1 00:00:04,879 --> 00:00:07,160 Speaker 1: What's going on? Thank you so much for listening to 2 00:00:07,200 --> 00:00:09,640 this podcast. It is heard live every day from noon 3 00:00:09,679 --> 00:00:12,519 to three on WBT Radio in Charlotte. And if you 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,719 want exclusive content like invitations to events, the weekly live stream, 5 00:00:16,760 --> 00:00:19,239 my daily show prep with all the links, become a patron, 6 00:00:19,320 --> 00:00:22,600 go to dpeakclendarshow dot com. Make sure you hit the 7 00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:25,160 subscribe button. Get every episode for free right to your 8 00:00:25,160 --> 00:00:27,719 smartphone or tablet. And again, thank you so much for 9 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:32,039 your support. I'm proud to announce we are now a 10 00:00:32,320 --> 00:00:36,960 member of the NPR Emergency Alert System. I was unaware 11 00:00:37,000 --> 00:00:40,200 this thing even existed before yesterday. I'd like to welcome 12 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:43,320 to the program the publisher and managing editor of Inside 13 00:00:43,399 --> 00:00:47,679 Sources Inside Sources dot Com, Michael Graham, actually formerly of 14 00:00:47,920 --> 00:00:50,119 WBT low say. 15 00:00:50,000 --> 00:00:53,439 Speaker 2: Don't leave out my number one credentials r right. Well 16 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:57,159 you my radio talk show career right there at WDT, 17 00:00:57,200 --> 00:00:59,000 my first firing of many. 18 00:00:59,320 --> 00:01:01,880 Speaker 1: Well, I was going to bring that up, Michael bud. 19 00:01:01,960 --> 00:01:02,840 Speaker 2: So proud of it. 20 00:01:02,920 --> 00:01:06,280 Speaker 1: But anyway, you you were gone just before I got here, 21 00:01:06,400 --> 00:01:08,480 so we never crossed paths here. I ended up in 22 00:01:08,519 --> 00:01:09,840 the newsroom, so you were well. 23 00:01:09,879 --> 00:01:12,560 Speaker 2: I had a I had a close my contract. Since 24 00:01:12,560 --> 00:01:14,000 you showed up, I was going, you know, oh, well, 25 00:01:14,000 --> 00:01:16,040 that's I do have standards. You know. I may have 26 00:01:16,079 --> 00:01:18,640 played Preiana in a bordello, but I do have standards. 27 00:01:19,120 --> 00:01:21,799 I'm just I'm just giddy. I gotta tell you, I'm 28 00:01:21,840 --> 00:01:26,040 just just find the life law. My first book that 29 00:01:26,079 --> 00:01:27,959 I wrote, in fact, before I start working at AVT, 30 00:01:28,159 --> 00:01:30,200 was called Banned from Public Radio because I was actually 31 00:01:30,280 --> 00:01:35,000 banned from the South Carolina Educational Radio Network for making 32 00:01:35,079 --> 00:01:37,599 fun of state government on the air. And that's when 33 00:01:37,640 --> 00:01:42,079 I learned that it's not public television, it's not public radio, 34 00:01:42,640 --> 00:01:47,400 it's government radio, you know, like Pravda. Yeah, and so 35 00:01:48,200 --> 00:01:50,000 I the governor didn't like what I said. He had 36 00:01:50,000 --> 00:01:53,159 me a band from the network, and I when I 37 00:01:53,159 --> 00:01:55,920 did talk right here for a living best gig. Ever, 38 00:01:55,959 --> 00:01:57,799 by the way, I was just to try me crazy 39 00:01:57,799 --> 00:02:01,680 that that would be literally paying taxes so that someone 40 00:02:01,680 --> 00:02:04,239 else could take my money and compete against me. 41 00:02:04,599 --> 00:02:04,920 Speaker 1: Yeah. 42 00:02:05,040 --> 00:02:08,240 Speaker 2: I was in a talk studio paying money for another 43 00:02:08,240 --> 00:02:10,840 guy's talk studio because he didn't have to pay for 44 00:02:10,840 --> 00:02:13,560 it because he got free tax money through me. I'd 45 00:02:13,560 --> 00:02:16,120 be like, if you know, you know, Joey mcberger joined 46 00:02:16,360 --> 00:02:19,240 and then someone shows up. Hey, look, burns vegan patties 47 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:21,159 across the street. It's a lot healthier. So we're going 48 00:02:21,199 --> 00:02:22,639 to take part of your money and give it to 49 00:02:22,719 --> 00:02:25,800 them for their advertising. What no other industry would put 50 00:02:25,879 --> 00:02:27,360 up with that, But that's what we put up with 51 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:32,000 in the era of public television radio. And I'm not 52 00:02:32,080 --> 00:02:34,479 a big Trump fan. I've never voted for him, never would, 53 00:02:34,520 --> 00:02:36,360 but I got to say, I am ready to buy 54 00:02:36,400 --> 00:02:40,039 a maga hat this guy, all of this stuff. For 55 00:02:40,080 --> 00:02:42,960 twenty years, I said, bomb Iran, Bomb Iran. They're wack. 56 00:02:43,039 --> 00:02:45,599 Jab islamis bomb Iran. They've got nukes, they're trying to 57 00:02:45,639 --> 00:02:48,360 build nukes, bombing Ran. Oh, you can't do that. You 58 00:02:48,479 --> 00:02:50,719 bombed me Ron. They might do something bad like what 59 00:02:51,039 --> 00:02:55,759 fun to terrorism? Attack Israel, beat women for showing their 60 00:02:55,759 --> 00:02:57,960 ankles in public. I mean, what the hell? And who 61 00:02:58,039 --> 00:03:00,879 bombs Iran? It's not Obama, it's not Biden, it's not 62 00:03:01,199 --> 00:03:04,879 w it's Trump. For years of saying it is indefensible 63 00:03:04,919 --> 00:03:08,479 that we spend tax dollars on radio and television in 64 00:03:08,479 --> 00:03:10,759 the era of the Internet, Are you freaking kidding me? 65 00:03:11,159 --> 00:03:13,759 I can pick up my phone and right now watch 66 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:18,520 nude Canadian curling in French with subtitles on my phone 67 00:03:18,919 --> 00:03:21,560 because there's so much media in the world and these 68 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:25,439 nitwith Democrats want to fund you know, the little old ladies, 69 00:03:25,479 --> 00:03:28,439 Downton Abbey reruns down the Street. Who finally does the 70 00:03:28,560 --> 00:03:32,360 common sense thing? Is that Obama? W No, it's Donald. 71 00:03:32,439 --> 00:03:34,960 I'm out of my freaking mind Trump, and I don't 72 00:03:34,960 --> 00:03:35,719 know what to do about that. 73 00:03:35,840 --> 00:03:38,719 Speaker 1: Yeah, so on, now, what of the uh this? I 74 00:03:38,719 --> 00:03:41,120 got to tell you. I've listened to NPR. I've heard 75 00:03:41,159 --> 00:03:44,240 their pledge drives and stuff as well, and listened to 76 00:03:44,439 --> 00:03:47,080 like all of their talk show hosts and news stories 77 00:03:47,080 --> 00:03:49,639 that are always filtered through the you know, the the 78 00:03:49,719 --> 00:03:53,919 trans or racist kind of lens. But I've I never 79 00:03:54,039 --> 00:03:57,159 knew that they were such a vital part of our 80 00:03:57,199 --> 00:04:01,719 emergency response system, particularly in the rural areas where I 81 00:04:01,759 --> 00:04:06,479 can only believe they have massive audience. Right, Were you 82 00:04:06,560 --> 00:04:08,319 aware that they had such a network? 