NPR: I Wish To Register A Complaint!

[elfs]

It's funny what we find whine-worthy sometimes. Maybe it's just the writer in me being hypersensitive to this kind of crap:

To: the Editors of National Public Radio's All Things Considered
Subject: Your 02/06/08 article on "Beautiful Children"

The report on the writer Charles Bock and his new book, Beautiful Children, was one of the most disappointing I've heard on NPR in a long time. Although reporter Rick Kleffel was effusive with praise, the piece itself lacked any real substance, concentrating on generalities and vague histories without concrete examples. The excerpt read could have come from any dark young adult novel. Most telling was the lack of any supporting, third-party review of the novel.

The piece sounded too much like a bought-and-paid-for puff piece assembled by a publicist and sold to commercial news outlets desperate to fill gaps in their schedule. I've come to expect higher standards from NPR. This piece did not live up to my expectations.

Sincerely, Elf M. Sternberg, KUOW Seattle Member since 2002.

The article in question is Beautiful Children, A Dark Novel of Life in Las Vegas.