A Conservative’s Ode to NPR
You may have noticed, but a ridiculous number of my posts in one way or another reference NPR. For those of you who do not know, NPR is, in the words of Wikipedia, ” is an independent, private, non-profit membership organization of public radio stations.” The stations are non-commerical and therefore rely on listener donations to remain on the air, just like PBS where your kids likely watch Sesame Street. I listen to NPR just about everyday. When we’re on road trips and hit a large city, one of the first things I do is scan the dial for the local NPR affiliate.
Yet I am also a political conservative. Not necessarily in the classic “to be Christian is to be Republican” sence (see my series of posts interacting with Rod Dreher’s Crunchy Cons among others) and NPR admittedly leans toward the liberal side of the spectrum. Much has been made about NPR’s liberal tendencies and few outside of NPR itself debate this liberal slant.
This has been a topic I’ve considered many times over the years, particularly during the avalanche of “conservative talk radio” a few years ago. I have been questioned repeatedly by (I hope) well-intentioned friends as to how a professed political and religious conservative can listen to NPR. Over the years, my responses have varied from simply arguing that they cover the news thoroughly to an appreciation for the “human insterest” stories they intersperse throughout their mix of news and views.
Yet, the longer I listen to NPR and the more (I pray) that I come to understand the over-arching emphasis of the Gospel over my life, the more I’ve actually come to appreciate NPR. One of the reasons certainly is the “human interest” stories that they intersperse throughout their daily programming as well as highlight with programs like This American Life. NPR does a great job of “contextualizing” the news of the world.
Television evening news programs have struggled with this for years. For the most part, they consist of a series of disconnected “headlines” from across the world with no context making them relevant other than that we’re supposed to believe that because they’re on the “news,” they’re somehow important. Yet for the most part, these programs fail simply because of the disconnected format.
By incorporating a heavy emphasis of stories about real people in real life and real situations, NPR often applies the concepts of the stories they’re reporting. In other words, they do a good job of often showing how the “news” affects real people. Christian teachers ought to take notice because one of the regrettable truths is that we often fail to show how the Gospel applies to all of life. NPR connects the abstract to the concrete, bringing the news of the day to bear on real people and therefore, they immediately connect with their listeners in a way the “daily news” shows simply cannot do (nor were they meant to).
But not only does NPR “contextualize” the news, they do not shy away from challenging issues and differing viewpoints. Though NPR does admittedly lean to the left, I have heard Al Mohler and others given a platform to present “the other side.” This is something most “conservative” media outlets simply don’t do. Many of the conservative talk shows I’ve listened to either ignore the other side of the argument or, when they do include a different point of view, the guest is often there more as a punching bag than an actual person with a real viewpoint.
NPR challenges me to try and understand why people with other viewpoints hold those positions. None of us come to our conclusions in a vacuum, yet in our increasing “ghetto-ization” of Christianity, we are robbing our people of the ability to actively and accurately engage with the larger world. Listening to NPR forces me to apply the Gospel in scenarios I might never otherwise do while listening to radio that simply wants to remind me how “right” I am in my views.
There is something to be said about encouraging believers to widen their spectrums. This, of course must be done with restraint and caution because some people don’t understand the biblical worldview enough to hear criticisms of it. But, shouldn’t this be our goal, to encourage people to understand and apply the Bible well enough to take it to the rest of the world rather than keeping it to ourselves? In their own way, and without realizing it, I like to believe that NPR encourages me in this process.
- Visit NPR’s official website
- Read Wikipedia’s entry on NPR
- Read Amusing Ourselves to Death by Neil Postman
- Read Crunchy Cons by Rod Dreher
- Read Total Truth by Nancy Pearcey
- Read Bias by Bernard Goldberg
January 29th, 2007 at 10:24 am
I think its important to challenge some folks to think about what they believe and perhaps realize that maybe some of their cherished beliefs are not biblical. I am also pretty sure that a great number of folks will resist this whether they are standing to my left or my right.
Josh
“…the word of God is not bound.”
–2 Timothy 2:9
January 29th, 2007 at 10:57 am
Brent,
How fascinating. I also listen to NPR regularly, especially at night. Last night I was listening to their program “Speaking of Faith,” where Donald Johnston was speaking about faith-based diplomacy. It was really interesting to hear him talk about how his organization was using faith-based relations in Sudan. That’s just one example of how listening to NPR exposes me to things that I would not otherwise hear. Now…yes, I do have to be a discerning listener, and often talk back to the radio about some guests LOL…but I have to be discerning about “Christian” teaching, so no difference there…;)
Since I have been listening to NPR, I have found myself much more engaged with parts of the world and world situations than I ever have in my life — places and circumstances in which I will likely never personally find myself. I find it quite edifying.
