John, this donation ought to be seen in the same light as if Richard Mellon Scaife left $200 million to NPR. That would be seen as a scandalous attempt to politicize NPR and change its “nonpartisan” character, an attempt to pressure public radio into a dangerously partisan direction. Joan Kroc is hardly seen as a Scaife, although she has been not only a major funder of the Democrats, but also spent the 1980s endowing “peace” groups striving to keep “peaceful coexistence” with the Soviet empire afloat.
As for the Post’s attempt at explaining NPR economics, that is classic public-broadcasting smoke and mirrors. Too bad we couldn’t have the new Wall Street public-accounting sharks at the SEC try to explain how the NPR books are a politicized jumble.