83 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:12,199 Speaker 2: PBS the peace stands for pick them up trucks bitch? 84 00:04:13,159 --> 00:04:15,800 So yeah, I mean, it's just so stupid. I look, 85 00:04:15,879 --> 00:04:18,120 I grew up in rural southbound down in Lexnon County 86 00:04:18,120 --> 00:04:20,079 where we were. I was literally one of those households 87 00:04:20,079 --> 00:04:23,319 that was that PBS was rousially designed for. We had 88 00:04:23,360 --> 00:04:26,839 access to three TV stations, one of them was the 89 00:04:26,879 --> 00:04:28,680 PPS station. We had to have an antenna on our 90 00:04:28,759 --> 00:04:31,160 roof because cable didn't reach us. You know, we point 91 00:04:31,639 --> 00:04:32,879 know if you saw you'mon have this. They had the 92 00:04:32,920 --> 00:04:34,920 rotor on the antenna. You could turn the dial, would 93 00:04:34,920 --> 00:04:36,959 turn it around the point to another town to try. 94 00:04:37,199 --> 00:04:40,879 So I look, it existed for me, but never. Never 95 00:04:41,480 --> 00:04:44,439 when the tornado sirens went off in our corner Lakes 96 00:04:44,480 --> 00:04:46,879 and County that my parents go, oh, tornado's coming. We 97 00:04:46,959 --> 00:04:50,040 better tune in that massive piece theater right I here 98 00:04:50,079 --> 00:04:51,439 we got some flood and coming. I wonder what that 99 00:04:51,560 --> 00:04:55,079 Ira Flato was saying about. Never nothing. This is idiotic. 100 00:04:55,160 --> 00:04:56,519 And one of the things I wrote about in this 101 00:04:56,839 --> 00:04:59,519 piece of ours that inside sources were on. The managing 102 00:04:59,600 --> 00:05:04,279 editor h pointed out that statistically, this is the world 103 00:05:04,319 --> 00:05:08,480 we live in. A higher percentage of Americans own cell 104 00:05:08,519 --> 00:05:12,839 phones then live within the reach of all the NPR 105 00:05:12,879 --> 00:05:16,240 signals combined, which is why we don't rely on radio 106 00:05:16,319 --> 00:05:19,759 for emergencies anymore. We use cell phones technology. Why but 107 00:05:19,759 --> 00:05:22,800 what planet of these people? The next thing, I know, 108 00:05:22,839 --> 00:05:24,120 we're gonna have to you know, we're gonna have to 109 00:05:24,160 --> 00:05:26,560 raise your taxes. We've got to have the butter churners 110 00:05:26,560 --> 00:05:29,160 coalition out there. We're going to get our butter if 111 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:30,480 we don't have butter churners. 112 00:05:31,519 --> 00:05:34,480 Speaker 1: Now, I will say when Hurricane Helen hit western North Carolina, 113 00:05:34,720 --> 00:05:37,800 knocked off all of the cell towers and all the 114 00:05:37,839 --> 00:05:41,240 comms went down, like literally cell phones were not working. 115 00:05:41,600 --> 00:05:45,040 The local commercial radio station where I used to work, 116 00:05:45,319 --> 00:05:48,439 they because I too, like you, work in radio, have 117 00:05:48,519 --> 00:05:50,800 been fired so I used to work up there. But 118 00:05:50,839 --> 00:05:54,680 they actually stayed on the air and provided like the 119 00:05:54,720 --> 00:05:57,959 only comms link to the entire region, and they joined 120 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,839 their iHeart cluster and they all of their stations to 121 00:06:01,920 --> 00:06:04,360 simulcast with all of their local hosts. 122 00:06:04,399 --> 00:06:06,480 Speaker 2: And you know, that's a that's a really good point, 123 00:06:06,480 --> 00:06:08,319 and that's something to be said to And this is 124 00:06:08,319 --> 00:06:10,839 another reason why the whole MPR PBS argument just makes 125 00:06:10,879 --> 00:06:14,199 you want to barf. There have been about I think 126 00:06:14,240 --> 00:06:19,160 it's four hundred AM stations that have gone dark gone dark. 127 00:06:19,519 --> 00:06:22,480 They're not been broadcasting anymore since in the last fourteen 128 00:06:22,600 --> 00:06:25,839 years since COVID. I'm remember the numbers is sixty f 129 00:06:25,959 --> 00:06:28,120 M stations that have gone dark. Gone out of business 130 00:06:28,160 --> 00:06:32,120 because the media world's changing, it's transforming. If you really care, 131 00:06:32,240 --> 00:06:33,959 if you're really worried that someone's going to be in 132 00:06:34,160 --> 00:06:37,720 an area that's underserved. What you just said, AM radio 133 00:06:38,160 --> 00:06:40,879 just you know, you have the network set up, have 134 00:06:41,000 --> 00:06:43,959 the transmitters, translators that can pick up other signals. I 135 00:06:44,040 --> 00:06:48,519 was doing talk radio WRBA in Richmond when Irene came through, 136 00:06:48,560 --> 00:06:50,759 and I in the studio was right in the line 137 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:52,839 of the storm. And I stayed in the studio and 138 00:06:52,879 --> 00:06:56,639 we broadcast, you know, through the night. And like you said, 139 00:06:56,800 --> 00:06:58,680 the AM signal was the one thing that could get through. 140 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:00,600 And that's all that. If that was what we were 141 00:07:00,600 --> 00:07:02,439 talking about, we were. But when was the last time 142 00:07:02,920 --> 00:07:05,680 you watched one of these fundraisers for public radio and 143 00:07:05,720 --> 00:07:09,040 they said, we've got to keep our emergency broadcasting network going, 144 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,600 So send us fifty bucks, you'll get a Nina tote bag. 145 00:07:11,759 --> 00:07:14,680 Speaker 1: You know they don't do that, No, they never promote talk. 146 00:07:14,560 --> 00:07:17,560 Speaker 2: About is what does suburban, college educated, middle aged white 147 00:07:17,600 --> 00:07:20,839 ladies want, because that's what it is. NPR is basically 148 00:07:21,480 --> 00:07:26,720 streaming for liberal white suburbanites, except they've all hacked and 149 00:07:26,759 --> 00:07:29,560 they have our password. So we have to pay for 150 00:07:29,879 --> 00:07:34,600 their who left wing Hulu account because they've got our password, 151 00:07:34,680 --> 00:07:38,199 and I blame Republicans. Republicans have had majorities again and again, 152 00:07:38,519 --> 00:07:41,360 and it's always gutless, weasel Republicans who back down said, 153 00:07:41,360 --> 00:07:44,759 oh no, we're going too big Bird, who, by the way, 154 00:07:44,839 --> 00:07:47,560 has not been part of public broadcasting since they got 155 00:07:47,600 --> 00:07:49,680 sold to HBO, who then turned around and sold them 156 00:07:49,720 --> 00:07:50,720 to Netflix. Yeah. 157 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:53,639 Speaker 1: I don't even understand why they're still using this argument 158 00:07:53,720 --> 00:07:56,360 of big Bird, except that you know it was effective 159 00:07:56,439 --> 00:07:58,279 maybe against Milk Romney. 