Thursday, May 17, 2007

Dumb Ass Radio

This evening I almost decided, "Enough! I can't listen any more. It's just too stupid." First, on ATC there is a decent enough story about Microsoft's bullying tactics regarding open source software, but then it devolves into the most insipid, Seabrook-led (Oh wow!) drivel about how much patent examiners make and about the goofy, crazy patents that people try to get approved. Then there was a 4 minute, 20 second waste of time about, oh my goodness, all the distractions people engage in in their cars and how in some states cell phone use is banned and texting is banned and oh wow, lets send the reporter out into traffic to see what everyone's doing. It was like a mutant offspring of Car Talk, Good Morning America, and Paul Harvey--gross....

4 comments:

Porter Melmoth said...

You see what I mean about NPR taking a serious and rapid dive down into the whipped cream zone, so to speak. Where perkiness is preferred over objectivity, or even recognition of judicious story value. Soon it will be too much for even we critics to endure. Think about a future without NPR. There IS life after NeoCon Public Radio. You can do it!

Unknown said...

Sadly the right wing has managed to drown NPR in the bathtub, putting it in a dysfunctional vegetative state just like much of the rest of the government (FDA seems like the poster-child this month).

How could we revive NPR? Fire the staff, replace them with the folks the BBC is laying off? :-)

Seriously, is NPR too far gone for it to be saved, assuming there is a change to a Democratic administration in 2008? I fondly remember NPR's reporting back in the early and mid 70's, when they actually had an international perspective instead of today's inside-the-beltway political horserace mentality.

Anonymous said...

Those gals had a good ol' giggly time, didn't they? I swear, next time I hear Seabrook's chirpy voice, my radio is going to DIE.

Anonymous said...

I can never understand why NPR continually gives air time to Newt, and occassionally to George Will, both of whom have called for an end to government funding of non-commercial broadcasting. And they are very willing to slight people who favor such funding.