NPR has been faced with a torrent of criticism over its bias and intolerance for opposing views in programming, including a stinging criticism from award-winning editor Uri Berliner. In response, NPR appears eager to fulfill that narrative and has suspended Berliner for speaking with the media. It appears that Berliner’s objections to NPR’s “absence of viewpoint diversity” is a bit too much for NPR to bear.
After Berliner wrote his piece in the Free Press, NPR CEO Katherine Maher attacked Berliner and made clear that NPR had no intention to change its one-sided editorial staff or its coverage. Others at NPR also went public with their criticism of him and falsely portrayed his criticism as opposed to actual racial and other diversity of the staff.
In his article, NPR’s David Folkenflik acknowledges that the Berliner criticism “angered many of his colleagues.”
Berliner gave Folkenflik a copy of the formal rebuke, which told Berliner that the letter was a “final warning” and Berliner would be fired if he violated NPR’s policy again. However, NPR did not cite reportedly specific appearances as violations. The letter lacks specificity on that point, but Berliner will not contest the five-day suspension.
It is clear that NPR and Maher want prior approval of any future discussions with outside media. With a whistleblower, that could present an obvious chokepoint and invite further bias.
I have criticized NPR’s editors of playing such a role in other areas. NPR announced that reporters could participate in activities that advocate for “freedom and dignity of human beings” on social media and in real life. Reporters just need approval over what are deemed freedom or dignity enhancing causes. Presumably, that does not include pro-life or gun rights rallies.
The suspension may satisfy the anger of NPR editors and reporters over Berliner’s detailed accounts of their bias. In conjunction with Maher’s attacks, it is clear that the problem is viewed as Berliner, not the underlying bias. He is one of the few remaining “old guard” journalists at NPR who want greater balance at the outlet. Even that singular voice is too much for the staff. Again, it is reminiscent of what we have seen in higher education where faculties have been purged of conservative, libertarian, or dissenting voices.
NPR obviously has a right to be slanted and bias. It does not have a right to public funding in presenting such coverage.
No, NPR has NO right to be slanted and bias. NPR must be ELMINATED PERMANENTLY from the US budget and all its CommuNazi staff thrown out without any warning or compensation of any kind. The US should not be funding CommuNazi media enterprises.
This is how NPR deals with Whistleblowers and diverse opinions. NPR would have had my respect if they promoted the whistleblower.
Glad they are making the case to end federal funding.
Public media deserves to be funded by the public. Media parroting the state viewpoint does not.
Totally predictable!
While I agree 100% with Berliner, and admire his courage in voicing his concerns, he has a duty to publicly uphold the interests of his employer. Whether the duty is legal or ethical I don’t know. But it’s common sense that employees can’t go around publicly criticizing their employer and expect no retaliation of some kind.
Now NPR is trying to force his resignation. They will likely succeed.
He should have made his criticisms privately. Or resigned concurrently with his public criticism.
His absence will only worsen the culture at NPR. Since he’s likely going to be forced out now, he should have taken the honorable moral high ground and voluntarily resigned at the time of his public criticism.
As it has been pointed out, NPR is funded by the American taxpayer.
Wouldnt that make us, the American taxpayer, his employer?
While I generally agree that loyalty to an employer is important (absent illegal conduct by the employer), this case is different. NPR is a public trust, largely funded by our tax dollars. In those circumstances, I think the employee’s actions were appropriate, particularly as he had been unable to have his concerns addressed by NPR leadership.
Not when public funds are being used to promote one perspective over the other.
O the irony: NPR suspended the person who dared to disagree with the party line.
Yep. NPR is a cult. From that cult’s perspective, they are the enlightened.
In what frigging SANE Universe, would Kat Maher not be fired? Your revenues are down, your listeners, are down, and you are having to reduce staff.
Gee, I wonder if alienating half the population of the country could have anything to do with that? Like several here have said, I used to send a little money NPR’s way, but I stopped. Others have also said that the “news” reporting is so far left, that it is nauseating, and I also have had to turn the radio off during their news broadcasts. It is that viscerally sickening. And unprofessional.
And not a single Republican on the editorial/news staff? How utterly clueless does management have to be to not notice that.
What a lousy, stupid, narcissistic excuse for leadership! Like the British generals during WW1 who just kept sending men into machine-gun massacres. Totally inept. Kat Maher should suspend herself without pay FOREVER!
As long as the lay-offs are not them, nothing will change.
Floyd,
Well said.
Thing is, they are such snowflakes, if they even hired one Republican, they would curl up into the fetal position and claim just the presence of a Republican makes them feel unsafe.
Based off of Uri Berliner’s essay, leadership is not interested in actual diversity but to continue to push for their far left wokeist illiberalism. Just like the NYT, the inmates are running the asylum.
LOL, you hurt my feelings by exposing our extreme bias, I’ll prove your point by suspending you.
