Over the nearly three years that I’ve written this column, I’ve tried to stay clear of politics. Even when commenting about an article or publication that has a slant, my goal has been to find an interesting broadcasting or research angle. What I think about an issue shouldn’t matter to you. That includes public broadcasting.
I’m not a regular user of public broadcasting — or for that matter, an irregular user — thus I’ve had no reason to comment here beyond challenging the question wording used in a study supporting NPR, or when I called “BS” on those who thought the services would die with the end of federal funding.
Both columns were based on research, not what I felt about the services. Since the end of the subsidy and the closure of CPB, public radio and TV remain on the air, although some people lost their jobs, some programs have ended, and there has been some consolidation. Those of you in the commercial media world know how that works.
A key reason that public broadcasting lost federal funding was the perception of bias. Many conservatives feel that the journalistic side, especially public radio, is biased leftward. True or not, occasionally the organizations can offer ammunition to their critics, even the music services.
A case in point is The Current, the AAA music service from Minnesota Public Radio. Last summer, when I took over as faculty advisor for WWHR-FM, Western Kentucky’s student radio station, I looked into The Current. Since WWHR is under the oversight of WKU Public Media, we have a relationship with that world, and my understanding was that The Current had some great programming that might fit for overnights when we wouldn’t have students available for airshifts. I didn’t know if The Current syndicated their programming or not, so I checked the website.
You can find out a great deal about organizations if you dig into their websites, and something in The Current’s website struck me as odd. If you click the “About” link and continue down the page, you’ll find the MPR Music Service EIDA Statement, which has not changed since I first read it last year. Here’s chapter and verse:
“Equity, Inclusion, Diversity & Access (EIDA) are critical to our mission to serve our audiences.
We acknowledge that the music industry in all its forms, including those at MPR, have long benefited from and contributed to systems of oppression and white supremacy.
To that end, we, the music services at Minnesota Public Radio, are united in our commitment to our audiences to transform ourselves into antiracist organizations that can lead change across Minnesota.
Equity, Inclusion, Diversity, and Access at The Current and Classical MPR starts in our workplace and extends to every region we touch, and we will use our resources and platforms in an impactful and responsible way.
We pledge to develop a better understanding of bias and injustice through training, listening, analysis, and structural change. We will build bridges to those who feel unheard … Additionally, we will distance ourselves from those who do not share our values of inclusivity and anti-racism.
The music services at MPR will work diligently to listen, learn, and incorporate activities that improve our delivery of inclusive, equitable, and diverse content, programming, and dialogue that better represents the diversity of our world.”
The same statement appears on the MPR Your Classical website. The MPR News website has no EIDA statement, but the simple tagline “Stay Curious. Stay Connected” — which seems “right” for a journalistic endeavor.
One can argue about whether MPR Music’s EIDA statement remains appropriate in 2026, but Minneapolis was the epicenter of the George Floyd protests of 2020, given that he was murdered there. Any number of organizations put out “anti-racist” or diversity statements around that time, many of which eventually disappeared.
What struck me was the line “…we will distance ourselves from those who do not share our views of inclusivity and anti-racism.” In other words, if you don’t agree with us — even if you like our music — please go away. You’ll have to get your Kacey Musgraves or Mozart somewhere else. Do the MPR music services ask potential contributors if they own or have read books by Ibram X. Kendi or Robin DiAngelo as a litmus test? Is it necessary to include that line? The services’ stance is crystal clear without it.
I tried to find another media equivalent. If you dig into the Fox News website, you’ll find: “Fox News Media offers its audiences in-depth news reporting, along with opinion and analysis encompassing the principles of free people, free markets, and diversity of thought, as an alternative to left-of-center offerings of the news marketplace.” It’s clear where Fox stands, but they don’t tell liberals or progressives to watch something else.
MS NOW doesn’t have anything that I could find saying “conservatives go away.” I checked Eternal Word Television, the major Catholic network, to see if they were telling non-Catholics to either convert or leave, but all I could find was a history of their operation. If you look at the Pacifica Foundation’s website, the mission statement about their radio operations is essentially “peace, love, and kumbaya.” Perhaps there is another broadcast entity out there that tells those who don’t agree to go somewhere else, but I’ll leave that more extensive research to others.
My guess is the statement was written in 2020 at the height of the protests. Perhaps it’s time for MPR’s leadership to do a thoughtful review. Some free advice: Don’t tell listeners to find somewhere else to spend their valuable media time.
Let’s meet again next week.
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