Liberal bias at NPR?

Steve Inskeep, a long-time reporter for National Public Radio, recently published a piece decrying the claims of bias at NPR. He bases his argument in part on the fact that some conservatives listen to NPR.

But it is a non sequitur to posit that "if some conservatives listen to NPR, then NPR is not biased." To begin with, NPR is multifaceted. In addition to “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered” which tend to be straight news (except when addressing issues such as “social justice” or public unions), there are many others (“The Takeaway,” “The Diane Rehm Show”) which often resound with liberal viewpoints.

According to the IRS, there were approximately 140 million individual tax returns filed in 2010. These taxpayers run the political spectrum from ultra liberal to right wing. There can be no excuse for not addressing this wide demographic while NPR is, even in part, publicly funded.

The sound of one hand clapping is discordant unless it aligns with your political frame of reference. That’s why liberals don’t complain about NPR bias. No one is exhorting NPR to make every word uttered on air politically neutral. But is it too much to ask that interviewees and panels be selected as to present a balanced spectrum of views?