NPR's Ron Schiller ousted after another sting by O'Keefe

[DesiPower]

This is embarrassing for NPR, and sad for the rest of us. What was caught on tape was something we already know but want to ignore or overlook as if it does not exist, that is, until, it smacks us on the face. I am regular NPR listener and I believe they significantly improved after the Juan Williams incident. I believed that they have mended themselves and all is OK now... but OMG this is shocking...

The top fundraiser for NPR has resigned after a videotape became public showing him openly disparaging conservative groups during what he thought was a fundraising meeting. The video was recorded secretly during a lunch Ron Schiller had with two people who claimed to be eager to contribute to public radio.

To be fair to the story...

Schiller informed NPR he was resigning from his position before the video was shot, NPR spokeswoman Dana Davis Rehm said Tuesday. He was expected to depart in May, but has now been placed on administrative leave.

The heavily edited video shows Schiller and another NPR executive, Betsy Liley, meeting at a pricey restaurant in Washington's Georgetown neighborhood with two men claiming to be part of a Muslim organization. The men offer NPR a $5 million donation. NPR said Tuesday it was "repeatedly pressured" to accept a $5 million check, which the organization "repeatedly refused."

Quotes from articles

"The current Republican Party is not really the Republican Party. It's been hijacked by this group that is ... not just Islamophobic but, really, xenophobic," Schiller said in the video, referring to the tea party movement. "They believe in sort of white, middle America, gun-toting — it's scary. They're seriously racist, racist people."

Schiller had made the comments to a hidden camera during his interaction with O'Keefev, when he called the tea party movement that propelled Republicans to huge congressional gains in the midterm elections "scary" and "seriously racist," The Christian Science Monitor reports.

"I mean, basically they ... believe in sort of white, middle-America, gun-toting. I mean, it's scary. They're seriously racist, racist people," he said, adding that NPR would do better without federal funding.

Links:
NPR - Audio

ajc

sify

 

[boomerang]

Your title is made disingenuous by what you quoted in your post. He'd planned on leaving and now he's on leave. No ousting found.

I saw the portion of the video you quoted and the man prefaced his remarks by stating that it was not the position of NPR, they were his own thoughts. I do though find it interesting that Mr. Schiller sounds guilty of xenophobia himself.

Regardless, it's time for NPR and PBS to fly on their own. They'll do fine and in fact will be able to adopt an even further left position without the encumbrance of tax dollars from white, middle America, gun-toting, seriously racist people.

Our country has far greater problems right now for this to be a concern. Money needs to be carved from everything and with the attitude of NPR, cutting their funding is a guilt-free no-brainer.

 

[caddlad]

Nice publicity stunt for Pimp Boy O'Keefe, nothing more.

Sophomoric frat boy needs job.

 

[DesiPower]

Your title is made disingenuous by what you quoted in your post. He'd planned on leaving and now he's on leave. No ousting found.

I saw the portion of the video you quoted and the man prefaced his remarks by stating that it was not the position of NPR, they were his own thoughts. I do though find it interesting that Mr. Schiller sounds guilty of xenophobia himself.

Regardless, it's time for NPR and PBS to fly on their own. They'll do fine and in fact will be able to adopt an even further left position without the encumbrance of tax dollars from white, middle America, gun-toting, seriously racist people.

Our country has far greater problems right now for this to be a concern. Money needs to be carved from everything and with the attitude of NPR, cutting their funding is a guilt-free no-brainer.

he is ousted, he was put on administrative leave. more update - he resigned last night

 

[DesiPower]

Nice publicity stunt for Pimp Boy O'Keefe, nothing more.

Sophomoric frat boy needs job.

That is his job now, think of him as a.. sorta... kinda... right wing Julian Assange

 

[Linflas]

Nice publicity stunt for Pimp Boy O'Keefe, nothing more.

Sophomoric frat boy needs job.

And Ian Murphy?

 

[wuliheron]

Do you think Fox News will hire him now? Maybe CBS?