Thanks for the good and balanced post.
January 29th, 2007 at 4:45 pm
How about this: NPR does radio like radio while most commercial radio stations do radio like television; quick reports, little analysis, transitionless bits, audio clips, ect.
Just a thought, but it might be lamo.
January 29th, 2007 at 9:09 pm
I tend politically and religiously conservative, and I also listen to NPR. In my case, it’s simply that I can’t stand the conservative alternatives. They tend to be shallow, loudmouthed blowhards who, as Lamo points out, seem to talk less than their commercial sponsors.
NPR is quiet and thoughtful by comparison. It’s true that one has to suffer an condescending, liberal POV, but their news shows sometimes invite intelligent conservative commentators that I don’t typically hear on talk radio, like Rich Lowry, David Frum, or David Brooks.
Last, “This American Life” is a PRI show, not NPR. :-) Same basic idea, though.
January 29th, 2007 at 10:22 pm
I guess I could go along with the characterization of talk radio as provocative windbags who only like to hear their own point of view…IF I only listened to Rush Limbaugh, Michael Savage, or Air America.
The truth is that there are several talk guys who dedicate a substantial (if not prevalent) amount of their time bringing in legitimate advocates of opposing views. If you don’t agree, just give Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, or Hugh Hewitt a listen.
Prager is particularly good because his show is aims to be about “all of life,” including music, family, cultural issues, happiness, values, secular/religious thought, and politics. His trademark phrase is “I prefer clarity to agreement.” so that listeners can understand positions first before making up their minds.
As with everyone I listen to, I am acutely aware that Conservative does not equal Christian. However, men like Prager and Medved (both Jewish) have sharpened my mind with their wisdom for engaging opposing views. Many who claim to be “taking America back for Christ” could learn a lot from these men.
I listen less frequently to NPR and find value in some of the programming and topics. However, on multiple occasions I’ve noticed that the selection of human interest stories has been thoroughly agenda driven. They might spend a lengthy segment on the personal anguish that a federal marriage amendment causes an individual homosexual, rather than looking at the importance of marriage for an entire society in raising children, preventing poverty, and allowing men and women to complete each other although they are very different creations.
When it comes to politics and public affairs, often the managers of NPR are out of touch and seem to take their cues solely from the New York Times.
January 29th, 2007 at 10:23 pm
I worked for a NPR affiliate in college. I was a DJ on the campus radio station.
I enjoyed NPR then for all the reasons that have been cited (despite the heavy liberal bias).
And, that’s all I have to say about that.
January 29th, 2007 at 10:45 pm
Pastor Brent, you did it again! You found the words that express how I feel about NPR and even PBS. I don’t listen to much NPR on the radio, but I do enjoy going to their website and reading their articles and such. I especially agree with you on this point “NPR does a great job of ‘contextualizing’ the news of the world.” We definitely need more of that.
January 30th, 2007 at 8:00 am
Jim, I would agree about Dennis Prager, Michael Medved, and Hugh Hewitt. Out of those three I have listened to Prager the most but I have found all three to be very stimulating. Sadly however, I do feel that these three represent the minority of “conservatives with microphones” rather than the norm.
January 30th, 2007 at 2:34 pm
Brent - thanks for the great post! I agree and regularly listen. This American Life is one of the best cultural commentaries and window into humanity today that I can think of in the media.
January 30th, 2007 at 3:43 pm
[...] I couldn’t have said it better than Brent Thomas on the blessing of liberal, national, public radio: [...]
February 20th, 2007 at 11:08 am
A friend just linked me to your page; I’m an NPR nut as well — a quarter century of listening. For me, it’s been difficult to identify what changes in my own life are owing to the influence of such venerable institutions, and which changes are merely maturation and seasoning of character. On some matters my age has lent me patience; on others, passion and anger.
It’s also fun, as an intellectual (albeit a clumsy one born to it but not fit for it) it’s fun to spot “poor thinking in high places,” as well as to learn from good thinking anywhere at all. NPR has a tendency to make you interact rationally with the news, rather than just be a consumer of it.