The German Media’s Left Wing Echo Chamber

(Our friend DL from Heidelberg has done all of us a tremendous favor by translating an interesting article in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, referring to the competition for a radio broadcasting license in Germany. The applicants are both U.S. based.)

The below article appeared in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on 23 June 2005. It discusses the upcoming competition for a radio broadcast license in Berlin later this year and reports that National Public Radio looks to win the competition at the expense of Voice of America.

Three points you should know before turning to the article. Point One. The author observes that Voice of America is U.S. government financed and its opinions are close to those of the Administration in Washington. This should not be a surprise. What he doesn’t mention is that Germany’s own state funded propaganda organ, Deutsche Welle, goes far beyond reporting Berlin’s official spin and has actively interfered with America’s internal politics.

In September of 2004 Deutsche Welle’s web site devoted an article to expat Democrats living in Germany. Linked to the article was the website for the organization Democrats Abroad where Germans could contribute donations to Kerry’s campaign. Nothing subtle there. Imagine the German media’s reaction if a U.S. government funded information outlet openly encouraged U.S. citizen donations for the CDU and its campaign against Schroeder. (BTW, there was no corresponding article about Republican expats living in Germany or a link to the web site for Republicans Abroad.)

Point Two. The author alleges had NPR been available in Germany prior to the war in Iraq it would have mitigated the stubborn perception in Germany that there was no debate in the U.S. over the war and that all U.S. media had fallen victim to patriotic frenzy. Perhaps he was not watching Germany’s state-funded television prior to the war because the rest of his countrymen were subjected to a relentless parade of reports, documentaries, interviews and panel discussions featuring every stripe of U.S. politician, academician, former U.S. government intelligence official and disgruntled American diplomat with an axe to grind and provided them a platform to denounce the need to go to war. Then again, maybe he’s unaware of CNN, CBS, NBC, ABC, and their cable cousins.

Point Three. The typical German state-funded television and radio strategy uses interviews with Americans, usually conducted in the United States, to illustrate how Americans agree with the German left. These interviews always take sound bites out of context and are never balanced with an opposing view. The point is to prove that even Americans agree with what Germans want to hear. The uninterrupted diet of this type of reporting explains why Germany along with the rest of Europe was shocked to wake up the day after the U.S. election and discover that Bush had unambiguously won. Another purpose of these sound bite interviews is to show Americans in the most unflattering light possible. The subtext is always: See how (fill in the blank – ignorant/uncultured/worse off) these Americans are than we are.

A final observation. Should NPR obtain a broadcast license in Berlin, it will reinforce the German media’s left wing echo chamber. The German left will tune into NPR and hear the U.S. blame America first crowd reinforce Germanhy’s worst suspicions.

There is a way, however, to get to the objective truth about what Americans think. Instead of relying on political agenda news reporting, Germans should pay attention to the one activity where Americans share their opinion with the world – elections. Perhaps one day the idea will even catch on in the EU. (emphasis added)

Who Broadcasts for America?

National Public Radio, from the United States, is competing for a radio license against Voice of America. Naturally NPR couldn’t have prevented the transatlantic dispute over the Iraq war but had the American NPR been broadcasting in Berlin before the attack on Baghdad then at least some of the most stubborn prejudices about America could have been moderated. Anyone who regularly listens to NPR could not allege that there was no debate in the United States over the intervention or that all the media had fallen into a patriotic frenzy. As Secretary of Defense Rumsfeld explained in his typically abrupt fashion after the start of the war that America was supported by a larger group of nations in its advance against Saddam than in first Gulf War in 1991, NPR carried the quote

word for word. The station reporter said immediately afterwards that the comparison was only valid for the number of nations, not for their military, political, or financial support. Ten minutes later the moderator had the Secretary of State to the first President Bush, Eagleburger on the telephone, who called Rumsfeld’s observation silly. It’s an unwritten law of journalism not to take politicians at their word. But whoever followed the German reporting about the mood in America could have been of the opinion that this precise style of hair splitting over words doesn’t happen anymore in wartime Washington. Here at home one would rather mock American television moderators who believe that sentences like "We have begun the liberation of Iraq" are objective reporting. At least on NPR such phrases were not to be heard.

"Fresh Air" is the name of one of the most popular segments of the station that NPR claims reaches around twenty million listeners a week. The audience appreciates the unexcited tone of NPR, a quality that almost seems antiquated. It is commercial free, rich in text, and full of information. The station was founded thirty-five years ago by Congress as an umbrella organization for non-commercial radio and slightly resembles the BBC but without the British accent. Now the chances are good that this fresh breeze will blow across the Atlantic to Berlin.

