What drew me to NPR initially was the music coverage. The music programming is, like much of their programming, extremely edgy and stimulating. Their podcast All Song Considered includes previews of fresh new artists as well as guest dj and interview segments. On air coverage includes live concerts and new songs from classical and world music artists. Their taste in artists is excellent as well as bold. I would have never thought it, but along with blogs and other music news websites, it is an excellent source for discovering new artists. I discovered the tragic folk of Bon Iver, the northwestern soul of Delta Spirit and the rich, Balkan music of Beirut all on NPR's programming.
What started as an interest in their music programming has recently spilled over to their general programming as well. I find it to be just as intriguing. What's funny is that the way they cover music is likely modeled after the way they've been covering news for the last few decades. NPR, more than any other news platform, seems to care deeply about the audience. NPR's goals and information on where they stand on reporting can be found in their Code of Ethics and Practices. The most obvious difference between NPR and other news mediums is NPR's lack of dependence on advertising revenue. Revenue is instead generated from govrnment funding and donations from listeners and corporations.
The difference in ideology and funding makes a big difference. Stories are true to life and above all fair. In my opinion, it's how news should be done.
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It's amazing at the difference there is between the news media today and NPR. The first time I listened to NPR was for JOUR 200. I remember thinking of it as "clean news." I was not distracted by advertisements and could "sink into" the news. Many times, I find news media being biased and not following through on the real purpose of journalism. It is refreshing to listen to a news source like NPR, where the listener can get the facts without all the "hooplah" often found in a traditional newspaper.
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