Putting the “public health” back in “public radio”
WDUQ, the NPR affiliate in Pittsburgh, has its home at Duquesne University, a Catholic university. The university has instructed the station to stop accepting underwriting funds from Planned Parenthood.
This question ultimately is about about the place of a Catholic institution to make such demands on media affiliated with it. I do listen to a lot of NPR–always with a critical ear, naturally, but they’re much more balanced than they once were. (Maybe not my local station, but that’s a whole other post.) Public radio underwriters usually aren’t very controversial, and while some people wonder what’s so controversial about low-cost Pap smears, the truth is that accepting advertising from PP doesn’t look good for a station that’s ultimately affiliated with a Catholic university.
(As an aside, though, I’m going to have to start visiting my local PP for health care if I don’t find insurance or a low-cost alternative soon. Sigh.)
