Transcript
Letters
January 19, 2002
BOB GARFIELD: We're back with On the Media. I'm Bob Garfield.
BROOKE GLADSTONE: And I'm Brooke Gladstone, and here are a few of your letters. Two weeks ago we had a largely angry e-mail response to our piece on NPRs problems with the pro-Israel media monitoring group Camera. Andrew L. Robinson of Bellevue [sp?], Washington writes that he happens to agree that much of NPR's coverage seems biased in favor of the Palestinians, but independent of that, he writes, "when they reported a comment from one listener that NPR is known as 'National Palestinian Radio,' I was appalled to hear Ms. Gladstone and Mr. Garfield's flippant response of 'oy gevalt' and 'oy vay is mir.' That was condescending to say the least and only serves to reinforce the point made by the listener."
BOB GARFIELD:Martin Schneider [sp?] of Tecconic [sp?], New York writes that quote "We shook his respect for our show with that response," but Matt Warning [sp?] of Seattle writes, "As you said, oy vay. A pro-Palestinian bias? I often write to complain about the pro-Israel bias." And this from Giorra Barr [sp?]. As an Israeli living in the U.S., I find NPR the most inclusive, objective and intelligent news source in the United States. I wonder if the ones who wrote those letters read the Israeli press. One of the things Israel can and should be proud of is its free media. Following almost daily the Israeli press I can only imagine how the enthusiastic objectivity-defenders would react if NPR were bold enough to voice only some of the concerns of many mainstream Israeli journalists who regularly criticize the policy of the government toward the Palestinians. Many of those journalists, by the way, are getting the same kind of responses, so your reporters are definitely in good company."
BROOKE GLADSTONE:Please keep your letters coming in to onthemedia@wnyc.org and please don't forget to tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name, and how to pronounce where you live. [MUSIC]