How’s everyone’s weekend going?
Thanks for spending a portion of your Sunday with the Six.
Let’s get right to it.
NPR IS GONE AND WE’RE DUMBER FOR IT
Like so many Chicagoans growing up in the 80s, I listened to a form of communication called radio.
You turned on this device in the car, on a Walkman or home stereo, and sound came out. If you weren’t dialed into the right frequency at precisely the right moment, that sound was lost into the ether.
On demand? You better be on time, bucko.
Personalities like Kevin Matthews, Steve & Garry and Don Geronimo (yes, I did listen to B96 back in the day. The station was cool for about 14 months); sidekicks Pugsley, Piranha Man, Jim Shorts, all wildly entertaining characters my buddies and I would attempt to out do each other trying to impersonate at school.
And there was NPR.
In the late 90s, I started listening to a show on WXRT (93.1) called “Sound Opinions.” Never before did I realize how much there was to learn about music until I listened to hosts Jim DeRogatis and Greg Kot debate the merits of Pearl Jam and Buddy Guy, all in the same hour. Sometime in the 2000’s the show moved to WBEZ (91.5), Chicago’s National Public Radio frequency. I would religiously listen every week, and began to sample other programming on the station.
Whatever the niche, the programming was a master class in music, local politics, or global affairs. There was no fluff, straight up spoken word with smart hosts who asked engaging questions to interesting subjects. And most important, the conversations left enough oxygen for you, the listener, to draw your own conclusions about what you just heard. No pandering, no persuasive dogma, although it was always clear the station had a left of center worldview. But that was OK, because the hosts did not sermonize.
Those days are long gone.
For a number of years, WBEZ and NPR has evolved into a communications platform for the progressive left in Chicago and country. This past week, an insider admitted as such.
In a stunning personal essay published on The Free Press newsletter, a 20-year plus reporter/producer at NPR, Uri Berliner, revealed what NPR stands for in 2024:
It’s true NPR has always had a liberal bent, but during most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed. We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding.
In recent years, however, that has changed. Today, those who listen to NPR or read its coverage online find something different: the distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population.
An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America.
Berliner goes on to say how the advocacy journalism kicked off in full force around the time of Trump’s first presidential campaign. He cites several examples of over-the-top cheerleading for Trump’s adversaries and the lack of countering viewpoints from the outlet.
He adds this nugget about the absence of accountability:
"It is one thing to swing and miss on a major story...what’s worse is to pretend it never happened, to move on with no mea culpas, no self-reflection."
That quote sums up rather succinctly mainstream media in the Trump era.
These comments aren’t coming from Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity. They are spoken from an “EV-driving, Wordle-playing, tote bag–carrying coastal elite” as Berlinger self-describes his lifestyle habits. He works and lives National Public Radio.
The essay comes on the heels of WBEZ announcing in February it was cutting back local programming to one hour per day. A subsequent statement from the station explaining the decision affirms Berlinger’s comment about no internal self-reflection. The release is filled with flowery, pollyannish comments and uses such terms as “inspiring awe” and “motivate action.” Huh? Did Michelle Obama write this?
While the fate of WBEZ is almost 100 percent its own doing, we should take no joy in its destruction.
The dishonesty of our public institutions weakens our democracy. A lack of trust in media, especially ones with unaffiliated labels like “National Public Radio” (is there a more seemingly unbiased title?) further erodes our belief in any unified dominion.
Nineteenth century author Oscar Wilde’s famous statement how "In America, the president reigns for four years, and journalism governs forever and ever" has never been more prescient.
It’s been a slow erosion of principles, sped forward over the past decade by the Never Trumper movement zealots who make up NPR’s newsroom and management offices. National Public Radio, and WBEZ, forgot how publicly-funded institutions best serve the citizenry by leading with curiosity, not ideology.
As its been said, woke leads to broke. And we as a culture are dumber for it.
Let’s proceed with the Six.
1. Grading The Mayor: Barely Passing.
It is shaping up to be a fascinating summer in the city of Chicago. Along with the normal yearly happenings—Lollapalooza, Wrigley concerts, festivals—there’s a once-a-half-century even to be held in August. That’s the Democratic National Convention. Although a repeat of the ugly street violence of 1968 is unlikely, there will no doubt be protests and crime. Dem dignitaries will flock to a city that leads the national on total homicides. Put that on an Instagram ad and smoke it! And earlier this week, a group of men, in the span of 45 minutes, robbed eight businesses in the Lakeview neighborhood. Chicago’s mayor presents a ‘nothing to see here’ vibe about crime, unless it involves a police shooting. ChicagoMag grades out year one of the Brandon Johnson administration.
2. Americans Don’t Want Dictatorship, But Creating One Anyway.
Donald Trump stoked the partisan fire when he made his “dictator for a day” comments a few months ago. That’s not what Americans want, but their actions speak otherwise. This story from Reason argues how “Only a small minority of Americans actually favor turning the presidency into an elective monarchy, but we're all getting it anyway. That's because many people ask far too much of a government that was originally designed to be limited in its role and hobbled by checks and balances.” Voters also say they overwhelmingly don’t want another round of Trump vs Biden but that’s what we’re getting anyway.
3. The Land Where the CD Never Died.
Physical music purchasing is cyclical and now we in a vinyl resurgence. While Americans in general are not buying CD’s (still my favorite form of music) 36% of global CD purchases come from Japan. The explanation, according to the author of this piece via The Can’t Get Much Higher newsletter, lies in demographic and economic factors in Japan: an old population; government price control favoring copyright owners over retailers; record labels bundling perks like priority concert tickets into CDs and a rabid a fan culture where large portions of the population hold listening parties that don’t involve Spotify playlists. Open the tray table, drop in that Mr. Children CD and press play.
4. How To Make It In Basketball: Become An Indiana Student Manager.
I really enjoyed this piece from Front Office Sports. It tracks the history of the student manager position in the men’s basketball program at Indiana. In the 1970’s and 80’s when Bobby Knight roamed the sidelines, the position was in high demand: as many as 70 students would apply for only four spots and “managers did the equivalent of what is today a paid position. Freshmen started out with laundry and filming practice from the crow’s nest high above Assembly Hall…some managers had to drive two hours to pick up game tape-recorded on a satellite dish.” The resourcefulness required for such menial tasks prepared the young students for leadership roles later in life, like being a head coach or NBA executive. There’s an amusing anecdote in the story about Knight asking a manager to get former Vice President Dan Quayle on the phone. That manager now runs the NCAA basketball tournament.
5. In Baseball, What’s Left-Handed Can Be Hard To Tell.
Many baseball pitchers and hitters deliberately attempt to pitch or hit left-handed despite otherwise being right-handed in all other aspects of their lives, such as writing and golf-swinging. As this article from the Associated Press details, lefties are a mound speciality, a boost in a competitive the job market. While just 10 percent to 12 percent of the general population is left-handed, overall in Major League Baseball lefties were responsible for 26 percent of innings pitched. A word to the wise for all moms and dads out there: buy a right-handed glove for junior’s next birthday. Consider it a long term investment.
6. Man Sent To ER After Hearing Slightly Different Viewpoint.
Another classic video short from the folks at The Babylon Bee. One exchange:
“Get this man to an echo chamber, STAT!”
“We don’t have anymore—we lent them all to Harvard!”
Hilarious, timely satire.
Thanks for reading everybody and have a great rest of your weekend.
Have a suggestion for The Sunday Six? Send email to jonjkerr@gmail.com.