NPR Public Editor

Tuesday February 28, 2006

NPR Public Editor

Music from NPR: Not So Inscrutable?

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

February 28, 2006 • Listeners who comment on the music heard from NPR have strong opinions, which is usually to say that they don't agree with NPR's choices -- especially over what is aired on NPR's newsmagazine programs.

Tuesday February 21, 2006

NPR Public Editor

Reporting on the Olympics and the President

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

February 21, 2006 • The Olympic Games are in the news right now. But some listeners say they don't want to know the results. Another issue for some listeners, like fingernails on a blackboard, is how NPR refers to President Bush.

Tuesday February 14, 2006

NPR Public Editor

Muhammad Cartoons: Strong Listener Response

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

February 14, 2006 • My last column, concerning NPR's handling of the Muhammad cartoon controversy, generated a large response from visitors to NPR's Web site. The majority who have contacted me are convinced that NPR should have posted the offending cartoon online.

Tuesday February 7, 2006

NPR Public Editor

The 'Muhammad Cartoon': Has NPR Been Intimidated?

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

February 7, 2006 • A recent cartoon published by a conservative Danish daily inflames tensions between the Muslim world and the West. The cartoon has generated a lot of discussion in editorial meetings, around water coolers as well as on the air.

Tuesday January 31, 2006

NPR Public Editor

Does an Ombudsman Do Any Good?

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

January 31, 2006 • Every few months, I receive e-mails from inside and outside NPR asking what it is I do and whether an ombudsman is effective in maintaining journalistic standards. It's a fair question and hard to answer in a few sentences. But it's worth reminding listeners, newly minted journalists, and me, what an ombudsman represents.

Tuesday January 24, 2006

Opinion

NPR Public Editor

How to Get Your Friends to Say, 'I Heard You on NPR'

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

January 24, 2006 • Being heard on NPR is considered by many as a sign of having made it. Authors and musicians interviewed on NPR notice that their new book or CD starts selling briskly -- and usually within 24 hours. But how does one get on NPR? It's a question that puzzles many.

Tuesday January 17, 2006

NPR Public Editor

What Defines a Journalist?

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

January 17, 2006 • Here is the short version: people who work in news and information, in print and broadcasting, call themselves journalists because journalism is what they do. But some listeners increasingly ask, "Says who?"

Tuesday January 10, 2006

NPR Public Editor

Listeners Upset by Mine Disaster Coverage

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

January 10, 2006 • NPR newscasts and the NPR Web site are the places to go for breaking news. But some listeners found that both handled the West Virginia mine disaster story with some serious missteps.

Wednesday January 4, 2006

NPR Public Editor

The NPR Ombudsman's Year In Review 2005

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

January 4, 2006 • An astonishing year for national and international events has reinforced the old Chinese adage: May you live in interesting times. For many listeners, the implications of that phrase may well resound for years to come.

Monday December 19, 2005

NPR Public Editor

NPR: Mysteries of the Organization, Part II

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

December 19, 2005 • Many listeners are concerned that there appear to be different editorial standards at NPR -- one for the news programs directly produced by NPR and another for programs that NPR doesn't produce but distributes.

Wednesday December 14, 2005

NPR Public Editor

NPR: Mysteries of the Organization, Part I

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

December 14, 2005 • NPR's Ombudsman says he's fielding more complaints than usual about NPR's apparent over-reliance on political think tanks... and a failure to identify the politics that motivate a given think-tank's position on various issues.

Tuesday December 6, 2005

NPR Public Editor

NPR In 1988: 'News That Soothes'

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

December 6, 2005 • Listener Keith Denslow from Talala, Okla., has been kind enough to send me a newspaper clipping from The Tulsa World, dated June 23, 1988! Reading the article is like looking at a photograph of your younger self -- you recognize the features but oh, those styles!

Tuesday November 29, 2005

NPR Public Editor

NPR and 'Intelligent Design': Skeptical or Credulous?

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

November 29, 2005 • Religion is a knotty subject for news coverage because the way in which a responsible reporter approaches a topic by employing skeptical inquiry and consideration for other points of view can be perceived by as being anti-religious or even bigoted by those whose personal beliefs fall under such scrutiny.

Tuesday November 15, 2005

NPR Public Editor

'Hello, Mom? What Makes a Source Reliable?'

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

November 15, 2005 • It may appear to journalists as self-evident that news organizations must retain the trust of their listeners, readers and viewers. Trust is a quality that is only achieved through years of on-going, reliable journalism. It can be lost in a blink of an unethical story. Trust is the only currency that we have.

Tuesday November 8, 2005

NPR Public Editor

Pronunciamentos: Saying It Right

by  Jeffrey A. Dvorkin

November 8, 2005 • Listeners from around the country and around the world say that they find NPR English to be the clearest and most comprehensible broadcast English available. Over the last few weeks, I have received an unusually large number of comments about NPR pronunciations and uses of grammar.