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I took a drive in the snow yesterday. It was Friday, so I tuned in to NPRs "Science Friday." I don't usually listen to NPR because it has become a propaganda machine for the corporatists of America. One segment I listened to had an author who had written a well researched book on Chernobyl. He and the host billed Chernobyl as the worst nuclear disaster in history and did some comparison with Three Mile Island. One thing missing in the entire talk was any mention of Fukushima, which has been pouring radiated water into the ocean for the last 8 or 9 years. Propaganda is everywhere, even on a supposedly public owned radio station.

Enchanter 6 Mar 2
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You're right about NPR(Nice Polite Republicans). I haven't listened in years. Used to love their music playlists but had to go with online music streaming due to their corporate friendly news.

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I have to agree with the original post. I had been a member of NPR for nearly 20 years, but after the last presidential election the news programs, particularly Morning Edition do not practise the level of journalism they once did. Some of the third party shows are very good: The 1A, Here and Now, Fresh Air, are top notch.

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That's because Fukushima is not pouring irradiated water out anywhere. The frozen earth barrier that is supposed to prevent leakage into groundwater is not 100% effective, but the amount of radionuclide transport is low and slow.
The reason Fukushima is not in the news is because it is boring. Very small increase in exposure, Fukushima fish regularly tested and back on the market, slow, painstaking and dull process of decommissioning and decontamination underway - it's not exactly going to light up the headlines.

I didn't know that. I had heard that back in 2016 the irradiated water had reached the West Coast which makes me a little concerned and that's where I live. I have seen pics of fish that have been pulled out of the Pacific with tumors. But most of this information was on the web but not in any other media. I was under the impression that the situation was more dangerous than you describe.

@Enchanter fish have been caught off Canada with radiation levels elevated above background in the immediate aftermath of the accident, but the increase was less than the natural radiation level in a banana.

@F-IM-Forty this is why basic science education is so freakin' important. Bullshit filter.

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Democracy Now is a good one. I still listen to NPR.

I listen to them almost every morning. Good program.

0

What other respectable news feeds would you suggest. In all honesty, I limit the amount of news I will view in a day. My brain needs time to breath.

I get the bulk of my news on the net. Amy Goodman and Democracy Now is a good program. I also go to Counter Punch, Truth Out, Truth Dig and Common Dreams.

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Unfortunately, like everything else in the world, it takes lots of money to fund this media. There are even some ads referring to such and such an organization as sponsors (like Amazon). I feel NPR has to appeal to a broad spectrum and can't afford to come out with inflammatory speech (I suspect they have a bevy of lawyers telling them what they can and cannot say). One other thing I have noted that they often do have critical reports but then go on to mention that the industry they are criticizing is also a sponsor. That's called independent reporting and we need to see more of that especially in the periodicals (Smithsonian had done that but I have not seen much lately. Unfortunately, the public contributions have fallen and the government keeps cutting their subsidies so to stay solvent NPR/PBS has to get outside funding.

One thing that has hurt NPR and its credibility is the addition of a right wing "minder" to the board. That was done some time ago under the premise that telling the truth was too left wing and they needed to balance that out. That and the increased corporate sponsorship have cut into their credibility.

@Enchanter Unfortunately, it all boils down to more diversified audience and more funding. Facts of modern life. ZPG and the population arm of the Sierra Club lost their say in selling out to corporations for $100 million. The one condition was that they drop their overpopulation and excessive immigration. They did and now they have no voice.

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how about hiroshima & nagasaki for nuke disasters.

Those were intended events. The others were accidental and showed faulty design.

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I find NPR to be the only honest news source.

How can you consider them honest when they lie by omission? I recently heard a talk about Social Security that went the same way. They never mentioned that it had a surplus or that by taxing the higher incomes they could actually both save the program and give more for benefits. I stopped listening to them because of all they leave out.

@Enchanter That's a big part of it. What they leave out of their reporting. If you know about a subject from other sources you'll be amazed sometimes at what the "news" reports leave out.

I have to agree with you. My best personal assessment is that NPR is one of the least biased new sources available. None are perfect. It's probably telling that the solidly left and solidly right both complain.

I can't vouch for the accuracy of this chart, but interesting:

[adfontesmedia.com]

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