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the
current
Monday
Report
below!
This week's report by Tom Hendricks of Musea
An Open Letter to
NPR...
NPR Ombudsman,
There is a serious conflict of interest in many of your show's
coverage of the arts. They spotlight arts from 8 major art/media
companies that are often financial underwriters. At the same
time they do not talk about the arts outside of the control of these
same media/art conglomerates. This goes against your own stated
goals of diversity. We encourage you to correct these conflict
of interest problems. Until then we cannot financially support
you.
NPR Shows (Fresh Air, Studio 360, Diane Rehm Show, and the
morning, afternoon and weekend news shows) are often
financially supported or underwritten separately or collectively,
by the 8 main media/art conglomerates:
Warners, Disney, Vivendi, News Corp (Fox),
Bertelsmann, Viacom, CBS, GE-NBC,
that collectively control most of the book publishing, film-tv, and
music. On the other hand most of the art discussed on these radio
shows is the books, film, tv, and music, produced by these same 8
conglomerates. That is a clear conflict of interest.
Not only that but I note that the art seldom if ever discussed
includes:
1. Independently produced Books, film/tv, and music.
2 Art genres outside of books,film,tv, and music. These include:
art, theater, dance, literature that is not novels, architecture, etc.
These are arts NOT controlled by the media art conglomerates.
That seems to be why they are not given fair coverage if any
coverage at all.
3. Any art of the new century. Where is there any coverage of
progressive art developments of this century? The 8 art/media
conglomerates are slow to change and would be adverse to PBS
talking about new developments in art outside of their control. Is
this why there is no mention of new developments in art?
4. Any advocates against the consolidation of the arts and media
into the control of 8 conglomerates. There seems to be a total ban
here and no advocates against these media/art conglomerates is
ever mentioned or discussed, and no advocate groups are ever
interviewed or consulted on any show. This ban seems to
be across the board and covers all shows.
We encourage you to correct this conflict of
interest by:
1. Making on air announcements when the book,film,tv show, or
recording is made by an underwriter.
2. Give fair coverage to independent artists.
3. Give fair coverage to all arts - not just books, film-tv, and
music.
4. Give fair coverage to new art and new art developments.
5. Give fair coverage, or at least SOME coverage, to advocates
against media/art consolidation.
The ULA, Underground Literary Alliance. cannot financially
support NPR, or PBS , or any of the individual shows, until there
is an end to this conflict of interest.
The ULA will ask our members, our audience, other advocacy
groups, and all independent artists, not to support NPR or PBS
until this conflict of interest is resolved fairly and the arts
coverage on PBS is above board, open, and fair for all.
NPR states:
"National Public Radio will serve the individual; it will promote
personal growth rather than corporate gains; it will regard the
individual differences among men with respect and joy rather than
derision and hate; it will celebrate the human experience as
infinitely varied rather than vacuous and banal; it will encourage a
sense of active, constructive participation, rather than
apathetic helplessness."
-- Bill Siemering, NPR Co-Founder
This is no longer true in the coverage of the arts.
Underground Literary Alliance, (ULA)
(Tom Hendricks, spokesman)
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Tom Hendricks is the editor of www.Musea.us
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