Monday, April 22, 2002

That darn liberal NPR again:

Transcript from today's Talk of the Nation:



SIMON: I have a question for YOU...

NEAL CONAN: Sure!

SIMON: ...Is that alright?

NEAL CONAN: You can try it.

SIMON: I hope you answer adverse questions, too... Do you ever try to find out what your AUDIENCE wants to listen to?

NEAL CONAN: Yes we do!

SIMON: You do?

NEAL CONAN: Mm-hmm.

SIMON: Today happens to be Earth Day. I would think that you'have THAT as a subject, but you don't. And I noticed last week that when Venezuela
had been undercut by our government, you had no program. You had programs about report cards. And you had programs about the expensive items
the Baby Boomers buy. And that has been a constant dumbing down on your part.

Certainly I remember Ray Suarez and Juan Williams -- if a news story broke, they would junk their program and have that story on that day. You
don't do that sort of thing. And I would say it's symptomatic of NPR. You're doing that, you're striving for a certain type audience, you're striving for a
niche that you're aware of, and you have an absolute disregard, as far as your listening audience is concerned.

NEAL CONAN: I... I... I... I... I would beg to disagree, and would suggest to you, sir, that we do have a letters segment every week where it is
APPROPRIATE for people who have complaints about the program to send them in to us, and we'll, uh, air them then, as opposed to trying to take up
time on a program about a separate subject on which you told the people who answered your phone call you wanted to address--

SIMON: YES, because I realize that you screen out questions.

NEAL CONAN: Yes, we do. And, and--

SIMON: You won't ALLOW your listeners to get through. You control it. Fine and well. Your screener would not have allowed me to ask that question.
And I think there are a great many people--

NEAL CONAN: SHE MIGHT HAVE SUGGESTED--

SIMON: --listening now who would have liked to have asked the same question.

NEAL CONAN: Well, she might have suggested that you send us an email letter, and I would suggest the same thing. In any case, we DO have people
on the line who DO want to talk about this subject, and I'm going to ask you to please clear out now and make room for them.

SIMON: I'll clear out.