Change? Why change perfection?
Cult
1) Absolute authoritarianism without accountability
2) Zero tolerance for criticism or questions
3) Lack of meaningful financial disclosure regarding budget (how much of their budget is from government?)
4) Unreasonable fears about the outside world that often involve evil conspiracies and persecutions
5) A belief that former followers are always wrong for leaving and there is never a legitimate reason for anyone else to leave
6) Abuse of members
7) Records, books, articles, or programs documenting the abuses of the leader or group
8) Followers feeling they are never able to be “good enough”
9) A belief that the leader is right at all times
10) A belief that the leader is the exclusive means of knowing “truth” or giving validation
Are you describing this blog?
No, just Trump supporters.
Nailed it.
NPR is a cult. From that cult’s perspective, they are the enlightened.
In Seattle ~15 years ago, I saw a woman with the NPR logo tattooed on her arm. Yeah, Cult stuff.
So there is two parts to this issue. If any reporter ran off and did his own thing on any news source that embarrassed the publication, would they all face similar punishments. I cannot fathom anyone would be ecstatic if one of their own publicly spilled the in house beans. I tend to think all would be punished in some form. That is how things work.
Now, it is obvious NPR has bias issues and it has become much worse the last few years. What Uri Berliner did was proclaim loudly the emperor has no clothes. Good for him. I always find it funny when one screams about the lack of diversity and then ignores their own sins. The last time I checked, diversity runs both ways.
NPR may want to report the way they want and I actually agree with that thinking. Journalistic freedom is vital. I can even tip my hat to their attitudes towards the lack of diversity. At least they are open and honest about how they feel. Yet, if the Republicans defund them when they claim power back, NPR has no one to blame than themselves.
I have said it more than once, there is a space for opinions in the journalism sphere, it is called the editorial section. The news should be about fact reporting with all sides being presented in analysis. However, when everyone thinks the same way, one becomes blind to the elephant in the room. It is no longer news, but news opinion.
Stating truths will generally get you in hot water at NPR.
The Quiet Man,
Well said.
I noted in another one of the professor’s columns on NPR, I wonder if they are having the real conversation that they are not as diverse as they claim. Should add to that I wonder if they are having the conversation that their reporting is not journalism, but as you point out, news opinion.
Juan Williams 2.0 Both broke the cardinal rule; Thou shalt not show our slimey prog/left side to the world.
This is just too funny!
Uri Berliner just said what everyone already knew. NPR went from slightly classic liberal left to far left illiberal. Their far left bias and slant has gone so far people are tuning out. It is not even journalism but far left propaganda. As I have stated here on the good professor’s blog, I used to listen to NPR from morning till dinner. Then 2016, they clearly went all in on the panel-o-pundits to smear Trump, Republicans, conservatives and anyone to the right of Bernie Sanders. Amazingly it got even worse and they went woke. Even classical liberals thought it was nauseating. Matt Taibbi wrote a great article about how everything at NPR was about race or gender.
If you want real journalism, go to or read from independent media like Glenn Greenwald, Matt Taibbi, Sharyl Attkisson, and The Free Press just to name a few.
NPR, like all institutions whose policies violate natural law, will continue to see a decrease in listenership as their fake Narratives are rejected by an increasing number of people. Maher is the perfect person to lead NPR, and she will drive it further and further from reality and common sense. In other words, NPR will defund itself.
But that’s not true. That’s just the point. Taxpayers will continue to fund NPR even when they have zero listeners. And that is the essential problem.
Would you fight for Putin if he gave you a BJ?
Would you fight for Zelensky if he gave you a reach around?
There are prices that must be paid for standing up for truth and eventually there must be a price paid for standing up for personal acquisition of power at the subjugation of merit!
The false sense of fairness has allowed the “Silent Majority” to become the White Male Oppressor… the “Tea Party” movement was corrupted by the moneyed organizational pull behind the scenes!
President Bush, the Son, failed to win his father a second term, but he learned to team up with the Christian Right and was elected to the Oval Office himself!
He waited until his second turn to pay off the religious supporters and attempted to pick up the slack in the Kennedy-McCain citizenship anointment of illegal immigrants for cheap labor, opening the door to Democrats adoption of dependent voters!
The citizenry that had quelled the Kennedy-McCain attempt of fairness… immediately castigated Bush’s attempt to revive the Bill!
As time goes by and enlightenment spreads, the Myth of Freedom of Speech will be its first casualty.
I’ve already written to my Senators and House Rep regarding the need to defund and remove NPR from the CBP. The taxpayers do not need to support a US equivalent of Pravda or RT.
Action, action, action! Booyah
Will likely get even more ‘journalists’ to keep quiet
than to speak truth to power.
As intended.
-Cat
I support NPR meaning No Public Revenue
Thanks, NPR. Problem solved.