This weekend, I wrote a column on the continuing controversy at NPR and the bias detailed in a recent bombshell essay by respected editor Uri Berliner. The company has long been criticized for its partisan coverage, including running debunked stories. Now NPR CEO Katherine Maher has responded and appeared to confirm that the publicly supported media company has no intention to bring greater balance to its coverage or editorial staff.
Berliner detailed the complete exclusion of any Republicans among the editors of NPR’s Washington office and various examples of raw bias in favor of Democratic narratives and claims.
Maher responded to none of these specific points in substance. Instead, she attacks Berliner as “profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning” to his colleagues by calling out the company for its political bias.
In a memo Friday, Maher told the staff that Berliner attacked not only “the quality of our editorial process and the integrity of our journalists” but “our people on the basis of who we are.”
In dismissing the criticism of bias, Maher adopted a spin common on law faculties where Republicans and conservatives have been largely purged. When confronted on the lack of ideological diversity, faculty often express disbelief that anyone would assume that they are biased simply because they continue to effectively bar republicans, libertarians, or conservatives.
Many also insist that there are more important forms of diversity than ideological or political perspectives. The result is the faculties today largely stretch from the left to the far left in terms of diversity.
Maher offered a similar spin while suggesting (falsely) that Berliner was somehow opposed to a diverse workplace:
“It is deeply simplistic to assert that the diversity of America can be reduced to any particular set of beliefs, and faulty reasoning to infer that identity is determinative of one’s thoughts or political leanings. Each of our colleagues are here because they are excellent, accomplished professionals with an intense commitment to our work: we are stronger because of the work we do together, and we owe each other our utmost respect. We fulfill our mission best when we look and sound like the country we serve.”
Maher’s response was hardly surprising. She was a controversial hire at NPR. Many had hoped that NPR would seek a CEO who could steer the company away from its partisan and activistic trend. The prospect could have brought moderates and conservatives back into NPR’s listening audience. Maher, however, was part of that trend.
Shannon Thaler at the New York Post reassembled Maher’s deleted postings including a 2018 declaration that “Donald Trump is a racist” and a variety of race-based commentary. That included a statement that appeared to excuse looting.
She is also quoted for saying that “white silence is complicity.” She has described her own “hysteric white woman voice.” She further stated: “I was taught to do it. I’ve done it. It’s a disturbing recognition. While I don’t recall ever using it to deliberately expose another person to immediate physical harm on my own cognizance, it’s not impossible. That is whiteness.”
She further stated “I grew up feeling superior (hah, how white of me) because I was from New England and my part of the country didn’t have slaves, or so I’d been taught.”
In her latest message, Maher refers to the unique (and controversial) status of being a state-supported media outlet. She noted “We recognize that this work is a public trust, one established by Congress more than 50 years ago with the creation of the public broadcasting system. In order to hold that trust, we owe it our continued, rigorous accountability.”
Yet, she made it clear that both she and NPR will not change or alter the course of the company. Despite a falling audience (that is now composed of almost 70 percent self-identified liberals), Maher made clear that she sees no problem in its exclusion of Republicans as editors or its slanted coverage. Reducing the size and diversity of your audience can be a good thing for editors or reporters if you have the government supporting your budget. You can then play to your smaller audience without any push back on coverage or accuracy.
As discussed in this weekend’s column, the question is why the public should finance this one media outlet over any of its competitors. NPR’s take on the news is largely the same as MSNBC or CNN. That is within its editorial judgment and NPR has every right to slant coverage like many news outlets today from the left or the right. Personally, I wish it would have retained a modicum of balance because I have been a fan of some of its shows. Yet, the media market has changed with consumer demands in favor of more opinion in coverage.
However, unlike those other outlets, NPR is being funded by tax dollars. While dismissing concerns over the exclusion of conservative or dissenting viewpoints, Maher suggests that NPR is still fulfilling its “public trust” with its largely one-sided reporting.
In the end, the real question is not the bias of NPR but the fundamental question of why we should be subsidizing any media outlet. NPR has long held a curious position as America’s de facto state media outlet (with Voice of America). The recent controversy should allow us to have a meaningful debate over the need and danger of a state-funded media.
This column appeared on Fox.com
We fulfill our mission best when we look and sound like the country we serve.”
Elections have shown the nation as close to 50/50 politically speaking. The House and Senate are both deadlocked. The White House is flipping every 4 years.
By CEO Maher’s own metric, she is required to split the political contents of her operation What a laugh riot, right? The left living up to their own standards. . . . what a hoot.
Iowan2,
Their own standards is a pretty low bar for journalism.
Public funded media like NPR inevitably will toe the line of their state funders. Finding NPR has been a priority of the Democrats (not Republicans) for a long time. No surprise that they are an organ of the political left.
Another interesting aspect is that NPR and PBS stations are much more lavishly resourced than are private TV and radio stations. Private media personalities I know are amazed at the lavish studios and equipment of public stations and the salaries of their executives. Most ratio stations are broadcasting from a shack. One show that I appeared on was in three rooms on above a storefront–total floor space couldn’t have been more than 300 sq ft. Clearly they had a $0 budget for cleaning staff. In contrast, I’ve heard that WGBH in Boston has 300 employees.