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

Instead of "racist" can we all agree to call teabaggers something like Aryan Christian Fascist terrorists? Like how they all agreed to use Kenyan Muslim Marxist terrorist instead of the n-word?

 

[ChunkiMunki]

what an ass. Should we ALL secretly videotape people and then post edited comments? What a juvenile asshole.

 

[RightIsWrong]

TBH, what I saw was a guy that was "preaching to the choir" to get them to donate money. He was telling them exactly what he thought that they wanted to hear and knowing of what I know of Shiller, he had 'em pegged.

 

[PokerGuy]

Funny how you frothing-at-the-mouth lefties attack the messenger, ignoring the facts at hand. Conservatives have been saying for years that NPR is left wing propaganda, and lefties always deny deny deny. O'Keefe just helped bring to light the reality that NPR doesn't want you to see. Same as with the Juan Williams story, it brought to light the truth. All funding needs to be pulled from that organization immediately. By their own admission they can sustain themselves like any other left wing outlet (dailykos or huffcrap etc) without taxpayer money.

 

[RightIsWrong]

Funny how you frothing-at-the-mouth lefties attack the messenger, ignoring the facts at hand. Conservatives have been saying for years that NPR is left wing propaganda, and lefties always deny deny deny. O'Keefe just helped bring to light the reality that NPR doesn't want you to see. Same as with the Juan Williams story, it brought to light the truth. All funding needs to be pulled from that organization immediately. By their own admission they can sustain themselves like any other left wing outlet (dailykos or huffcrap etc) without taxpayer money.

Unless you can bring forth a tape of NPR execs actually, you know....stating things that are demonstrably left wing propaganda, then you are projecting.

And I know that the truth on things like the Iraq War, domestic wiretapping and other things that make the Right look bad sure look like they are left wing leaning, but to quote Stephen Colbert "The truth has a liberal bias" at times.

 

[PokerGuy]

Unless you can bring forth a tape of NPR execs actually, you know....stating things that are demonstrably left wing propaganda, then you are projecting.

Anyone who listens to NPR (who is not a left wing shill) knows they lean heavily to the left. The left of course denies this, but things like this story and the Juan Williams fiasco just confirm what any objective viewer/listener already knows.

 

[fskimospy]

Funny how you frothing-at-the-mouth lefties attack the messenger, ignoring the facts at hand. Conservatives have been saying for years that NPR is left wing propaganda, and lefties always deny deny deny. O'Keefe just helped bring to light the reality that NPR doesn't want you to see. Same as with the Juan Williams story, it brought to light the truth. All funding needs to be pulled from that organization immediately. By their own admission they can sustain themselves like any other left wing outlet (dailykos or huffcrap etc) without taxpayer money.

So by all means give us example of this left wing propaganda. Since it's so obvious, you should have tons of examples.

 

[Phokus]

1) I Don't see anything untruthful or wrong about what was said.

2) Considering James O'Keefe was caught doctoring the ACORN films, you'd think you'd wait until there was more to the story to jump to conclusions.

The heavily edited video

 

[RightIsWrong]

Anyone who listens to NPR (who is not a left wing shill) knows they lean heavily to the left. The left of course denies this, but things like this story and the Juan Williams fiasco just confirm what any objective viewer/listener already knows.

So your subjectivity, bias and personal views are your submission of evidence?

This story is nothing more than a guy trying to get money and him saying what he thought his audience wanted to hear to get them to open their wallets. Where I come from, that's SOP for almost all sales people.

As for Juan Williams, I don't think that any high profile news agency would want someone that comes out and says something like this representing them.....

"On Monday's "O'Reilly Factor," Fox News analyst Juan Williams told Bill O'Reilly that he supported his statement that "Muslims killed us on 9/11," and that he feels nervous when he sees Muslims on the same plane as him."

Except, of course, Fox "News".

 

[PokerGuy]

So by all means give us example of this left wing propaganda. Since it's so obvious, you should have tons of examples.

As an example, listen to NPR for a while and let me know how often they correctly reference illegal immigrants rather than "undocumented workers". Or, when listening to coverage of any Tea Party activity, note how often they refer to "angry rhetoric", but yet coverage of Wisconsin union protests refer to "protesting to defend their rights". And on. And on. And on. Just about every story is biased in it's presentation and it's not hard for an objective person to see.

