Reid -vs- Bush: : Unbalanced Reporting from NPR

Posted by Richard Blair at 9:32 AM on April 24, 2007.

Late yesterday afternoon, I was listening to an NPR interview between All Things Considered anchor Melissa Block and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. The interview had been preceded by a pro-regime segment on George Bush standing up to the Democratic bullies in congress as he threatens a veto of any Iraq supplemental funding bill with an attached non-binding timetable for withdrawal, and certification of unit readiness (prior to deployment) that the president can waive.

While I believe that NPR reporting has improved and become more balanced since the time that Bush appointee Ken Tomlinson was unceremoniously chucked overboard at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the two stories aligned back to back shows me that even with public radio, we have miles to go. Block's interview with Reid is one reason that, even with Tomlinson long gone, I still will not join or financially support NPR, unless and until their editorial practices change dramatically.

This interview aired before reports were made public of 10 U.S. soldiers and more than 63 Iraqis being killed in Iraq on Monday. The entire transcript of the interview is available here - but almost as important, I think everyone should actually listen to the two segments that I reference: the pro-regime segment, and then the interview with Reid. There are very clear subtleties in the inflection and tone of Block's interview that can't possibly be conveyed by the mere words in black and white.

Right out of the chute, she is almost combative with Harry Reid - you can hear it dripping in her voice...

During the course of the interview, Block never acknowledges that the vast majority of Americans agree with the path being set by the recently passed House and Senate bills (which are still awaiting reconciliation by conference committee). Some of the questions that she asked were so "loaded" and confrontational that I kept expecting Reid to snap on her. It's simply the same old thing. Paraphrased, "Why are you picking on Bush, and what are you going to do to compromise with him?"

Needless to say, I was fairly screaming at the radio by the time the interview was complete: WHEN IS BUSH GOING TO COMPROMISE WITH REID? I am pleased, but not surprised, that Reid managed to keep his cool during the course of this one sided interview.

The full transcript (not available at NPR's website) can be read at All Spin Zone.

Tagged as: harry reid, george w. bush, npr

Richard Blair is the blogmaster of All Spin Zone.