Lack of Diversity at NPR

As I've mentioned before, I have a part-time courier job that requires me to drive long hours a few times a month. Today is one of those days, and I'm between routes at the moment.  When I drive I often listen to NPR, which has extensive news coverage and interesting programming. Although politically it slants liberal, it can still be very informative and worth listening to, even if I may disagree with a particular line of analysis. Being left-of-center, NPR is always talking about diversity, and the last program I listened to earlier was about diversity in journalism and how that has been affected by the economy. But ideological diversity on its programs is sometimes lacking -- often for no good reason.

Today I listened to a two-hour show called Radio Times with Marty Moss-Coane. The first hour was an in-depth look at North Korea and the issues surrounding it, exactly the kind of topic I find interesting. There were two guests, a former Clinton administration diplomat turned academic, and a representative of Human Rights Watch. Both were highly knowledgeable about North Korea, and the discussion wasn't overtly political. So what was the problem? The Clinton guy was asked why relations are so bad between the U.S. and North Korea. Naturally he calmly explained that things were going pretty well under the Clinton administration until Bush fouled everything up. The HRW woman didn't get into the past, but they both agreed that more "engagement" and outreach to North Korea was the way to go. Anyone listening who was unaware of foreign policy debates might think that these views were some sort of general consensus. It's a type of bias by omission, and reflects a lack of ideological diversity. 

How hard would it have been to get a former Bush administration official on to give a contrasting perspective and a little bit of balance? I'm sure there are some Republican diplomats-turned academics that could have been tapped. It wouldn't be necessary to have a big name like John Bolton, just any differing voice would have been nice.

A Right-wing Plug for NPR

National Public Radio isn't too popular on the right.  It has a more or less center-left slant on politics, and rarely features any strong conservative voices.  But I would still highly recommend it to anyone.  There are few programs where you can get information on such a wide variety of topics. And even when issues are debated between different guests, each side is allowed to make its points, there's no shouting down of opposing views, and everything is conducted in a civil tone.

I do some part-time work filling in for a courier a few times a month, and today is one of those days.  It involves about five hours of driving during the morning and afternoon, and about another six at night.  Although I like music, I don't want to listen to it for eleven hours. It's nice to have NPR.  And since the topics and hosts vary wildly, it's not like you are listening to the same show for hours on end.  This morning they had a detailed examination of the Israeli-Gaza situation, with interviews talking to people on each side.  There was also an extensive interview with former ambassador Peter Galbraith about Iraq.  Even though I disagree with some of his perspectives and conclusions, it was well-worth hearing for anyone interested in U.S. foreign policy and the Middle East.  Those were just a couple of the highlights.