Hey, NPR: Stand Up for Yourself

Accusations of a liberal slant are raining down on NPR, and its leaders are putting up with it. It’s time for the station to “show some self-respect and fight back,” writes Meghan Daum in the Los Angeles Times. Tell us: “Are you liberal? Are you neutral? Do your office Christmas parties serve only free-range eggnog?” The fact is that “you may not be left-leaning, but you're left-seeming,” and that’s enough for most people to make assumptions.

Indeed, you don’t need to say anything at all to be called liberal; “you could go content-free” and still face accusations. All you need is “that folksy music between segments” and “the warm, earnest quality of the hosts' and reporters' voices,” not to mention their names, which are more “soy chai latte” than Tea Party. So “stop telling us to listen and decide for ourselves,” Daum pleads. “The only recourse is to tell the truth. Do the reporting, show us the answers.” (More Meghan Daum stories.)