Jeff Jarvis nails the prob­lem with NPR lim­it­ing atten­dance at the Stewart and Colbert ral­lies to staff assigned to cover the event.

In its effort to be hyper­jour­nal­is­tic NPR is being unjour­nal­is­tic. Journalists, prop­erly empow­ered, are curi­ous. They want to know things. NPR is telling them not to ask questions.

It’s ironic that a jour­nal­is­tic insti­tu­tion, seek­ing to uphold ideals of pub­lic ser­vice, would issue such a total­i­tar­ian order. Journalists are peo­ple. People have opin­ions. An inter­nal memo is not going to change that. Nor will it make us for­get that the next time an NPR show comes on the air.