This couldn't have come at a worse time, though National Public Radio (NPR) CEO and president Vivian Schiller is now resigning following a bizarre sting operation. The incident surrounds NPR top executive Ron Schiller (no relation we're told), who wasvideotaped while calling members of the Tea Party 'racists' and 'xenophobes,' a major bias problem. “They're seriously racist, racist people," Schiller told a fictitious Muslim Action Education Center, all part of a setup put together by activist James O'Keefe.
And so what? On its face, this seems like another example of a journalist getting dumped for expressing any sort of real opinion. But NPR is on the dole, and that makes it a completely different type of news organization. In fact, Ron Schiller was also videotaped questioning NPR's reliance on federal funding—and ironically, those support structures are now even more threatened.
Meanwhile, members of the music community are rallying to save public radio funding and non-commercial broadcasting. That consortium includes the Future of Music Coalition, Alternate Roots, the American Federation of Musicians, Americans for the Arts, American Music Center, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Chorus America, Dance/USA, Fractured Atlas, the League of American Orchestras, the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, the National Performance Network, OPERA America, Performing Arts Alliance, and Theatre Communications Group.
That alliance sent an open letter to members of Congress earlier this week, though its lobbying efforts are certainly getting complicated by the sting.
And so what? On its face, this seems like another example of a journalist getting dumped for expressing any sort of real opinion. But NPR is on the dole, and that makes it a completely different type of news organization. In fact, Ron Schiller was also videotaped questioning NPR's reliance on federal funding—and ironically, those support structures are now even more threatened.
Meanwhile, members of the music community are rallying to save public radio funding and non-commercial broadcasting. That consortium includes the Future of Music Coalition, Alternate Roots, the American Federation of Musicians, Americans for the Arts, American Music Center, the Association of Performing Arts Presenters, Chorus America, Dance/USA, Fractured Atlas, the League of American Orchestras, the National Alliance for Media Arts and Culture, the National Alliance for Musical Theatre, the National Association of Latino Arts and Culture, the National Performance Network, OPERA America, Performing Arts Alliance, and Theatre Communications Group.
That alliance sent an open letter to members of Congress earlier this week, though its lobbying efforts are certainly getting complicated by the sting.