160 00:07:58,360 --> 00:08:01,920 Speaker 2: Look, the elite are getting your money because they think 161 00:08:01,959 --> 00:08:04,240 they're entitled to your money. And let's face it, there's 162 00:08:04,279 --> 00:08:07,040 not a lot of elites have anymore. Their college degrees 163 00:08:07,079 --> 00:08:10,439 are embarrassing now everyone. You know, you tell people, yeah, 164 00:08:10,839 --> 00:08:13,800 I've got my master's in Erotic Persian literature, you know, 165 00:08:13,920 --> 00:08:15,160 So what does that mean to mean? You got one 166 00:08:15,199 --> 00:08:17,800 hundred thouand thousand debt and you're writing the names of 167 00:08:17,839 --> 00:08:20,319 people's people's names on the side of coffee cops, that's 168 00:08:20,319 --> 00:08:22,279 what that means. Yeah, we're gonna impress somebody. Now, don't 169 00:08:22,279 --> 00:08:24,800 tell them you send your kid to Harvard, particularly they're Jewish. 170 00:08:25,199 --> 00:08:27,199 When you send your kids to HVAC school. That's got 171 00:08:27,279 --> 00:08:30,000 that'll impress people. So they don't have that school choice 172 00:08:30,040 --> 00:08:32,360 is letting more and more of those people into their 173 00:08:33,000 --> 00:08:37,519 private schools. Those people's kids are coming. That's terrible. And 174 00:08:37,559 --> 00:08:39,279 so what do they have left? They know a lot. 175 00:08:39,519 --> 00:08:43,039 So they've got the ability to force people who live 176 00:08:43,080 --> 00:08:45,679 in trailer parks listening to country music to pay for 177 00:08:45,759 --> 00:08:48,279 their master piece theater. That's what they got left. 178 00:08:48,360 --> 00:08:51,399 Speaker 1: Yeah, it's interesting. I'm going to actually take that topic 179 00:08:51,440 --> 00:08:53,639 of the HVAC stuff. I've got the clip from Mike 180 00:08:53,759 --> 00:08:57,279 Rowe who was talking about AI displacing white collar jobs. 181 00:08:57,279 --> 00:08:59,679 But you know, the blue collar jobs aren't going anywhere. 182 00:08:59,720 --> 00:09:02,639 They're actually going to be more of those needed. And 183 00:09:02,679 --> 00:09:06,080 to your point about sort of the difference in the 184 00:09:06,159 --> 00:09:08,399 quote unquote elites, I hate the term because they're not. 185 00:09:08,559 --> 00:09:11,639 But the these elites and the things that they used 186 00:09:11,639 --> 00:09:15,960 to be able to outwardly express their elitism with, they 187 00:09:16,000 --> 00:09:19,600 no longer can because of this flattening. Thank you capitalism, right, 188 00:09:19,679 --> 00:09:23,000 this flattening. So people now can dress very similarly, they 189 00:09:23,039 --> 00:09:25,840 can get similar cars, live in homes and such, and 190 00:09:26,399 --> 00:09:29,639 there's nothing now that defines the difference in an outward 191 00:09:29,679 --> 00:09:32,799 way and and so this was one of the ways 192 00:09:32,840 --> 00:09:35,519 you could walk around with your NPR you know, tote 193 00:09:35,559 --> 00:09:37,639 bag or bumper sticker. And look. I worked for the 194 00:09:37,679 --> 00:09:40,639 local NPR affiliate right out of college. I mailed people 195 00:09:40,679 --> 00:09:44,879 their coffee mugs and their tote bags, and like they 196 00:09:45,080 --> 00:09:46,639 they did not hire me in their newsroom. So I 197 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:48,200 ended up over here. And thank god. 198 00:09:49,039 --> 00:09:53,519 Speaker 2: I have nothing against PBS and NPR existing, it's just 199 00:09:53,679 --> 00:09:56,080 taking my money that I objected to. So I was 200 00:09:56,120 --> 00:10:01,000 in Boston at the Biometrics, the most successful FM talk 201 00:10:01,039 --> 00:10:04,120 station in the country, very doing very, very well, and 202 00:10:04,159 --> 00:10:07,000 then a long story having to do with political correctness 203 00:10:07,000 --> 00:10:09,360 and not me for a change, they decided to flip 204 00:10:09,360 --> 00:10:13,080 the station to hip hop music. Yeah, from talk to 205 00:10:13,200 --> 00:10:15,679 hip hop music. I have to confess my audition as 206 00:10:15,759 --> 00:10:17,480 rap master G Money did not go as well as 207 00:10:17,480 --> 00:10:20,240 one might have hoped. And well, here's what was interesting. 208 00:10:20,840 --> 00:10:24,519 We had two liberal hosts who did a show together. 209 00:10:24,840 --> 00:10:27,320 It was the lowest randed department. It's still good. They 210 00:10:27,360 --> 00:10:29,200 still did well and they were good, were good hosts. 211 00:10:29,679 --> 00:10:33,919 They both got hired by the local MPR station. I 212 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,600 went in and said, hey, look about it up. I mean, 213 00:10:36,639 --> 00:10:38,679 come on. I've got twice the ratings they do. You 214 00:10:38,759 --> 00:10:41,000 have no left, you have no right of center content. 215 00:10:41,360 --> 00:10:42,960 I can be your I can prove with all your 216 00:10:43,039 --> 00:10:45,960 tax dollars and blah blah blah. And I was told 217 00:10:46,600 --> 00:10:49,960 we can't hire you because our listeners won't let us. 218 00:10:50,440 --> 00:10:53,559 And that was the point. They were just like conservative 219 00:10:53,879 --> 00:10:57,759 talk radio. People want to have their current beliefs reaffirmed. 220 00:10:58,080 --> 00:11:02,679 And these elite college education snob want you know, wine 221 00:11:02,759 --> 00:11:07,080 sipping liberals were just the same. They wanted liberal rush limball. 222 00:11:07,279 --> 00:11:08,000 That's what they. 223 00:11:07,840 --> 00:11:10,440 Speaker 1: Wanted, right, but they use taxpayer money for it. And 224 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:12,559 that's my objection. Sounds like that's yours too. 225 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:16,600 Speaker 2: Absolutely, And every time someone says the sentence out loud 226 00:11:16,759 --> 00:11:20,080 and not biased, I I've had to see a doctor 227 00:11:20,080 --> 00:11:22,120 three times now. I mean I hurt myself laughings. 228 00:11:22,120 --> 00:11:24,320 Speaker 1: All right, all right, Michael Graham. You could read his 229 00:11:24,360 --> 00:11:26,720 whole piece, which I have, uh, And that's why I 230 00:11:26,759 --> 00:11:28,120 reached out to him to ask him to come on. 231 00:11:28,200 --> 00:11:29,120 You can read his piece. 