I'm a little over two weeks into my tenure as NPR's ombudsman. That's about 200 emails to the ombudsman, a couple dozen tweets from listeners and one anonymous letter that complained in part about PBS (a separate organization.) For those of you who have sent words of welcome, thank you.
The topics that interest you are all over the map and I'm taking my time to steep myself in them as I get up to speed. Many of you have implored my office to take on more deeply the topic of listener comments, not an ombudsman's standard area of focus. I'm continuing to give the matter some thought. Another matter of longstanding but still urgent interest to some listeners is NPR's policies regarding corporate underwriting spots. I expect to address that subject in an upcoming post.
For today, an issue from the mailbag: In emails to my office and in online comments, many listeners took issue with David Greene's Feb. 4 Morning Edition interview with Jim Prentice, the premier of Canada's Alberta province, regarding the hotly disputed Keystone XL pipeline.
Prentice was introduced as "one of the pipeline's biggest supporters" who was in town to lobby for the pipeline, so it was no surprise that in the interview he did just that. But some listeners wished Greene had pushed back more.
Richard Fireman of Mars Hill, N.C. spoke for many when he wrote that the interview was "a free public relations advertisement for the Keystone [XL] Pipeline," adding that Greene "asked NO hard questions."
In a comment at NPR.org, David Congour, like others, questioned Prentice's assertion that, "if you look forward 50 years there is no one who is seriously suggesting that we will need any fewer hydrocarbons than we do today." Congour wrote: "I can personally think of hundreds of professionals in the renewable energy field who would disagree with him."
Listener Susan DeSilver of Northford, Conn. asked for follow-up interviews presenting opposing viewpoints. She may not have heard the reports, but my search shows NPR has covered many sides of the issue over the five years that it has been in the public eye. While not directly concerning the Keystone XL Pipeline, the Feb. 4 show also covered an environmentally devastating break in a pipeline carrying wastewater from a North Dakota oil-drilling site. The show's producers also tell me an interview with someone from the Natural Resources Defense Council, an outspoken opponent of the pipeline, is in the works.
So that leaves us with the interview itself. Greene told me he believes when an interview subject "says something that is untruthful, or erroneous, then I think there's a responsibility to challenge the person, or not air it, or add a back announce," (in which an error is pointed out in a statement immediately following the interview).
"I don't think this interview fit into this category," he said. As to the premier's prediction regarding the long-term outlook for hydrocarbons, Greene said: "That's his case and I feel like it's a pretty subjective question, not fact-established."
Of the interview overall, he said: "I felt comfortable about the balance struck but I absolutely recognize listeners might not share the opinion." He added: "I like the fact that people are passionate and want to respond."
My view: Prentice, in his responses, seemed highly coached and Greene was nonetheless able to elicit some interesting perspective, notably on the existence of other pipelines that have not provoked the same intense debate. Also, not every interview can re-litigate every side of a thorny subject. (See my predecessor's take on that topic.) But on an issue this divisive, listeners would have benefited from more pushback and context. NPR's blog, The Two-Way, did just that.
Finally, some housekeeping notes: In addition to this blog, you can now find us on Facebook at the NPR Ombudsman page. I'm tweeting from @ejensenNYC. I look forward to the conversation.
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