(WatchDogReport.org) – National Public Radio has suspended longtime editor Uri Berliner after he exposed his employer’s “absence of viewpoint diversity” in a rebuke of the news organization.
NPR’s David Folkenflik reported that Berliner’s suspension without pay started on April 12. Berliner published a piece in The Free Press slating NPR’s coverage of Hunter Biden’s laptop and Russiagate. The article also highlighted NPR’s pushing of the theory of systemic racism and suggested the organization downplayed antisemitism following the October 7th terrorist attack in Israel. Berliner told Folkenflik that NPR’s new CEO Katherine Maher is the wrong person for the role after multiple far-left social media posts she wrote before accepting the role were brought to light by the organization’s critics.
Maher, who took on the role in March 2023, has experienced viral exposure for the old tweets, which included an endorsement of Democratic presidential candidates and concern about “white privilege.” She also dismissed Americans being upset about the destruction of property in the May 2020 riots following the death of George Floyd in police custody. Maher defended the old tweets, saying that every American citizen has the right to free speech.
In the article for The Free Press, Berliner commented that he had been with the organization for 25 years and that it lost the trust of the American people when it began “telling Americans how to think.” He claimed that, though NPR had always been liberal, it had once been “nerdy” rather than “scolding” and “activist” in its focus. Berliner dismissed any suggestion from conservatives that the organization had always been reactionary and aggressively far-left, stating that its appeal was once that of a news organization focused on open-mindedness and curiosity, attracting those who just wanted reliable journalism. Berliner slated NPR for its shift in direction, arguing that it no longer possessed such open-mindedness and that. Furthermore, this reflected the political climate of the U.S. as a whole.
Edith Chapin, NPR’s top editor, said she strongly disagrees with Berliner’s criticisms, stating that she is proud of the organization’s work. Berliner’s co-host on NPR’s Morning Edition, Steve Inskeep, claimed that Berliner’s article was rife with assumptions and errors. He argued that if Berliner’s point was that news organizations should focus on broader appeal rather than articles that confirm the writer’s confirmation bias, Berliner’s own piece for The Free Press was an example of what to avoid.
On Wednesday, April 17, Berliner announced that he had resigned from his position with NPR after 25 years with the company.
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