232 00:11:29,399 --> 00:11:29,519 Speaker 2: Uh. 233 00:11:29,720 --> 00:11:33,679 Speaker 1: Inside Sources dot com? What is so Nhjournal dot com? 234 00:11:33,720 --> 00:11:35,799 Do they just publish your stuff there? Also? 235 00:11:36,080 --> 00:11:39,279 Speaker 2: So in so Inside Sources provides content to newspapers around 236 00:11:39,279 --> 00:11:41,679 the country. Sometimes you're still popping up in the local papers. 237 00:11:41,679 --> 00:11:44,639 And we also own two local news sites, New Hampshire 238 00:11:44,720 --> 00:11:48,039 Journal and Delawarevelly Journal and these suburbs of Philly, and 239 00:11:48,360 --> 00:11:49,840 so that's that's what we do. But if you go 240 00:11:49,840 --> 00:11:52,679 to DC journal dot com every day, you'll find three 241 00:11:52,720 --> 00:11:56,480 four five new new articles, news and opinion, all on 242 00:11:56,559 --> 00:11:59,600 stuff that's part of the national debate. And we try 243 00:11:59,639 --> 00:12:01,600 to dig in the areas that don't get I don't 244 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:04,080 think it enough attention, whether it's energy policy or crypto 245 00:12:04,159 --> 00:12:05,399 or whatever. And we bring it to a lot of 246 00:12:05,399 --> 00:12:09,360 different voices. Unlike NPR and PBS. You we have stuff 247 00:12:09,399 --> 00:12:12,919 from Crazy Center for American Publics, left wingers, we have 248 00:12:12,960 --> 00:12:15,519 stuff from Cato libertarians. The fact we do a popular 249 00:12:15,519 --> 00:12:20,159 point counterpoint feature where we put two completely opposite opinions 250 00:12:20,679 --> 00:12:22,919 next to each other and they get picked up by 251 00:12:23,000 --> 00:12:24,480 one hundreds of newspapers the country. 252 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:26,919 Speaker 1: Nice all right. And also i've seen you on Mark 253 00:12:26,960 --> 00:12:28,240 Halpern's new podcast. 254 00:12:28,320 --> 00:12:30,919 Speaker 2: Oh yes, yeah, Alpin's yeah, he's having me on. But 255 00:12:31,080 --> 00:12:33,799 I hey, back in the day, I was even on 256 00:12:34,039 --> 00:12:37,399 NPR on occasion. Scott Simon is a great guy, sweetheart. 257 00:12:37,440 --> 00:12:40,039 I have nothing against some of the people there, some 258 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:42,720 of the best reporters I know works for NPR. It's 259 00:12:42,879 --> 00:12:46,000 just what the heck. We do not need government, taxpayer 260 00:12:46,840 --> 00:12:50,159 taxpair funded media in the era of the Internet and 261 00:12:50,200 --> 00:12:52,360 Wi Fi is like walking into a bordello and saying, 262 00:12:52,399 --> 00:12:55,240 you know, this place needs more hookers. That's what we need. 263 00:12:55,440 --> 00:12:56,480 Where are the hookers? 264 00:12:57,840 --> 00:12:59,720 Speaker 1: Michael Graham, Thanks for your time, buddy. Good to hear 265 00:12:59,720 --> 00:13:01,960 from you. Glad you're doing well. Thank you, sir, Thank 266 00:13:02,000 --> 00:13:04,320 you all right. If you're listening to this show, you 267 00:13:04,399 --> 00:13:05,840 know I try to keep up with all sorts of 268 00:13:05,919 --> 00:13:08,120 current events, and I know you do too, And you've 269 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:11,360 probably heard me say get your news from multiple sources. 270 00:13:11,840 --> 00:13:15,120 Why well, because it's how you detect media bias, which 271 00:13:15,120 --> 00:13:18,039 is why I've been so impressed with ground News. It's 272 00:13:18,159 --> 00:13:21,600 an app and it's a website and it combines news 273 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:23,559 from around the world in one place so you can 274 00:13:23,600 --> 00:13:26,919 compare coverage and verify information. You can check it out 275 00:13:26,960 --> 00:13:31,600 at check dot ground, dot news slash pete. I put 276 00:13:31,600 --> 00:13:34,559 the link in the podcast description too. I started using 277 00:13:34,559 --> 00:13:37,480 ground News a few months ago and more recently chose 278 00:13:37,519 --> 00:13:39,480 to work with them as an affiliate because it lets 279 00:13:39,480 --> 00:13:43,080 me see clearly how stories get covered and by whom. 280 00:13:43,360 --> 00:13:46,320 The blind spot feature shows you which stories get ignored 281 00:13:46,360 --> 00:13:49,279 by the left and the right. See for yourself. Check 282 00:13:49,399 --> 00:13:53,840 dot Ground, dot news slash pete. Subscribe through that link 283 00:13:53,919 --> 00:13:56,799 and you'll get fifteen percent off any subscription. I use 284 00:13:56,840 --> 00:13:59,960 the Vantage plan to get unlimited access to every feature. 285 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:02,960 Your subscription then not only helps my podcast, but it 286 00:14:02,960 --> 00:14:06,120 also supports Ground News as they make the media landscape 287 00:14:06,159 --> 00:14:10,440 more transparent. Alrighty, so one of the arguments here, Look, 288 00:14:10,480 --> 00:14:15,679 I completely agree. I completely agree, and I am happy 289 00:14:16,080 --> 00:14:22,679 that the Republicans have finally defunded NPR and PBS. This 290 00:14:22,759 --> 00:14:25,480 has been something I have wanted to see for twenty 291 00:14:25,480 --> 00:14:30,000 five years. Again, I worked at an NPR affiliate, and 292 00:14:30,039 --> 00:14:34,320 I remember people were freaking out when the original cuts 293 00:14:34,399 --> 00:14:38,559 to PBS were proposed, like back in the eighties under Reagan, 294 00:14:38,600 --> 00:14:40,840 and everybody said, oh my gosh, what's gonna happen. It's 295 00:14:40,840 --> 00:14:42,799 going to go off the year. And actually what happened 296 00:14:42,879 --> 00:14:49,039 was increased donations and it made as one who worked 297 00:14:49,039 --> 00:14:53,000 in the membership department, it made it easier to make 298 00:14:53,080 --> 00:14:57,159 those pleas to the audience to say, hey, we're losing 299 00:14:57,240 --> 00:15:00,039 money and we need you to step up, because a 300 00:15:00,120 --> 00:15:02,240 lot of the listeners could just say, well, they're getting 301 00:15:02,279 --> 00:15:05,039 taxpayer funds anyway, they don't need my money really, and 302 00:15:05,080 --> 00:15:11,840 so it eliminated that excuse and they saw their donations 303 00:15:11,879 --> 00:15:15,399 go up. They also saw a focus on what they 304 00:15:15,440 --> 00:15:19,759 call underwriting, because you can't call it advertising in NPR world, 305 00:15:19,799 --> 00:15:23,679 so they would underwrite. And you hear the ads they 306 00:15:23,759 --> 00:15:28,600 run ads. They run ads on NPR and PBS, right, 307 00:15:28,720 --> 00:15:31,480 they just do it in a way that makes it 308 00:15:31,519 --> 00:15:34,600 sound like you know, somebody who's half in a coma 309 00:15:35,080 --> 00:15:38,320 is reading a bumper sticker to you, right, Like that's 310 00:15:38,600 --> 00:15:42,240 or like the mission statement for a corporation. And those 311 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,679 are nonprofits by the way, So all of those things 312 00:15:44,879 --> 00:15:48,679 they get to write them off and everything, so their 313 00:15:48,759 --> 00:15:54,159 underwriting is solid. They bring in money in healthy radio markets. 314 00:15:54,159 --> 00:15:56,039 I would say, hey, if you've got a decent sales 315 00:15:56,080 --> 00:16:00,919 staff there, they make money off of their listener directly 316 00:16:01,000 --> 00:16:04,600 through donations. They also have found this brand new revenue 317 00:16:04,639 --> 00:16:08,200 stream along with like the Charlotte Observer, where they take 318 00:16:08,320 --> 00:16:13,080 grants to pay for positions. They get grant money from 319 00:16:13,120 --> 00:16:20,360 like Climate Justice whatever foundation, So they're they're pulling in 320 00:16:20,440 --> 00:16:24,840 a lot of money. And there is no ethical reason 321 00:16:25,279 --> 00:16:29,639 why I, as an employee who of a commercial radio 322 00:16:29,639 --> 00:16:35,000 station that that competes with them for advertising dollars, right, 323 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:38,879 Because if my ratings aren't good enough and I can't 324 00:16:39,039 --> 00:16:42,000 get you know, advertisers to be a part of the 325 00:16:42,120 --> 00:16:46,120 WBT family, then I'm out of a job. And that 326 00:16:46,279 --> 00:16:51,480 is not a pressure that the NPR folks face. And 327 00:16:51,600 --> 00:16:56,120 this latest argument that was trotted out that oh, you 328 00:16:56,279 --> 00:17:00,279 have to fund NPR and PBS or else people in 329 00:17:00,399 --> 00:17:07,400 rural America will lose access to emergency alerts is probably 330 00:17:07,720 --> 00:17:11,319 the most asenine argument I have ever heard when it 331 00:17:11,359 --> 00:17:19,599 comes to defending taxpayer subsidization of public broadcasting. It's just ridiculous, 332 00:17:20,319 --> 00:17:26,920 absolutely ridiculous. I'm not I have never never heard anybody 333 00:17:27,000 --> 00:17:29,559 say they rely on NPR. They don't tout it, NPR 334 00:17:29,640 --> 00:17:31,839 doesn't promote it. They're not like, listen to us for 335 00:17:31,880 --> 00:17:39,119 your emergency situations. We do, we do? They don't. They 336 00:17:39,160 --> 00:17:41,680 never had to, right, But now all of a sudden 337 00:17:41,720 --> 00:17:43,720 that funding is on the table to be cut. Now 338 00:17:43,759 --> 00:17:45,839 all of a sudden, Oh wait a minute, what what 339 00:17:45,920 --> 00:17:50,319 would have happened like in Texas, for example, with the 340 00:17:50,640 --> 00:17:56,480 recent floods. They wouldn't have heard the NPR affiliate at 341 00:17:56,480 --> 00:18:00,799 the preteen girls camp. They Oh my god, gosh, they 342 00:18:00,839 --> 00:18:03,279 missed the sirens or they missed the alerts on the 343 00:18:03,400 --> 00:18:07,799 NPR affiliate. Yeah, it actually took Texas Public Radio nineteen 344 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:12,759 hours to post anything about the flooding on its social 345 00:18:12,799 --> 00:18:16,839 media pages after the National Weather Service first posted its 346 00:18:16,920 --> 00:18:20,200 alert on July third. When the flood hit at four 347 00:18:20,319 --> 00:18:24,559 a m. On July fourth, instead of providing local news, 348 00:18:24,759 --> 00:18:29,920 the NPR affiliate in Kerrville aired morning edition out of Washington, DC. 349 00:18:30,839 --> 00:18:35,799 So stuff it with this argument. Okay, it's crap. You 350 00:18:35,839 --> 00:18:39,720 guys don't do this kind of service. Commercial radio AM 351 00:18:39,799 --> 00:18:44,960 radio specifically has my entire career and long before I 352 00:18:45,039 --> 00:18:49,799 ever got into radio. This is what commercial radio stations do. 353 00:18:51,799 --> 00:18:53,039 But if you want to start, we can give you 354 00:18:53,039 --> 00:18:56,200 some pointers. Here's a great idea. How about making an 355 00:18:56,319 --> 00:18:59,519 escape to a really special and secluded getaway in western 356 00:18:59,519 --> 00:19:01,480 North Carol Line at just a quick drive up the 357 00:19:01,519 --> 00:19:04,799 mountain and cabins of Ashville. Is your connection. Whether you're 358 00:19:04,799 --> 00:19:07,680 celebrating an anniversary, a honeymoon, maybe you want to plan 359 00:19:07,720 --> 00:19:10,440 a memorable proposal or get family and friends together for 360 00:19:10,480 --> 00:19:13,680 a big old reunion. Cabins of Ashville has the ideal 361 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:16,279 spot for you where you can reconnect with your loved 362 00:19:16,319 --> 00:19:19,359 ones and the things that truly matter. Nestled within the 363 00:19:19,359 --> 00:19:22,839 breath taking fourteen thousand acres of the Pisga National Forest, 364 00:19:23,079 --> 00:19:25,880 their cabins offer a serene escape in the heart of 365 00:19:25,920 --> 00:19:28,920 the Blue Ridge Mountains. Centrally located between Asheville and the 366 00:19:29,039 --> 00:19:31,799 entrance of the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. 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From the Liberty View of 377 00:20:09,599 --> 00:20:13,640 GMC text line here. If this from Jeff in mint Hill. 378 00:20:14,079 --> 00:20:17,960 If the elites quote unquote are upset about losing taxpayer 379 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:20,480 funding for NPR, then perhaps they would like to help 380 00:20:20,519 --> 00:20:26,720 contribute funding for WBT and other conservative platforms as well. Right, No, 381 00:20:26,880 --> 00:20:30,960 that's the wrong kind of radio we want to subsidize. See, 382 00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:37,200 they only want their voices subsidized. They don't want alternative views. 383 00:20:37,880 --> 00:20:42,400 I've talked about this for years. They don't bring people 384 00:20:42,519 --> 00:20:47,359 onto their shows. They don't allow callers to push back 385 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:54,079 on anything that the programmers are putting out there, all 386 00:20:54,079 --> 00:20:56,960 of their guests. And I listened to it enough. You know, 387 00:20:57,200 --> 00:20:59,319 for years. When I used to work in Ashville, I 388 00:20:59,400 --> 00:21:05,000 was still living in Charlotte. I was domiciled here in Charlotte. 