Maher says she “grew up feeling superior.” What has changed? Apparently nothing. Besides everything else, her inability and unwillingness to even consider that Uri Berliner’s criticisms may be factually based is just embarrassing to all women. Or at least, I find it so. Women have spent centuries trying to prove that we’re not the muddle headed clucking hens of stereotype and then God created this genius and we all retire to our corners to guzzle Starbucks coffee and buy stuff we don’t need at Target, our intellectual mecca. She sails superbly over such petty details as actual facts with supreme arrogance, a sort of intellectual Marie Antoinette crying “Let them eat far left opinions” as we dance on the edge of the apocalypse.
Berliner’s surname reminds me of JFK’s famous quote: Ich bin ein Berliner. He was trying to tell the people of Berlin that he was one of them. According to my high school German teacher, what he actually said was: “I am a sausage.” Either way, Ich bin ein Berliner too.
Back then, a berliner exclusively was a donut.
Ich bin ein berliner
But the germans understood and appreciated what he was trying to communicate. I have that from germans themselves.
They found out how much JFK cared about Berliners when he made no move to prevent the building of the Berlin Wall.
How complicated does this have to be? How far do you have to think into it? Keep it simple:
Who created the government backed NPR model? The Democratic Party.
Who does NPR currently serve with its “its partisan coverage, including running debunked stories”? The Democratic Party.
What organization directly benefits from a broadcasting organization that operates to the “complete exclusion of any Republicans among the editors of NPR’s Washington office and various examples of raw bias in favor of Democratic narratives and claims.” The Democratic Party.
What party’s actions virtually compelled local stations to buy their content from NPR (https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3950550-the-truth-about-nprs-funding-and-its-possible-future/) via law/regulation? The Democratic Party.
If all citizens read this ‘mission statement’ without the mention of NPR, would they guess correctly as to which organization it belonged to?
“Our Mission
The mission of NPR, in partnership with its member stations, is to create a more informed public, one challenged and invigorated by a deeper understanding and appreciation of events, ideas, and culture within the United States and across the globe. To this end, NPR reports, produces, acquires and distributes news, information and other content that meet the highest standards of public service in journalism and cultural expression.”
Clearly, if Uri Berliner is to believed, NPR is grossly failing their mission. And who benefits from such a fake mission statement in the face of LOW standards in “public service journalism? The Democratic Party.
Uri Berliner, you are VERY late to the party (it only took you 25 years to face this problem) but you are still welcome. Unfortunately, it is likely too late to change the course for NPR and avoid the iceberg as their new captain seems intent on collision and going down with the ship.
NPR is yet another example of why government interactions/dependencies with NGOs should be minimized/eliminated.
And to think, if they insisted on fair reporting, they would immediately double the size of their audience. But, they have no commercial interests.
And what does that tell you if they are not wanting to immediately “double the size of their audience”? Such a move would appear to be an advantage but they do not do it. So, one must then ask oneself: If NPR foregoes “fair reporting” and an associated ‘double the size of their audience’, who would benefit? The clear answer: the Democratic Party.
The problem with Prof Turley’s analysis is that he assumes that the NPR staff and leadership accept that there are differing viewpoints and that all sides of an issue should be heard. I think he still believes in a time when issues were “debated” and that you can have differing opinions and still go out for a beer together. The problem with that notion is that the left isn’t really interested in a differing opinion. They have their beliefs, and….I suppose they’ll allow you (for now) to still have yours, but you’re wrong and since you’re wrong, you don’t deserve a public forum. Take any issue out there… Does anyone believe that the left feels that there can be a “debate” over abortion rights? It must be abortion on demand, at any time, and if you think otherwise, you don’t just have a different opinion, you’re wrong. Israel is an imperial, colonizer, if you don’t agree with that position, you’re wrong. And if you’re wrong, why should you have a platform to spread this wrongheaded point of view? Any issue applies, illegal immigration, gun control, reparations, transgenderism, you name it… They really don’t care what you think, if you disagree with any of this, it’s because you are either a racist, a bigot, a xenophobe, or just an ignorant trumper.
Yup. You got it. Aren’t they lovely? They are the true seekers always eager to examine and test every point of view as the fair people they are. They are never closed off to challening ideas/questions like the conservatives they despise. They are the real, genuine, verified intellectuals and theirs is the only thoroughly acceptable point of view.
Even during a global medical crisis, there could not be a differing opinion. There was only one side to COVID, it was caused by a “wet market” and the Chinese govt wasn’t involved, masking and distancing worked, and if you didn’t get the vaccine, you went from “essential worker” to fired very quickly. Even respected scientists that didn’t following the official narrative were silenced. For the left, you cannot let a crisis go to waste. Prager calls liberalism a disease. I think its more a cult. Its their religion. You cannot reason with a zealot, they view the world differently and I doubt they will ever change. I think we are heading for a very serious problem in this country if we’re not already there.
Guess there is no place for DEI at NPR, at least when it comes to thought. Reminds me of an Alanis Moressette Song, “its like rain on your wedding day, a free ride when you already paid”
Maher used overwrouht rhetoric to deflect criticism of her company’s bias. A more common deflection is to suggest that Republicans can’t be hired because they hold objectively false ideas. Joe Patrice compares conservative ideas to belief in a flat earth. A professor at ASU says that Republicans or conservatives would probably teach eugenics. Nonsense is the only possible response to the criticism of media or academic bias because the accusations are obviously true.
Defund the Woke opinion police.
I gave up on NPR years ago. Everything they report on is so far left and self-serving, I couldn’t listen to that trash any longer. Yet, they unflinchingly continue to beg for more government subsidies and tax-payer money so they can continue, quite successfully, to feed the unsuspecting listener with pure propaganda. NPR = controlled content Beware, casual listener!
“It is deeply simplistic to assert . . .” (Maher)
That is exactly the holier-than-thou, Leftist mindset that permits them to create and operate propaganda machines (like NPR, the media, politics, education).
You, the unwashed masses, are too stupid to understand all the mysteries and complexities involved. Your brain is defective. You are incapable of understanding our “higher truths.” Our brain is somehow “enlightened.” Only we can discern those “higher truths.” We, therefore, will dictate and control. You will silently bow.
No surprise. How long before they fire him. So pathetic.
She didn’t even listen to herself, “look and sound like the country we serve.” I hope the ideal of diversity of viewpoint catches on.
NPR will never change. Why should it? It knows that politicians, even those who recognize its bias, will never threaten its funding. The pseudo-intellectual NPR aficionados who seek out NPR for their daily Confirmation Bias fix might say mean things about any politician bold enough, or stupid enough, to do so. The American people, at least the ones who actually exhibit independent thought, are rapidly accepting the fact that the media, with NPR at the top of the list, is dead to them. Irrelevant and without substance. Even so, NPR will continue in its usual fashion. It will remain the mouthpiece of the Left, with all of the funding it could hope for.
Note that nowhere did Ms. Maher state that Mr. Berliner’s comments were false or deliberately misleading. Her comment could be summarized as “He said things that hurt our (her and NPR’s staff) feelings.”
I’m disappointed Turley doesn’t use the word hurtful in his own writing.
The Founders would have been aghast — and deeply saddened — by the elitist, narcissistic arrogance displayed by Maher and the other insects now infesting NPR. At bottom, their indisputable leftist bias it is not what was intended by the First Amendment: the muting of diverse views is the anthesis of freedom of expression and thought.
NPR needs to be defunded, just like brain-dead Democrats seek to defund the police in their deep blue crime cesspools. But the defunding of NPR would be a prophylactic move rather than a masochistic one.
The Founders would have been aghast at the very existence of NPR.
“I’m shocked to learn there are diverse viewpoints.”
Anonymous said: “NPR needs to be defunded”
What needs to be totally defunded is the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Accomplish that, and the NPR issue resolves itself.
All things considered, NPR’s time has come and gone.
It won’t make it in the XM or Internet Streaming Platform.
If the FCC sells the FM spectrum, it would not reach the a sustainable number of Listeners and only exist
on Private Donations and Foundation Grants, and federal government through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
Effectively it would cease to exists with out the FM spectrum and the Government to subsidize it.
The truth about NPR’s funding — and its possible future
By: Howard Husock, Opinion Contributor – 04/17/23
https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/3950550-the-truth-about-nprs-funding-and-its-possible-future/
National Public Radio (NPR)
https://www.influencewatch.org/non-profit/national-public-radio-npr/
I do not watch NPR. I never have watched NPR. I never will watch NPR. I do not care for the one sided coverage of any topic or event!
NPR’s Maher is very typical of the deep-seated self-hatred that permeates liberals with the misfortune of being born white and privileged. They can only sympathize with the victim class by denigrating themselves in a ritual of self-flagellation. Even if they are accomplished and successful in their chosen trade, they lack the luster of success because they are so beholden to their self-imposed misery. It’s a form of penance and salvation for them. They can do little else to appease the demons that lurk within them and mock them on a regular and continual basis. Most of the damage they do to themselves but occasionally an untrained mind might happen upon them and be similarly contaminated. As taxpayers, we surely do not need to subsidize this form of mental illness. NPR has some good programming but its news and editorial role is minimal as it should be and will be as long as the Mahers of the world rule this clan of ideologues.
NPR CEO Maher just doubled-down on NPR’s far-Left bias. She completely missed an opportunity to address NPR’s failings by avoiding acknowledgment of NPR’s role in the Trump-Russia Conspiracy Theory, calling the Hunter Biden laptop a “non-story,” and refusing to consider any discussion of COVID lab leak. Those are serious breaches of trust. NPR is funded in part by the government which makes it “state sponsored media.” NPR does not deserve contributions as long as it does not serve the public interest. And CEO Maher should be fired for mis-managing this situation, deliberately failing in protecting the public interest, and further destroying NPR’s public trust. And the committee that hired her made an enormous mistake.
We continue to fund them because the Democrats are the party of government. In the same way the Blues control the FBI, the iRS, the EPA, and all the rest of the alphabet soup of Washington. Presidents may come and go but the bureaucracy is forever.