NPR ombudsman explains The Soloist coverage

An astute listener notices that NPR has been devoting considerable air time to Dreamworks’ new film The Soloist, coinciding with advertising time Dreamworks purchased with NPR to promote the film.

Alicia G. Shepard, NPR’s ombudsman, acknowledges that while it looks like “pay for play,” “a firewall exists between the editorial and marketing sides of NPR to prevent NPR sponsors from influencing programming.”

Shepard explains that producers receive a list of funding credits a week in advance of each show’s airing, so that they may remove those spots from running near shows that would give the appearance of a conflict:

Freedom of the press denied in D.C.

David Schultz made the wrong decision. But he shouldn’t have had to make the decision at all.

According to a report from WTOP in Washington, D.C.,  Schultz,  a reporter who works for NPR affiliate WAMU, was interviewing a patient at the VA Hospital in D.C. when he was surrounded by a number of staffers and four armed security guards.

Gloria Hairston, described as an internal communications specialist for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, demanded that Schultz stop the interview and hand over his recording equipment. If he didn’t, Hairston said she would “get ugly.”

Schultz, after consulting with his editor by phone, relinquished his sound card.

The Reporter’s Committee for Freedom of the Press reported yesterday that Hairston was attempting to protect the  privacy interests of the patient:

Neko Case's new album on NPR tonight

OK, I usually cover news industry developments on this blog — “Serving fellow journalists since January 2009!” But since it’s my blog, I think I’m well within my rights to alert your attention to NPR’s exclusive first listen of Neko Case’s upcoming album, Middle Cyclone.

As the NPR preview notes, “Case possesses one of the most memorable and seductive voices in music.” Indeed, I fell in love with her voice (and lyrics and melodies) back in 2006 when I heard her sublime “Margaret vs. Pauline” from Fox Confessor Brings the Flood.

I’ve been looking forward to Case’s new album ever since I learned of its pending release a few months ago, and I’m excited that I’ll finally be able to hear it in its entirety starting at 11:59 p.m. tonight.

Schiller preaches the NPR gospel

Jon Friedman’s interview with new NPR CEO Vivian Schiller goes heavy on the religious imagery in its opening grafs, using words and phrases like “evangelize,” “convert,” “divine inspiration” and “heavenly intervention.” And Schiller does come across as something of a “born again.” Which makes the following passage that much more satisfying:

Still, NPR’s reputation for being self-serious can be glaring and maybe even a little grating to some. In the hilarious best-seller, “Stuff White People Like,” author Christian Lander pokes fun brilliantly at public radio’s image.

Lander wrote: “Public radio provides white people with news and entertainment that has the proper perspective (their own).”

The rib-tickling paragraph inspired me to visit StuffWhitePeopleLike.com and seek out more wisdom from the post on Public Radio:

Nonprofit journalism is not a compromise, says NPR CEO

NPR CEO and President Vivian Schiller takes Slate Editor-at-large Jack Shafer to task for his criticism of the nonprofit model proposed for The New York Times. Below, I’ve included excerpts from Shafer’s article, followed by Schiller’s responses.

Shafer:

But if the point is to stake the Times for perpetuity, the biggest problem will be keeping the foundation hustlers from taking over. In my experience, foundations that fund journalism directly—as opposed to journalistic education—are more interested in promoting what they consider “social justice” than promoting journalism. For them, a newspaper is just a means to an end.

Schiller’s response: