Open letter to NPR
June 22nd, 2002 byThe following letter was sent to . NPR (National Public Radio) has recently instituted a policy, where they are requiring sites that link to them to ask permission first. Since the web is full of links, and the whole reason for the web in the first place is to share information, this policy is ill-considered.
Hello,
I have always appreciated NPR’s quality programming, as well as the programming of it’s member stations. I started out listening to KRCC in Colorado Springs years ago. Now I listen to NPR online while I am at work at Indiana Univesity in Indianapolis.
In my spare time I run my own website at www.gottahavacuppamocha.com. I put the site online a few months ago after fooling around with it on my home PC for almost half-a-year. The site does not generate much traffic, but it’s a fun hobby, and it gives me a chance to show off the things I do with illustration and 3d graphics. In a sense, the site is about things I like and appreciate. Since I appreciate NPR, I have a link to NPR’s homepage.
However, I think this policy of having to ask permission to link to the NPR webpage is misguided. NPR’s website is a news site, whose reason for being is to provide information about various people, places, things, and events.
If you don’t want people linking to your site, then turn your website into a basic promotional website that only provides information about your organization. No stories. No news. Just information about NPR. I guarantee, if you took away the stories, and just turned it into a promotional tool, the linking would stop because there would be no compelling reason to send people to your site.
But people turn to NPR for news, information, and entertainment. Websites link to NPR because NPR has something that might interest their own readers. It doesn’t matter if it is just a link to NPR’s homepage or if it is deep-linked to an article. NPR is providing information to the public at large. Let’s say some outside site points to an article at NPR and says, “Look. NPR supports us,” even if NPR is just providing it’s usual fair, unbiased reporting. Overall, who cares? People will believe what they want to believe. If they link to the story, most reasonable people, if they read the linked article, will see the unbiased reporting, and just draw their own conclusions. However, to some people, just getting mentioned is a sign of support or advocacy. If you feel your articles are being taken out of context, or your positions are misconstrued, then don’t post yoru stories on the web, and don’t give links to audio or archives.
I am really dismayed by this policy. I appreciate NPR and what it provides to the public, which is why I link to the site. Will I ask for permission to link to the site? No. Will I continue to link to the site? Yes. If NPR continues to insist on permission to link, then I might reconsider the link. I could just as easily link to the BBC, CNN, MSNBC, or any number of news organizations. I urge you to reconsider your linking policy. Let people link to your site and your stories as they want, or take down all interesting information and remove any reason they might have for going there.
Sincerely,
Michael Hawkes
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