MMMM #117 -- The Impartial Media

     Keith Olbermann was suspended by NBC last week when it was disclosed that he made political contributions to two candidates for Congress.

     But as Salon and others are pointing out, the action raises questions about the entire GE owned NBC Media empire. Why do those same standards not apply at CNBC?

     Like the fired Juan Williams* on NPR, Olbermann doesn't claim to be an impartial reporter...he's a commentator!

     It is hard to take the high road! People start asking pesky questions about your "policies". So far as I can tell, NBC has taken a no comment stance about the issue, the ultimate irony, since the entire news business would be out of business if everyone just said no comment!

     True journalism hardliners argue that journalists should not only avoid making contributions, but shouldn't even vote, to remove them from the process entirely.

     It seems the network news operations are trying to set themselves up as somehow purer than their cable cousins, islands of truly impartial reporting. But the links and leaks between the two are much too frequent for that wall to stand. It has, or will, fall under the weight of a lack of consistency.

     I've never contributed to anyone's candidacy. But that hardly means my brain is in some kind of lock-down mode as I do interviews or write stories. The proof of the journalism is in the reading or watching. It's the fairness of the product that's important. Unless your job is commentary, then Katie bar the door. Surely by now, nobody misses the irony of the "fair and balanced" slogan at Fox News?

[*An excellent discussion about Williams and the question of NPR funding can be heard on this week's On The Media...on NPR, of course. And speaking of public radio, I about fell out of bed this Saturday Morning when I turned on my radio just before 6:00am to hear APR say the high would be 90 degrees. Automation in radio has come a long way since my radio time, but there is still a dependency on humans giving the machines the right commands. The actual predicted high was 58.]

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.] 

MMMM # 109 - Public Radio Changes

     Alabama State University licensed Public Radio station WVAS (90.7) in Montgomery will sponsor a Jazz on the Grass event today, starting at 11:00am on the Alabama Shakespeare Festival grounds. ASU is a predominantly black school, and I've always wondered if their young student body actually listens to their jazz format.

     Personally it is one of my favorite stations in the city, but I'm an older than college student aged white guy.

     Meanwhile Alabama Public Radio...a coalition of several stations that does not include WVAS, is increasing the amount of Classical Music they air...at the same time that global sales of classical music---like all genres---is continuing to fall. But classical is falling faster than the rest. Worldwide sales represent somewhere around 5% of all music sales, and my gut tells me the figures in Alabama have to be significantly smaller than that.

Here's how APR explains the decision to air classical music evenings from 8-10pm:



In an effort to pay attention to listener preferences and look for opportunities to improve our public service, Alabama Public Radio is changing its weekday evening and weekend schedule beginning Monday, September 6.

Monday - Thursday evenings, beginning at 8:00 p.m., listeners will hear full-length performances from some of the country's leading symphony orchestras, from the New York Philharmonic to the Chicago Symphony, as well as concerts recorded in the Concertgebouw, considered one of the finest concert halls in the world.

BBC World News will be more accessible when it starts airing at 10:00 p.m. seven nights a week.

Weekend programming changes will include adjusted times for APR's Sunday night local music line-up, with "Getting Sentimental Over You" starting at 5:00 p.m.



     Personally, I am one of the five or six people who are actually listening to the BBC at 3:00am...on APR's Selma-Montgomery frequency (88.3 FM) as I drive to work each morning. So it will actually be less accessible for me.(see note below)

     Announcements on the station say the program grid online has been updated, but that's not the case as of this Saturday Morning as I work on this MMMM for Monday. So I don't know about some other local music programs. I also don't know if the program changes will represent a financial savings for the stations...but those syndicated shows do not come free!

     NPR, the major source of programs for most public stations, does charge its member stations, and has managed to weather the Great Recession better than most media, perhaps thanks in part to that $200 Million grant from the widow of McDonald's founder Ray Kroc in 2003. With so little radio news left, their programs are truly a public service. Some local public stations have managed to increase their local news coverage too, despite the troubles economy.

     Read about Public Radio WABE in Atlanta, for example, on an Atlanta-Journal blog entry.

     WBHM in Birmingham added news and talk programs at the expense of Classical, and seems to have survived the experience.

     All media are struggling right now, trying to find the right combination of programs to hold onto an increasingly antsy audience.

      Here's Tim's Take: Public Broadcasting exists to offer choices that other media are not, so WVAS---perhaps swimming against the Rap and Hip-Hop wave of its student body---may be on track. And perhaps APR's offering of the diminishing Classical programs also serve that need.

     But I sure am going to miss my BBC Radio at 3:00am.

     When will someone invent a TiVo Radio? (See note below)



[ALSO: Anyone who thinks broadcast news mistakes don't come with a price needs to read the NY Times account of The London Times "oops" in incorrectly identifying a photo. How about---literally--- 99 lashes?]



[AND PLUS: The old argrument: should the Media report what people want to know, or what they should know. Technology is making the former much easier to determine.Is that a good thing?]



[NOTE: See the comment section for an update/correction regarding the BBC and the APR online program listings.]

[The Monday Morning Media Memo is a regular feature of this blog.]