got tired of the political correctness.

[Anonymous]

Didn't she talk about leaving on air about a month ago? Ari Shapiro did a retrospective of her journalistic work. Or am a I thinking of another NPR journalist?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I would love it if NPR brought in some centrist or centrist-right talent to balance the programming.

I've been an NPR fan for 20+ years, but it has been way, way too leftist in recent years. I know this can just be me, right? It has become the radio version of MSNBC.

I realize this will never happen, but I may eventually just tune out entirely.

What?! Do you mean that Michael Barbaro (and his excessive use of dramatic pauses) isn’t conservative enough for you?!

/s

He's such a weird host and interviewer. I especially like how he acknowledges the speaker though with his "um hmmm". Has the standards just dropped that low that this is now acceptable? But yes on top of that, his pauses along with the background intro music makes every topic seem to be such a big crisis.

My five year old loves to mock how MB says “hmmmmmmmm”.

[Anonymous]

Not everything that plays on WAMU is NPR, fyi.
Lots of confusion in this thread.

I agree with op's concern.

[Anonymous]

I like Audie. And I really miss Lulu Garcia-Navarro too.

[Anonymous]

Pretty sure all the cool kids would rather do podcasts these days. A daily show is a huge grind, so I kinda can’t blame them.

[Anonymous]

I think this is worth a read. I don’t doubt there are cultural problems but this factors in too
https://mobile.twitter.com/NBCJoshua/status/1478456510955073537