"NPR Worldwide", the international edition of "National Public Radio" has been working for a while to obtain a radio frequency in Berlin. When the responsible entity ("Media Organization Berlin-Brandenburg" (MABB)) that monitors licenses in the capital made frequency 106.8 FM available a while ago NPR was not considered with the rationale that two original American stations would be too many for Berlin. On frequency 87.9 the old "American Wave" from the Berlin Wall period transmits the "Voice of America" which it shares with the rock station "Star FM." It’s a homemade mix of "authentic rock" (its own advertisement) and five minutes of government related news from Washington every hour. Early next year the combined license for VoA and Star FM expires. Jeff Rosenberg, Director of NPR Worldwide leaves no doubt that his station would like to have 87.9 so he can "finally offer the Berliners his program which has been kept from them for so long." That sounds like good old American self-confidence but its due not only to the quality of the station but also because of a greater expectation in Berlin according to its own justification. Susanne Grams of the MABB talks about an astounding resonance among citizens over the potential that NPR may soon be available in Berlin. Other powers also support the plan. Gary Smith, the influential director of the "American Academy" on the Wannsee praises NPR as a "highly effective instrument of private public diplomacy" that supports American interests. The American Embassy in Berlin, not surprisingly, expresses its opinion less forcefully. Its speaker explained upon questioning that both stations achieve great accomplishments and the Embassy has encouraged both NPR and VoA to reach a compromise among themselves.

In its next meeting in two weeks, on 8 July, the Media Advisory Committee, the most important committee of the MABB is scheduled to decide on the new competition for frequency 87.9. Interested competitors can apply in the course of the summer says Susanne Grams. They’ll be granted a hearing and a new licensee will be chosen, probably during the fall conference of the Media Advisory Committee in the beginning of September. Obviously the decision will not be taken according to criteria of the seven honorary media advisors, one of which is the former Federal Constitutional Court President Ernst Benda. The criteria to award broadcast licenses is greatly determined by the law and therein the most important consideration is variety; the variety of the Berlin radio environment, the internal program variety of a station, and also the variety of the societal structure of an applicant. That could be an advantage for NPR. As opposed to the government in Washington financed VoA, NPR is based on the concept of "citizens’ radio." The listeners donate nearly half of the annual budget of five hundred million dollars. The rest comes from licensing activities and a shrinking government subsidy.

A change from VoA to NPR would also be politically interesting. While the VoA normally is close to the Administration, NPR is more liberal, which in Americanese means left. It was no coincidence that in 1981 Ronald Reagan and then again in 1995 the conservative leader of the opposition Newt Gingrich proposed eliminating the government funding. They were not successful but their attacks on NPR showed how much attention is paid to the station. A license awarded in Berlin might be an event that would be followed far beyond the MABB. Mrs. Grams laughs when asked if it is imaginable that political pressure in favor of VoA might be applied to the MABB, as is rumored to be the case in Berlin. Who would do something like that she asks back. "Maybe Bush himself?" But without an intervention from Washington this fall could be a hot one for American radio in Berlin.

HEINRICH WEFING Text: F.A.Z., 23.06.2005, Nr. 143 / Page 42

Comments

[Pamela]

Actually, I'm not sure this is a bad thing. There is an amusing 'cultural jihad' going on within NPR and its parent Corporation for Public Broadcasting by Ken Tomlinson the new head honcho. He's getting a committee together to measure the biases in their broadcasts and they are apoplectic about it. Smear pieces have shown up about Tomlinson (WaPo 'Style' section IIRC) quoting the much loved anonymous sources about his nefarious right-wing connections, etc.

It is to laugh. All I can say is 'Rove, you magnificent bastard!'

heh.

[kid charlemagne]

I have to say I like NPR and always listening to it when I'm in the States. You don't have to agree with its left-wing spin to appreciate the high quality of its programming. For me, NPR replacing the embarassingly corny government organ VOA would be a very welcome change, and it would present a more thoughtful, literate America to European listeners which most of them are completely unaware of.

[Ben Duffy]

Kid Charlemagne: The "thoughtful" and "literate" voices are exactly the problem.

In my opinion, these voices are pompous, not "thoughtful" or "literate". But I'm sure that their broadcast in Berlin would be perceived as you suggested.

Unfortunately, it would only reinforce the idea that all reasonable Americans with brains agree with the Europeans.

That is NOT the case. I once wrote an article about this. Trying to improve our image in Europe by parading about a bunch of "thoughtful" and "literate" liberals who agree with European sensibilities accomplishes nothing. It only makes them feel incredible pity for the poor liberal Americans who are forced to live with mouth-breathing rednecks.

Our image will only change when they are forced to take our ideas head on. As it is now, Europeans can avoid this, by simply dismissing us out of hand. We are known as nothing more than flag-wavers and bible-thumpers.

And, as was mentioned before, THERE ARE AMERICAN VOICES OF "REASON" in the German media. The German media leaps to get an interview with every euredite American who wants to bash Bush.

Why hasn't this improved our image already? Because it only tells them, one more time, how right they are. And if they are so incredibly right, then the majority of Americans who voted for Bush must be wrong, stupid and evil.

Also, I had to laugh the other day. I was listening to an NPR newswoman talking about the failure of the EU Constitution in France and Holland. Her tone was so snotty, and she was doing her best to pronounce all the names of the European heads of state in their accents ("Jacques Chirac" in her best French accent, "Silvio Berlesconi" in her best Italian accent), and when she got to Germany, she called the chancellor "HELMUT Schroeder"!

