Alex

Freedom of expression is a critical right

I'd like to ask your opinion about the reports that NPR employees are "banned" from the "March on Sanity" in Washington. (I'm aware that you generally refuse to discuss issues like this).

Was there some ban on NPR members attending Glenn Beck's rally that we never heard about? If not, what's the difference?

What is happening to NPR that employees are banned from going to a rally as private persons, on their own time (and also warned against placing bumper stickers on the their cars).

What is happening in the corporate American workspace, that managers feel they have the right to openly make such demands?

We have a rising tide of corporate/special interest money shaping every aspect of intellectual discourse, from corporate-owned newsertainer news, "Force multiplier" schills placed by the Pentagon as "independent experts" promoting the Iraq war, all manner of "think tanks" questioning the scientific consensus global climate change - and all manner of similar efforts.

The supreme court's "citizens united" ruling, has opened the floodgates on secret corporate campaign cash - which aslo serves as an indirect way to influence media outlets who benefit from the lucre from these secretly-funded PACs

For starters, I'd like Brian Leher to discuss the NPR policy on the air.

I'd like the author of the NPR policy on banning workers from the "march on sanity" to step forward, identify themselves, and engage in an interview with a respected journalist to discuss the decision.

I would like to see anti-trust provisions enforced, and other legislation introduced to break up the corporate ownership of news outlets.

I would like to see legislation to overturn the "Citizen's United" SC ruling.

I have been a long-time admirer of Brian - from the first week his show went on the air.

But I find him increasingly difficult to listen to. "Dialogue, not Diatribe" was a good slogan in the 1990's - but in todays world of Ken Tomlinson, Rove, Citizen's United, and the Koch Brothers.

It's a little like watching the West Wing in 2005 - a nice, liberal fantasy, as authorized torture and began the "US attorney purge" out there in the real world.

But NPR has been very cautious reporting on those issues too.