NPR... The jury is still out

Along with my "do unto others" kick I mentioned in the previous blog, I am also on a "become more informed" kick. I frankly don't mind that I've spend the last several years in blissful ignorance, but apparently to quote my best friend, "There really are SOME things you should know."

Like...

- That the fact that there was a war in Darfur
- That the NYPD officers who shot Sean Bell were acquitted, Giuliani's legacy lives on...
- Hillary withdrew from the race... Okay now I know, but there was about a week lapse from the time the general public knew and I found out.

And this is just a list of three out of hundreds of things I've been the last person to know about. So in an effort to better myself, I've decided to make a serious effort to stay in the know.

"NPR! Listen to NPR!!!" I could hear my mother's voice screaming in my ear.

Alright already, I'll listen to NPR.

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My alarm radio woke me up this morning with the soothing sounds of...

"Three Israelis were killed and more than 40 people were wounded in Jerusalem on Wednesday when a Palestinian construction worker driving a bulldozer smashed into cars, buses and pedestrians in one of the busiest parts of the city. The driver of the bulldozer was then shot dead by an off-duty Israeli soldier."

HELLO WORLD!!

Depressing yes, but educational... And that's the whole point right? To become more educated. And in case I missed this news story the first time at 5am, they were sure to tell it again and again... and AGAIN about 7 times between 5 and 7am. Maybe I'm to be faulted for taking so long to get ready in the morning, or perhaps they should have more faith in their audience. Some of us are actually in it for the long haul, not just news junkies quickly tuning in for our quick news fix.

I promised myself I'd keep an open mind, but after this first NPR experience, I have to say I'm a little skeptical. I mean, aside from repeating the same news every five minutes, they really just don't seem to come across as hard-hitting journalists. You know? Its like they got a bunch of high school newspapers kids to run around and collect news stories and quotes.

Examples:

One interviewer is talking to a California couple whose home was destroyed by the wild fires. "All you see now is two fire places (oh the irony) and the remnants of what once was..." Then we get to hear from the husband and wife themselves. Mind you, he and his wife have just lost their home. I mean this has got to be really traumatic for them right? What do they say?

"There was about $1000 worth of meat in that freezer."

Really? Really? I don't mind that he said it so much as I mind it was aired. I feel like a credible journalist would have tried to get something a little more, I dunno, tug at your heart strings-ish. Like, "My whole life was in there. You just never realize..." Then he cuts off to sob uncontrollably. Doesn't that seem a little more fitting?

Next news story: "Latinos for McCain in Nevada." McCain was in Nevada meeting with his latino constituents. They interviewed Sal Ledesma, a longtime Republican, a member of the Republican National Hispanic Assembly and big McCain supporter. I got kind of lost on this one. I don't know whether he met with McCain at the Golden Nugget Casino, or wanted to meet with McCain at the Golden Nugget. All I know is that Sal said nothing about McCain and instead proceeded to talk for a solid 3 or 4 minutes about how much he enjoyed going to the Golden Nugget for their $1.99 breakfast. What the __ ? Did I miss something?

Last story, meant I suppose to be a light hearted piece, "Fun reading for travel!!" Harmless enough. They interviewed a librarian and let's just say, she was no Oprah. First book, Sunshine, a novel about vampires.

"What makes this author is so amazing is that she is able to weave together the real world and the fantastical so well. You don't even realize you've crossed over. One minute she's talking about baking cinnamon rolls and the next she's talking about Voodoo wars."

WOW!! That is amazing and how novel!! I think someone should come up with a name for this strange new radical form of writing...

Till then however I think I'll call it, "S-C-I-E-N-C-E F-I-C-T-I-O-N".

I won't go on to talk about the other books she reviewed. But just know that one of them was a picture book for adults. While an interesting concept, a tough sell.

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If I said that was two hours of my life I'll never get back, I'd be lying. After all I did learn about the Palestinian bulldozer incident, so 1 out of 4 news stories isn't bad. Oh and let's not forget I learned that the Golden Nugget serves breakfast for $1.99. I was just in Vegas last month too. I really wished I'd known about that then.

Will I keep listening to NPR? Yes.

Do I like NPR? I dunno... The jury is still out.