Ha! I almost fell out of my seat. Apparently all of the "thoughtful" and "literate" minds down at NPR couldn't get the name of the chancellor right.

[Norman]

NPR is one place where the Bush strategy of make Big Governement work for us will be a better strategy than Reagan's slay Big Government strategy. If Republicans win in '08, NPR will be as thoroughly right wing by '12 as it is left wing today. The donks have figured this out and that's why they're having coniption fits about Tomlinson. About to be hoist on their own petard. So let NPR win. It will ultimately bring diversity to Germany. Bwahahaha.

[frank]

@Ben, Kid,
Although Ben comes across as more pompus than I've ever heard NPR come across but this point:

Unfortunately, it would only reinforce the idea that all reasonable Americans with brains agree with the Europeans.

is spot on. I think NPR would be good because it would contradict the 'gleichgeschaltet' bollocks but what germany needs more than anything is diversity of opinion. They can listen to NPR and realize that 30% of americans agree with them, but they will still maintain their hateful and counter productive views because most americans don't.

[d00d]

I must admit I listen to NPR just about every day & have managed not to turn into an 'enlightened' reactionary leftoid. I can't stand all the commercials & hearing the same songs every two hours on FM radio, and really can't stand the how many commercial breaks there are on AM radio. They really do have some good stuff on there, but they can definitely be tired, predictable, & somewhat annoying.
Reporters who speak w/ no accent, except when pronouncing certain words are especially annoying, and when they start begging for money from "listeners like you" for a week at a time, I want to destroy my radio & cauterize my eardrums. It's absolutely unbearable.
The typical caller to any NPR station is the person who admits there are problems in the world, but not them, they're "part of the solution" because of all the wonderful things they do.
I would still have to say though, that the average NPR broadcast day is probably better for US image than an all day music show w/ 5 minute news breaks, so it might not be such a bad thing after all if they pick it up in Berlin. They will at least share our pain when pledge time comes around.

[Don]

Let me bring something else up: NPR is a left-wing network in the US - but where would NPR fit in the German broadcast spectum? I think it would be as right-wing as anything in Germany today. NPR is relatively soft-shoe - it can't help but show something of the RW POV. Far more than any German gets today I think.

I think it could be a real plus in the German market providing there is no self-censorship. Rush Limbaugh isn't going to cut it, but something of the American POV would be better than nothing.....

[Ernie]

Meh. It's such a truism to say that NPR is left-wing. I don't buy it entirely. After a year of listening to Deutsche Welle, I have to say that I appreciate NPR more than ever. Some of the stories are bizarre (I remember once they did a half-hour report on wine corks. Seriously.), but that's part of its charm. And frankly I'll take whatever snootiness they exude if the alternative is the cockiness (and commercials) of networks like Fox News and, well, Deutsche Welle.

[Del Hoeft]

Before the first Gulf War my friend told me the US would lose ten thousand or more KIA becouse the Iraqis were "dug in" and HE HEARD IT ON NPR.

I asked him. Does NPR know the difference between a Sopwith Camel and a B52? NPR's post war strategy was to say it was n't a fair fight to begin with. Bum bum bum bum bum bum bum bummm.

My question to NPR is. Do you "report" the news as YOU think it happens, as YOU wish it happens or as YOU think the public should think it happens? That said, I'd take NPR over the tripe at DW.

[Mike H.]

With all due respect to all the commenters here, NPR stands for 'National' Public Radio a federally funded federally mandated broadcast system that has public donation as part of its income. What the hell is it doing outside of the US? Is it trying to become an international broadcaster? Why the hell are we paying for it then? They scream bloody murder when the budget axe is hauled out, maybe they can keep American funding active in America. Or maybe they are able to forgo public funding...hmmmm, I think I'll talk to my congresswoman.

[Ernie]

@ Del Hoeft

"Heard it on NPR" could be a lot of things. They were probably interviewing someone whose opinion was that the Iraqi resistence would be strong, which would have been easy, since a lot of Administration officials held that view too.

@ Mike H.

I think you've raised the most relevant question yet :) It's akin my confusion why the US Postal Service sponsors a team in the Tour de France.

[Doug]

@D00d -

I must admit I listen to NPR just about every day & have managed not to turn into an 'enlightened' reactionary leftoid

The extreme left is 'radical', 'reactionary' is the extreme right.</pet peeve>

[SleepingInSeattle]

SNL used to have skits goofing on the sheer dullness and lack of personality exuded by NPR's hosts. Maybe things have changed, but last time I tuned in I couldn't imagine many people listening in besides perhaps senior citizens listening while knitting in an armchair.

On the other hand PBS occasionally has some really good programming, not as good as it used to be, but still alright sometimes.

[Mike H.]

Ernie, mission accomplished, congresswoman talked to.

Sleeping, normal programming is great. The rub is with what is called news and analysis. I refuse to support 'All Things Considered' and 'Morning Edition' et al.

[PacRim Jim]

Naturally, high-quality programming means programming that agrees with one's views. Obviously the difference between wisdom and intelligence is too subtle from some.