389 00:21:05,119 --> 00:21:08,200 Christy was still working here in Charlotte, and I would 390 00:21:08,279 --> 00:21:11,039 drive up and down on the weekends. Basically, I would 391 00:21:11,240 --> 00:21:12,680 go up there, I would spend the week up there 392 00:21:12,720 --> 00:21:14,640 and work, and then I would drive back for the 393 00:21:14,640 --> 00:21:17,920 weekends and I would listen to NPR programming. I listened 394 00:21:17,920 --> 00:21:22,880 to a lot of NPR shows and news and they 395 00:21:22,880 --> 00:21:25,599 are all told the same way. All of their shows, 396 00:21:25,880 --> 00:21:30,319 all of their news stories and newscasts, they're all filtered 397 00:21:30,680 --> 00:21:36,759 through the same critical prism as in critical race theory, 398 00:21:37,000 --> 00:21:43,039 as in gender queer theory. DEI it's all and climate change. 399 00:21:43,039 --> 00:21:47,880 Of course, everything is climate change. Sonny Wright, who is 400 00:21:48,720 --> 00:21:54,160 a writer, He says NPR is so incredibly vital to 401 00:21:54,240 --> 00:21:57,400 everybody's life that the taxpayers aren't forced to finance it, 402 00:21:57,880 --> 00:22:03,279 nobody else will want to. Exactly, you can't say this 403 00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:06,559 is such a vital thing for everybody that it has 404 00:22:06,640 --> 00:22:09,400 to be financed, Yet nobody wants to finance it, because 405 00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,599 the market would recognize, as it does with this station 406 00:22:13,799 --> 00:22:18,880 and commercial stations right that they realize there is great value. 407 00:22:18,920 --> 00:22:21,079 There's great return on your investment. By the way, call 408 00:22:21,119 --> 00:22:23,799 our sales department if you would like the data there. 409 00:22:24,759 --> 00:22:30,960 The ROI on radio is huge, and so why not 410 00:22:31,119 --> 00:22:33,400 just allow that to be the case. You're all, look, 411 00:22:33,680 --> 00:22:36,599 you're already biased. We already know you're biased. Of course, 412 00:22:36,640 --> 00:22:39,079 the CEO of NPR is like, oh, if you have 413 00:22:39,319 --> 00:22:42,160 some evidence of biased, you let me know. And you know, 414 00:22:42,200 --> 00:22:45,319 show me the story, show you the story. They're all 415 00:22:45,319 --> 00:22:51,319 the stories. They are all the stories. Every NPR story 416 00:22:52,720 --> 00:23:00,279 follows the same format. You've got, you know, some ash. 417 00:23:01,039 --> 00:23:06,480 One commenter on X said, you got a simple, good 418 00:23:06,599 --> 00:23:09,440 statement to start off with and then you get, you know, 419 00:23:09,599 --> 00:23:14,240 fifteen minutes of soul searching and whining about it. And 420 00:23:14,319 --> 00:23:17,519 the example offered was scientists, all right, hang on, I'll 421 00:23:17,519 --> 00:23:21,640 do it this way. Scientists have discovered that breathing is 422 00:23:21,720 --> 00:23:25,519 good for you, but what are the societal costs? Is 423 00:23:25,559 --> 00:23:30,279 the carbon footprint really worth it? Next up on Fresh Air, Yeah, Like, 424 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:33,519 that's the model. It's always the same in their news stories. 425 00:23:34,440 --> 00:23:37,119 It's always the same. John Gabriel, he did a great 426 00:23:37,119 --> 00:23:40,799 outline on this. You know, you hear the anchor with 427 00:23:40,880 --> 00:23:43,519 a toss to the reporter. It's all recorded, of course, 428 00:23:43,559 --> 00:23:46,359 and highly produced. You get all the natural sound in 429 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:51,319 there and stuff. So here's the LATINX equity reporter, Esperanza 430 00:23:51,440 --> 00:23:58,319 van Zandt, and it'll start off with Candide, a biracial amputee, 431 00:23:58,400 --> 00:24:03,759 opens the door and welcomes me with a smoldering smudge stick, 432 00:24:05,519 --> 00:24:09,839 as is the way of her Cholanganana Peruvian collective. Then 433 00:24:09,880 --> 00:24:13,240 you hear the alp pack up dedicated to a socialist 434 00:24:13,279 --> 00:24:17,960 future for the Andes and her home of Manhattan car horns. 435 00:24:18,160 --> 00:24:20,559 Like that's it. That's the model. It's always the same 436 00:24:20,640 --> 00:24:24,039 sort of storytelling. The story's changed but it's always the 437 00:24:24,079 --> 00:24:30,039 same format. And but I when I say they change, 438 00:24:30,079 --> 00:24:34,359 I mean the characters change, but the underlying narratives never do. 439 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,799 And I listen again, I listen to enough of it 440 00:24:37,880 --> 00:24:40,200 to know I listen to it to hear what they 441 00:24:40,200 --> 00:24:43,599 are saying. I'm quite sure nobody over on the NPR 442 00:24:43,680 --> 00:24:46,200 side ever listens to me or listens to BT. I'm 443 00:24:46,240 --> 00:24:50,240 pretty sure about that, because things that we report on 444 00:24:50,519 --> 00:24:52,400 never seem to make it over there. If I hear 445 00:24:52,440 --> 00:24:55,440 stuff over there that I think is important or interesting, 446 00:24:55,559 --> 00:24:59,640 I bring it here. I read, I will read stuff 447 00:24:59,680 --> 00:25:03,720 from stories. Buy the local NPR affiliate if they do, 448 00:25:03,920 --> 00:25:07,440 and they've got reporters on staff over there. But here's 449 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:10,640 the other dirty secret. There are a lot of NPR stations, 450 00:25:10,680 --> 00:25:15,200 like hundreds of them that they don't have any local staff, 451 00:25:15,240 --> 00:25:20,559 they don't have local newsrooms. And the finances on all 452 00:25:20,559 --> 00:25:24,920 of this it's just basically it's well, it's like the 453 00:25:24,960 --> 00:25:31,039 medicaid racket, where you extract money from one end through 454 00:25:31,160 --> 00:25:34,400 taxes and then you cycle it through and then force 455 00:25:34,440 --> 00:25:38,640 it back to your preferred destination. And that's the way 456 00:25:38,680 --> 00:25:41,160 the NPR model works. And that's buy law. By the way, 457 00:25:41,160 --> 00:25:43,960 I'm not attacking NPR and their affiliates for that. That's 458 00:25:44,160 --> 00:25:47,920 the way the law works. They have to pay NPR, 459 00:25:48,200 --> 00:25:51,160 so while the grants go to the local stations, if 460 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,440 they want to be an NPR affiliate, they have to 461 00:25:53,480 --> 00:25:56,039 pay for that content. Did you know that they have 462 00:25:56,119 --> 00:26:00,599 to buy those shows. You don't buy shows and radio 463 