>I am not sure whether the NPR does this to merely fulfill its mandate as the
>empire's mouthpiece for the professional class, or in response to popular
>demand of that class.
Years ago I had Janine Jackson of FAIR on my radio show, to react to one of many right-wing hits on PBS. She argued that the right would never want to shut down PBS - they would just keep beating up on it so that it would move to the right to forestall further attacks. Of course, they'd never move far enough, so the attacks would continue, and the reactive rightward moves would continue. It's working very well with NPR too.
A few years ago, someone recounted to me the experience of working in the public radio network for a progressive midwestern state. The network's execs didn't think much of the intellectual capacity of their listeners - they regarded Harper's and The New Yorker as "over their heads."
Doug