NPR - The Left's Propaganda Machine?

Today, revised 1st quarter GDP figures were released by the BEA.  Those revised figures indicate a decrease of 1%, rather than the increase of .10% suggested in last month's advance estimate.

Obviously, this isn't good news for the country in general, and the Obama administration and its claims of a consistently growing economy, in particular.  As one might recall, decreases in unemployment and jobless claims announced around that same time were, at that time, deemed questionable and more likely a reflection of people leaving the job market altogether (or not seeking work because of "the weather", depending on whether or not you wanted to believe we're really in the middle of a robust economic resurgence with significant real reductions in the nation's unemployment figures).

On my way home from Sendik's tonight, I was listening to NPR's tease for their upcoming nightly business report.  Naturally, mention was made of this unwelcome announcement.  The position they were taking was that this was puzzling in light of some of the other economic news we've had (reference made to the unemployment figures noted above, sans how they were accounted for at the time, consumer spending and price increases, etc) which would indicate the recovery is ongoing.  And then they posed a question to the effect of - "does GDP really matter, anyways?".  

The setup for what was to come was complete.  While they apparently couldn't find anyone to state, outright, that the adjusted figures for first quarter GDP didn't matter, they did find someone willing to mention the unemployment figures (minus the disclaimers attached to them initially) and reference, once again, the "weather" as a probable cause for the disappointing GDP figures.   Mention was made of inventories and some additional non-specific hemming and hawing went on about other possible causes while avoiding any suggestion that the recovery - which the administration and its supporters have been talking up incessantly, despite indications it might not be all they claim - might, in fact, not be all they claim.

For years we've heard those on the left rail about talk radio being a partisan wasteland overrun with hard-right talkers like Rush Limbaugh and those who emulate him, thanks to the consolidation of ownership of media outlets by a few large corporate entities.   Almost never is any mention made of the fact that NPR's affiliate stations, which regularly promote the left's viewpoint on virtually all topics where such might exist, make up a much larger and more widespread network than that carrying Limbaugh or any of the other right-wing talkers - and one that benefits, directly, from taxpayer funding.

Obviously not everything NPR and its affiliates feature is of a political nature.  They do provide a valuable service in terms of covering topics commercial radio, with its rather narrowly focused formats, can't or won't.  Hence, I'm not suggesting, as some have, that they should have their public funding pulled due to their one-sided coverage of those topics that do tend to be more politically charged. Frankly, it would be naive to expect the government's radio station to not favor viewpoints that lean in the direction of preserving and expanding the government sector.  I'd just like to see a bit more attention focused on how NPR plays a significant roll in promoting partisan, left-leaning viewpoints within the talk radio media segment - and perhaps an admission that talk radio, when taken as a whole, is a lot more evenly balanced than it is often portrayed.

A little honesty from the media source that attempts to hold itself above others in its field wouldn't hurt, either.  

Whenever one of their pledge drives is in progress, NPR and its local affiliates take great pains to paint themselves as the non-partisan talk radio "alternative" for fact based discussion of local, state, national and world events.  At least their counterparts on the right offer up no such pretense.