00:26:00,599 --> 00:26:03,559 and commercial radio. Did you know that? I think Limbaugh 464 00:26:03,640 --> 00:26:05,519 was the only show you ever had to pay for, really, 465 00:26:05,559 --> 00:26:08,519 and because you know, he had a massive ratings and 466 00:26:08,599 --> 00:26:12,640 so he could justify it. People wanted the show. But 467 00:26:12,799 --> 00:26:15,480 like all of the other nationally syndicated programs, they offer 468 00:26:15,519 --> 00:26:19,119 those for free and they sell the advertising. NPR no, 469 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:22,839 they charge all of their affiliates for the programming. You know, 470 00:26:22,920 --> 00:26:25,440 stories are powerful. They help us make sense of things, 471 00:26:25,440 --> 00:26:28,880 to understand experiences. Stories connect us to the people of 472 00:26:28,920 --> 00:26:32,240 our past while transcending generations. They help us process the 473 00:26:32,319 --> 00:26:35,720 meaning of life, and our stories are told through images 474 00:26:35,759 --> 00:26:39,599 and videos. Preserve your stories with Creative Video started in 475 00:26:39,680 --> 00:26:42,400 nineteen ninety seven and Mint Hill, North Carolina. It was 476 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:45,799 the first company to provide this valuable service, converting images, 477 00:26:46,000 --> 00:26:50,039 photos and videos into high quality produced slide shows, videos 478 00:26:50,079 --> 00:26:53,720 and albums. The trusted, talented and dedicated team at Creative 479 00:26:53,759 --> 00:26:55,839 Video will go over all of the details with you 480 00:26:55,960 --> 00:26:59,759 to create a perfect project. Satisfaction guaranteed. Drop them off 481 00:26:59,799 --> 00:27:02,039 in mail them. They'll be ready in a week or two. 482 00:27:02,279 --> 00:27:07,519 Memorial videos for your loved ones, videos for rehearsal, dinners, weddings, graduations, Christmas, 483 00:27:07,640 --> 00:27:11,799 family vacations, birthdays, or just your family stories, all told 484 00:27:11,839 --> 00:27:15,559 through images. That's what your photos and videos are. They 485 00:27:15,599 --> 00:27:18,440 are your life told through the eyes of everyone around 486 00:27:18,480 --> 00:27:20,720 you and all who came before you, and they will 487 00:27:20,720 --> 00:27:24,119 tell others to come who you are. Visit creative video 488 00:27:24,319 --> 00:27:28,200 dot com. Here's a message on the text line from 489 00:27:28,240 --> 00:27:30,559 a seven oh four number. They didn't give me their name. 490 00:27:31,519 --> 00:27:34,200 I listen to NPR every day. There's a lot of 491 00:27:34,279 --> 00:27:37,079 all caps here, so should I try to Should I 492 00:27:37,119 --> 00:27:39,799 do an affectation for the all caps when they were 493 00:27:39,960 --> 00:27:44,400 like I listened to NPR every day. I alternate during 494 00:27:44,519 --> 00:27:47,440 your show exclamation point. I think I should read it 495 00:27:47,480 --> 00:27:50,359 like that, so you know when they're trying to reinforce 496 00:27:51,359 --> 00:27:56,400 a point. Okay, they do have opposing views. They Okay, 497 00:27:56,720 --> 00:28:01,839 they have roundtables with Republican and Democrats. Yeah, I've heard 498 00:28:01,839 --> 00:28:04,920 those Just because somebody claims to be a Republican doesn't 499 00:28:04,920 --> 00:28:09,160 mean they are espousing, you know, pro Trumpian views they're 500 00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,680 defending Trump. They don't. They don't bring on They have 501 00:28:13,799 --> 00:28:19,279 a very narrow view of and rolodex of the Republicans 502 00:28:19,279 --> 00:28:22,119 that they bring on guys like David Brooks, who loved 503 00:28:22,160 --> 00:28:24,920 Obama for the crease in his pants, right, like that's 504 00:28:25,000 --> 00:28:28,799 the that's the kind they'll bring on, the Bulwark guys. 505 00:28:29,000 --> 00:28:32,400 They'll bring on the Dispatch guys, right, they'll bring them on, 506 00:28:33,079 --> 00:28:39,279 maybe Brett Stevens from the New York Times. Anyway, they 507 00:28:39,319 --> 00:28:42,519 do movie reviews. I've never listened and heard them say 508 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:51,079 the anti Christian, anti heterosexual, anti Republican. Have you listened 509 00:28:51,119 --> 00:28:54,000 to This American Life? I love that show. Take it 510 00:28:54,039 --> 00:28:58,039 from an avid NBR listener. They are not anti conservative. Okay, 511 00:28:59,119 --> 00:29:02,160 do not hear what I did not say. As Vince 512 00:29:02,200 --> 00:29:05,440 Cochley would say, it's a great line. Did I say 513 00:29:05,440 --> 00:29:09,839 that NPR was anti conservative? I did not. Now somebody 514 00:29:09,880 --> 00:29:13,279 else may have, but I did not. I've never said 515 00:29:13,279 --> 00:29:19,039 they're anti conservative, but they are liberal. They lean left. 516 00:29:19,920 --> 00:29:23,359 I listened to the programming as well. I used to 517 00:29:23,400 --> 00:29:26,359 listen to this American Life all the time when I 518 00:29:26,400 --> 00:29:31,079 would drive down the mountain, followed by uh, it's not 519 00:29:31,200 --> 00:29:37,119 space lab, it's a radio lab. Yeah yeah, and this 520 00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,680 American Life. I would listen and at the end of 521 00:29:39,720 --> 00:29:43,640 every episode they would rattle off like seventeen thousand producers, 522 00:29:44,039 --> 00:29:50,920 like Wow, they certainly have a huge payroll. Low. I 523 00:29:50,960 --> 00:29:53,079 mean what we could do with that kind of with 524 00:29:53,119 --> 00:29:57,240 those kinds of taxpayer funded resources. Look, NPR can be 525 00:29:57,759 --> 00:30:01,920 whatever it wants to be, can be whatever they want 526 00:30:01,960 --> 00:30:05,640 to be. I don't care. I do care if you're 527 00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:11,079 going to take my money and support that programming, that's all. 528 00:30:12,400 --> 00:30:16,519 Just compete. It's the same thing with public schools. Just 529 00:30:16,559 --> 00:30:20,160 you know, you can't keep siphoning money out of my 530 00:30:20,519 --> 00:30:23,960 wallet and people who don't listen to that product. You 531 00:30:24,000 --> 00:30:27,000 can't keep taking our money and using it to pay for, 532 00:30:27,319 --> 00:30:31,839 you know, entertainment for you because you like it. That's all. 533 00:30:32,559 --> 00:30:36,279 It's very clear, Like I haven't even talked about like 534 00:30:36,319 --> 00:30:38,720 all of the examples. Maybe I'll play them for you. 535 00:30:38,759 --> 00:30:43,640 Because Senator John Kennedy from Louisiana, he brought out all 536 00:30:43,680 --> 00:30:46,599 of the headlines and he started reading them on the 537 00:30:46,640 --> 00:30:50,640 floor of the Senate during this debate yesterday, headline after 538 00:30:50,720 --> 00:30:53,720 headline after headline after headline after headline. I mean it 539 00:30:53,759 --> 00:30:58,440 was just scores of them, which convey a viewpoint, a 540 00:30:58,480 --> 00:31:02,440 political viewpoint. Again, you are free to do that, this 541 00:31:02,599 --> 00:31:06,720 is America. You are not free, though, to use taxpayer 542 00:31:06,799 --> 00:31:14,119 funds to advance your opinions like that. That's all. Supporters 543 00:31:16,039 --> 00:31:21,160 like Representative Chris Pappis claim that without NPR and PBS 544 00:31:21,599 --> 00:31:24,839 you won't get the local news you need, leaving you 545 00:31:24,920 --> 00:31:29,480 tragically uninformed about life in your community. But as the 546 00:31:29,599 --> 00:31:33,319 Media Research Center has shown and listeners and viewers of 547 00:31:34,200 --> 00:31:38,440 NPR and PBS can attest, public radio and public television 548 00:31:38,720 --> 00:31:44,240 provide very little local news. A review of content found 549 00:31:44,359 --> 00:31:49,119 just five point four percent of daily programming is locally 550 00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:53,279 produced news, and a significant part of that is simply 551 00:31:53,319 --> 00:32:00,759 reading the national news off of the NPR wire. That's it. Now. 552 00:32:00,839 --> 00:32:03,000 That's not to say that they don't produce any news. 553 00:32:03,000 --> 00:32:06,880 Some stations do more, some stations do less. There are some, 554 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,039 I mean up in Asheville, I think there are like 555 00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:14,519 four NPR stations up there. One plays smooth jazz, you know, 556 00:32:15,680 --> 00:32:18,359 and uh, you know, one plays your standard fare of 557 00:32:18,440 --> 00:32:21,519 you know, fresh air Morning Edition all things considered here 558 00:32:21,519 --> 00:32:24,119 in town. You know, they run the BBC and all that, 559 00:32:26,319 --> 00:32:29,440 and they do have local newscasts, but we have local newscasts. 560 00:32:30,240 --> 00:32:34,000 We got breaking Bret Jensen out there. Right. When I 561 00:32:34,000 --> 00:32:36,440 first started at WBT in nineteen ninety nine, we had 562 00:32:36,480 --> 00:32:40,519 five full time reporters here, so local newscasts. And look 563 00:32:40,519 --> 00:32:44,880 at us now, right, we have local programming from what 564 00:32:45,119 --> 00:32:52,279 five am until now nine pm? Right, that's all local. See, 565 00:32:52,440 --> 00:32:55,079 it can be done. So this idea that we need 566 00:32:55,119 --> 00:32:57,799 the money, although it's only such a tiny little part, 567 00:32:57,920 --> 00:32:59,839 but we need it or we can't do what we're doing. 568 00:33:00,160 --> 00:33:03,039 I don't buy it. I don't believe it. I don't 569 00:33:03,039 --> 00:33:05,000 believe it because I work in this industry and I've 570 00:33:05,000 --> 00:33:07,440 been in this industry for thirty years, and I worked 571 00:33:07,440 --> 00:33:11,359 for an NBR affiliate in their membership department, mainly mailing 572 00:33:11,359 --> 00:33:15,359 coffee mugs, yes, doing the daily deposit, and I would 573 00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:20,039 organize all of the food for the fun drives. And 574 00:33:20,279 --> 00:33:22,519 I have no ill will towards NPR. Like I said, 575 00:33:22,720 --> 00:33:25,400 I think some of their content is good. I've talked 576 00:33:25,400 --> 00:33:29,279 about their content they make good the local affiliate and 577 00:33:29,440 --> 00:33:32,519 some of the national programs they do produce good content, 578 00:33:33,880 --> 00:33:36,319 you just can't use my money to do it. That's 579 00:33:36,359 --> 00:33:39,400 all I'm saying. I will listen to other stations, just 580 00:33:39,440 --> 00:33:42,079 don't because they don't use my money. That's all. I think. 581 00:33:42,079 --> 00:33:45,359 It's a very simple standard, you know. But here's a 582 00:33:45,440 --> 00:33:48,480 question that Michael Graham asked in his piece at the 583 00:33:48,519 --> 00:33:51,799 New Hampshire Journal The Nhjournal dot com. We've talked to 584 00:33:51,839 --> 00:33:54,160 Michael at the beginning of the program. He said, so, 585 00:33:54,160 --> 00:33:55,880 what's the point? Why do they fight so hard? And 586 00:33:55,920 --> 00:33:58,079 he says, it's privilege, And he talked about this a 587 00:33:58,079 --> 00:34:04,319 little bit in the interview. It's privilege, right, And there 588 00:34:04,359 --> 00:34:08,119 is a reason why liberals and Democrats and media. But 589 00:34:08,199 --> 00:34:11,280 I repeat myself, there's a reason why they are fighting 590 00:34:11,320 --> 00:34:15,000 so hard to preserve these funds, and why Republicans have 591 00:34:15,199 --> 00:34:19,000 for decades opposed the funds. Why do you think that is? 592 00:34:19,440 --> 00:34:25,039 If NPR was giving a fair shot to Republicans, why 593 00:34:25,039 --> 00:34:26,079 do they want to defund it? 594 00:34:28,159 --> 00:34:28,320 Speaker 2: Right? 595 00:34:28,760 --> 00:34:33,360 Speaker 1: Because they're just speaking truth to power? Okay, yeah, yeah, yeah? 596 00:34:33,400 --> 00:34:37,880 And why do liberals try to boycott commercial stations like 597 00:34:38,000 --> 00:34:38,400 this one? 598 00:34:38,559 --> 00:34:38,679 Speaker 2: Right? 599 00:34:38,719 --> 00:34:41,519 Speaker 1: Why do they hate us? And why to silence conservative 600 00:34:41,519 --> 00:34:45,079 talk radio? They don't like what we are producing because 601 00:34:45,119 --> 00:34:47,360 they find it to be biased against what they believe, 602 00:34:47,719 --> 00:34:50,840 so like, the proof is there. I'm not trying to 603 00:34:50,880 --> 00:34:53,360 convince you that you to stop listening. I'm just saying 604 00:34:53,519 --> 00:34:57,159 you can't deny the bias. All right. That'll do it 605 00:34:57,199 --> 00:34:59,800 for this episode. Thank you so much for listening. I 606 00:35:00,119 --> 00:35:02,360 not do the show without your support and the support 607 00:35:02,360 --> 00:35:05,239 of the businesses that advertise on the podcast, so if 608 00:35:05,239 --> 00:35:07,280 you'd like, please support them too and tell them you 609 00:35:07,320 --> 00:35:09,400 heard it here. You can also become a patron at 610 00:35:09,400 --> 00:35:13,480 my Patreon page or go to dpetecleanershow dot com. Again, 611 00:35:13,719 --> 00:35:16,280 thank you so much for listening, and don't break anything 612 00:35:16,280 --> 00:35:20,880 while I'm gone.