By David Vitrano

L’Observateur

LAPLACE – A couple of weeks ago a scandal rocked the airwaves at National Public Radio, or NPR as it is better known.

When NPR Foundation President Robert Schiller was secretly videotaped making disparaging remarks about Tea Party members, many questioned whether it was appropriate for someone from an organization partially funded by federal dollars to make such statements.

In the end, Schiller, along with his boss, Vivian Schiller, were separated from their positions, but still the questions about future funding for the organization lingered.

With its many implications about the nature of media itself, the issue prompted L’Observateur to ask visitors to its website last week what they thought about the matter.

The results came down overwhelmingly against the organization, which is the radio version of PBS.

More than two-thirds of respondents said they thought NPR should be totally defunded by the federal government, an act that would leave funding entirely to sponsorships and listener donations.

Coming in second with nearly 20 percent of the vote was a choice on the opposite end of the spectrum — media professionals should be allowed to voice their opinions as long as it does not interfere with their jobs.

One-tenth of respondents believe NPR should be reprimanded in some way that does not involve funding.

Finally, less than 5 percent thought the organization should be partially defunded or had an opinion on the matter not represented in the choices.

A full breakdown of results follows:

• 67 percent of respondents chose “I think the federal government should stop giving all funding to NPR.”

• 2 percent of respondents chose “I think an entire organization should not be penalized for one person’s actions, but the federal government should still partially de-fund NPR.”

• 10 percent of respondents chose “I think NPR should be reprimanded and put on some type of warning, but the offending person has resigned, so no financial retribution is necessary.”

• 18 percent of respondents chose “I think those in the media are entitled to their opinions and should not be punished for expressing them as long as their opinions do not affect the way they do their job.”

• 2 percent of respondents chose “Other.”