[easterisle]

Good to know! Just wondered if there were any interesting connections here... This American Life is carried on NPR, funded by Bill Gates, doing a hit piece on Apple Factories (which are also Microsoft factories, but this isn't the Agony and Ecstasy of Bill Gates). Definitely there are some financial connections involved given that as you said This American Life is carried on NPR stations but I don't think there was a planned out conspiracy.

If my radio station played Bill and Melinda Gates Underwriting spots, it'd probably influence the culture of the station - does this have any effect on NPR's culture and did it effect the presentation of the story? Payola is a tricky thing...

[evan_]

This American Life is NOT carried on NPR. NPR is not a radio station.

Furthermore, The Bill & Melinda Gates foundation has no connection to Microsoft, and even if it did, it would make no sense for Microsoft to put out a hit on Apple by way of Foxconn: Foxconn makes a lot of hardware for Microsoft.

[eli]

And further furthermore, corporate underwriters do not get to pick the stories covered.

[tg3]

This is quite the stretch. I don't think anyone could reasonably argue influence on TAL editorial decisions by Bill Gates. Yes, his foundation is a donor to NPR which runs on many of the same stations, but anything done by TAL shouldn't have any effect on those donations.