I have no problem with them being a biased left wing outlet, just don't do it with my tax dollars, thanks.

 

[fskimospy]

As an example, listen to NPR for a while and let me know how often they correctly reference illegal immigrants rather than "undocumented workers". Or, when listening to coverage of any Tea Party activity, note how often they refer to "angry rhetoric", but yet coverage of Wisconsin union protests refer to "protesting to defend their rights". And on. And on. And on. Just about every story is biased in it's presentation and it's not hard for an objective person to see.

I have no problem with them being a biased left wing outlet, just don't do it with my tax dollars, thanks.

Hahaha, so your obvious examples of left wing bias are that they use a phrase you don't like, and that in your perception they don't equate the protests in Wisconsin with the Tea Party. That's the most pathetic 'evidence' I've heard in a long time.

Why don't you try to compile actual evidence? I mean it's so obvious and all, right? There are lots of media analysis groups out there that examine guest lists, gatekeeping bias, etc. You know, real examples of bias. Go look at them and get back to me. (I already know what you're going to find)

Anyone who actually listens to NPR knows that they are evenhanded, often to a fault. I would say that one of NPR's greatest weaknesses is the unwillingness to label points of view that are clearly false... false in the interests of 'balance'.

 

[DesiPower]

1) I Don't see anything untruthful or wrong about what was said.

2) Considering James O'Keefe was caught doctoring the ACORN films, you'd think you'd wait until there was more to the story to jump to conclusions.

1) so was Juan Williams'

2) That didn't prevent from ACORN being defunded and ultimately filing for bankruptcy.

 

[wuliheron]

I've heard republicans criticize every major news organization on the air except Fox as being left wing biased. If so then they might as concede that most of the country is now leftist by their definition, that their own agenda is considered extremist, and that there is no way any public service can accommodate every extreme view.

 

[Gonad the Barbarian]

I bet NPR uses terms like "healthcare reform" and "Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act" instead of the proper term "Obamacare" too.

 

[Doc Savage Fan]

If you can't see NPR bias...or Fox News bias for that matter...you're drinking way too much KoolAid.

 

[Phokus]

1) so was Juan Williams'

2) That didn't prevent from ACORN being defunded and ultimately filing for bankruptcy.

That was the REASON for ACORN being defunded and filing for bankruptcy. The O'Keefe video showed the direct OPPOSITE of what Acorn did.

So was Juan Williams WHAT? Was James O'Keefe involved in it?

 

[Phokus]

Just a reminder that O'Keefe's employer, Andrew Breibart claimed he was duped by O'Keefe's video. He seriously claimed he wore a pimp suit to the Acorn office when you could clearly see that he didn't in the video.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Breitbart-confirms-he-was-by-Eric-Boehlert-100302-763.html

And law enforcement/the district attorney confirmed that the ACORN tape was heavily edited to make it look like Acorn was doing illegal shit when they weren't. Not to mention the fact that Acorn actually contacted the police after O'Keefe's visit.

"On Sept. 15, 2009, my office began an investigation into possible criminality on the part of three ACORN employees," Brooklyn District Attorney Charles Hynes said in a one-paragraph statement issued Monday afternoon.

"That investigation is now concluded and no criminality has been found."

While the video by James O'Keefe and Hannah Giles seemed to show three ACORN workers advising a prostitute how to hide ill-gotten gains, the unedited version was not as clear, according to a law enforcement source.

"They edited the tape to meet their agenda," said the source.

http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_...to_hide_money_from_prostit.html#ixzz0kXMsH1AH

 

[DesiPower]

That was the REASON for ACORN being defunded and filing for bankruptcy. The O'Keefe video showed the direct OPPOSITE of what Acorn did.

So was Juan Williams WHAT? Was James O'Keefe involved in it?

Phokus: 1) I Don't see anything untruthful or wrong about what was said.

DesiPower: 1) so was Juan Williams'