My letter to Vermont Public Radio

February 2005
by Gary Beckwith

Dear Vermont Public Radio,

Thank you for contacting me by mail, requesting a donation to support your radio station.

I feel compelled to write back to you and explain why I can no longer support VPR or NPR.

The last election, and the weeks since, have shown me that Public Radio has changed drastically over the last few years. It used to be a place where we could get a "different" or hopefully less biased view of world events than what we hear or read in the mainstream media.

I fear that has changed, and Public Radio has now been adopted by the rest of the corporate media, and alternative views are no longer being presented, at least not on the most important issues of our time.

During the election, I listened to your coverage. I was dismayed to hear your daily reports of the stump speeches by the candidates and the debates. You played soundbytes from both, but rarely, if ever, did I hear any of your commentators say anything when Bush made blatantly false statements. In fact your network was used as a megaphone for Bush lies.

Since the election I have been even more dismayed.

Your lack of coverage of the problems with the election – from voter suppression to the fraud associated with electronic voting machines – is a real mystery to me. In our democracy the integrity of our election is of the utmost importance. It has clearly been called into question, with many experts raising concerns about the voting machines, exit polls, and other related issues. Your coverage passed over this issue like it didn’t even exist. Any time you even mentioned it, it was in the context of a "conspiracy theory" raised by internet bloggers, obviously aimed at discrediting the entire question. This is exactly what we got on the mainstream media.

The problems with the election are real. They are not crazy conspiracy ideas by internet bloggers. Dozens of computer experts, PhD’s, and qualified professionals have been voicing their concerns, but you have refused to acknowledge them or even give them a voice.

Because of your lack of coverage on this vitally important issue, even liberal people who listen to NPR daily are still unaware of the facts and they think our election system is fine. It’s not. And I hold NPR partly responsible for this lack of awareness. When I talk to people about this issue, they invariably respond, "if all this is going on, why don't I hear about it on NPR?"

The integrity of our election system is perhaps the #1 issue in our country today, but you have suppressed the truth by reducing it to a conspiracy theory by internet bloggers. It is becoming more clear to me that NPR is now serving to protect the interests of the corporations who fund it, more than informing the public on the truth.

For these reasons my years of supporting NPR and VPR must now come to an end. I will also be telling everyone I know to stop supporting NPR and VPR for the reasons I have outlined in this letter, which will be posted on many web sites and discussion forums.

I hope that someday you will return to your previous focus of bringing more truthful unbiased coverage to the days events. If and when I see that happening I will reconsider supporting NPR and VPR. You could start by doing a feature series on the problems with electronic voting, and interview some of the experts, like professor Avi Rubin (Johns Hopkins), Dr. Steve Freeman at U of PA, Dr. Webb Mealy, or any of the consortium of PhD’s who have signed the document refuting the exit poll discrepancy explanation given by the networks. Until then I feel obligated to let others know how your organization is failing us and our democracy, and why they should join me in ending my decade long history of sending financial contributions to you.

With deep concerns,
Gary Beckwith

If you agree with this letter, you are encouraged to write a similar one the next time you are approached for money by NPR. You are welcome to use this letter as a template and edit it as you wish.

Note, this article explains what is happening at NPR.

For more information on election fraud, see the Solar Bus Election Justice Center