Thread: DHS spots on NPR raise ire

Imagine....advertising to help enforce our immigration laws....the nerve!


DHS spots on NPR raise ire

December 21, 2008 - 10:36 PM
By Laura Tillman/The Brownsville Herald

While spots at the end of National Public Radio programming are usually met with little response, underwriting credits announcing support from the U.S. Department of Homeland Security have had many listeners shaking their heads.



"Support for NPR comes from NPR stations, and the Department of Homeland Security," the announcer says, "offering E-Verify, confirming the legal working status of new hires. At D-H-S dot gov slash E-Verify."



E-Verify plugs employers into government databases to check whether an individual is eligible to work in the United States.



In the Rio Grande Valley, where listeners have witnessed the ongoing struggle between DHS and local landowners and legislators over the impending U.S.-Mexico border fence, and where many have friends or relatives who are undocumented, the ads can be especially jarring.



NPR spokeswoman Anna Christopher says that while the ads may not sound like typical radio commercials, announced instead by an NPR employee, there should be no mistaking them for anything else.



"There is a strict firewall between corporate and editorial (at NPR)," she said, signifying that advertisers would never exercise control over program content. The spots, she said, do not violate any of NPR's guidelines for advertisers, and NPR has regularly accepted support from government agencies in the past.



"By having them as an underwriter, we're not endorsing E-Verify," she said.



This isn't obvious to some listeners, who have criticized NPR for accepting funding to advertise the controversial program since the ads began running last month. The exact amount of money exchanged will be published in NPR's annual report, which is not yet available.



NPR's Ombudsman Alicia Shepard said she received more than 60 letters in response to the spots - a considerable sum on a single topic - primarily in protest. Shepard wrote a column on the topic and hosted a live online forum to answer listener questions.



Critics questioned the relationship between DHS and NPR and took particular issue with E-Verify.



According to the National Immigration Law Center, E-Verify relies on government databases that already have high rates of error, including Social Security databases with a 4.1 percent error rate. DHS has said the program is ready, and employers will be required to begin using it to check the legal status of employees on federal contracts of $100,000 or more in January, according to The Washington Post.



"To allow DHS to buy underwriting on NPR is for NPR to be complicit (in) supporting racist policy (and) civil rights abuses," NPR listener Ben Jones wrote in response to Shepard's column.



Other listeners argued that agreeing to air the ads, while not directly endorsing the program, perpetuates an imperfect program.



"NPR should be ashamed of itself for accepting money from DHS to advertise this flawed system," wrote Patrick Crowley, another listener. "Institutionalizing racial profiling is a horrible use of federal power and should end now. Do the right thing NPR! Drop the funding!"



Some listeners offered their support for the ads.



"If taking underwriting from DHS reduces the need for on-air fund drives. what's the problem?" said Rick Evans.



Perhaps nowhere is such an ad more unsettling than in the Latino community, where the U.S. Border Patrol and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (both under the umbrella of DHS), are sometimes unwelcome entities that enforce immigration law.



Bishop Raymundo Peña, of the Catholic Diocese of Brownsville which owns the local NPR affiliate KMBH, commented that although the station does not interfere with NPR's underwriting decisions, "The bishops ... call for a more rational and humane system by which laborers from other countries can enter the country legally to fill positions in the labor force, including on a temporary basis."



Peña has testified before members of Congress in opposition to the border fence.



"I (also) heard from station managers," Shepard noted. "That is definitely a red flag for me."



Programs that frequently criticize immigration policy say that the ads are a bizarre cap to their segments.



"We were uncomfortable (with the ads), especially given the amount of attention we give to immigration issues," said Alex Avila, the senior producer of Latino USA, a Texas-based program distributed by NPR.



Avila and his staff took their concerns to NPR.



"(The spot) sounded like it was specifically talking about a controversial policy," Avila said. "That to me is the stuff that journalism is about, to deal with controversial policies."



In the end, the firewall that protects the corporate side of NPR from interfering with editorial decisions was precisely the mechanism that prevented editorial staff from rejecting the underwriting spot.



Despite the disagreement that listeners might have with the DHS funding, Shepard noted that the spots are technically no different from past advertisements for other federal programs or private products. Concerned listeners may not realize that although NPR doesn't seem like a typical media outlet, it has the same financial needs of any company, she said.



"NPR is a public entity, yet it's competing in a private sphere in terms of getting sponsorship. It's difficult," Shepard added. In fact, as recently as Dec. 11, NPR announced it would cut 64 positions and two programs, echoing the nationwide economic decline.



After investigating the issue as the company's ombudsman, Shepard remains unconvinced that there is anything wrong with airing the spots.



Affiliate stations have no choice in running the ads, which will continue running until Feb. 9.

www.brownsvilleherald.com

I wonder how much funding from NPR comes from LULAC, Southern Poverty Law Center et. al.?

NPR Ombudsman
Alicia C. Shephard

Should NPR Run Funding Credits from the Department of Homeland Security?

[quote]“Support for NPR comes from NPR stations, and the Department of Homeland Security, offering E-Verify, confirming the legal working status of new hires. At D-H-S dot gov slash E-Verify.â€

Contact info for NPR:

http://www.npr.org/contact/

May 16, 2008
[b]Debunking the “E-Verify Error Rateâ€

Thank you Populist....good work finding those links.

Very interesting! Just this week I was listening to our local radio and I did a double take at the radio as an E-Verify commercial came on sponsored by Homeland Security. Maybe it was the same spot.

It came on during the syndicated show of Dave Ramsey, a financial guru. I think I'll email and thank him. Then I'll email and thank NPR for having these spots on. Very valuable information that more employers need to know about.

Oh, and I pray that NPR does not bow down to the pressure by these groups. It's a government sponsored program that works and will open up jobs for millions of needy Americans.

Go to the NPR Omnbudsman article. There is not one post of support. Hasn't the error rate been improved? They are quoting 96 %.

http://www.npr.org/ombudsman/2008/11/co ... edits.html

"By having them as an underwriter, we're not endorsing E-Verify," she said.

All taxpayer dollars should be pulled from NPR until they do endorse following the law.

According to the National Immigration Law Center, E-Verify relies on government databases that already have high rates of error, including Social Security databases with a 4.1 percent error rate.

This is a VERY TINY percentage rate. The odds of getting struck by lightening are higher than the error rate.

"To allow DHS to buy underwriting on NPR is for NPR to be complicit (in) supporting racist policy (and) civil rights abuses," NPR listener Ben Jones wrote in response to Shepard's column.

Racist? What is racist about a program that checks the identity of potential employees? EVERYBODY has to prove who they are when applying for work. No one is using E-Verify to distinguish between race, color, ethnic background, or sexual preference. So what is racist about it? E-Verify checks the status of the potential employee. Its safe and it works.