Ira Glass: Public radio can capitalize on its popularity without selling out

Re:Ira Glass: Public radio can capitalize on its popularity ... by jasonmp85 on Tuesday May 19, 2015 @04:46PM (#9573025)

Like how this week they interviewed a black man who when asked if his young daughter's nascent understanding of the history of racial relations in this country might alienate some of their white acquaintances and he replied "I don't really care about the emotions of the white man in this country; perhaps they should spend some time thinking about things they enjoy that no one else in this nation can."

That's not daring to present a viewpoint at which the show's white bread audience might bristle? What about the show that was generously interpreted as positing that perhaps certain individuals were on disability insurance because they had been left behind by the economy and this isn't a judgment of them but rather of our lack of any other option for those individuals? The not-generous interpretation was that it was shining a light on disability fraud, essentially punching down. I guess that wasn't a challenging issue for the listeners, either.

Or the whole debacle with Daisey. Yeah, they just glossed right over that.

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Re:Ira Glass: Public radio can capitalize on its popularity ... by ebfe on Tuesday May 19, 2015 @10:45PM (#9574391)

>That's not daring to present a viewpoint at which the show's white bread audience might bristle?

Did you bristle at it?

>What about the show that was generously interpreted as positing that perhaps certain individuals were on disability insurance because they had been left behind by the economy and this isn't a judgment of them but rather of our lack of any other option for those individuals? I guess that wasn't a challenging issue for the listeners, either.

Was it a challenging issue for you? I.e., prior to the episode, you believed that everyone on disability insurance was lazy?

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Re:Ira Glass: Public radio can capitalize on its popularity ... by jasonmp85 on Wednesday May 20, 2015 @01:55PM (#9577962)

> Did you bristle at it?

Point taken.

> Was it a challenging issue for you? I.e., prior to the episode, you believed that everyone on disability insurance was lazy?

No, but I did generally assume they had something so debilitating they were incapable of working. The show basically pointed out that some doctors in areas of high unemployment were signing off on disabilities for people who basically just had outdated skill sets. My impression was that in lieu of any real progressive safety net (basic income, etc.) citizens have started leaning heavily on disability insurance.

I was trying to give them the benefit of the doubt. Do some Googling to see the other side of the argument about that episode.

Also, why is this being discussed at all? This (and shows like it) are basically Chicken Soup for the Soul in podcast form. They're emotional filler but I've fallen for discussing them like they should be some sort of hard-hitting journalism or policy discussions. In a discussion of media responsibility, does Ira really deserve to be the first head on the chopping block?

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Re:Ira Glass: Public radio can capitalize on its popularity ... by 3d8995163 on Tuesday May 19, 2015 @09:28PM (#9574180)

> "I don't really care about the emotions of the white man in this country; perhaps they should spend some time thinking about things they enjoy that no one else in this nation can."

Thats exactly the sort of thing that I imagine NPR listeners would like to hear, so they can nod their heads and feel progressive

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Re:Ira Glass: Public radio can capitalize on its popularity ... by jasonmp85 on Wednesday May 20, 2015 @01:49PM (#9577925)

This American Life is not an NPR show.

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