NPR was reportedly thrown into turmoil after a bombshell essay written by a veteran editor claimed the station had allowed liberal bias to influence its reporting. The editor-in-chief reportedly told the furious staff that he did not want him to become a “martyr.”
Uri Berliner, a Peabody Award-winning journalist who worked at NPR for 25 years, has published essays on major topics such as the origins of COVID-19, the war in Gaza, and Hunter Biden’s laptop. He pointed out the blind spots in journalism regarding news events.Tuesday Free Press, Bari Weiss’ online news site.
The senior business editor also said that NPR’s internal culture places race and identity “at the forefront of nearly every aspect of the workplace.”
Berliner’s essay sparked a storm of criticism from prominent conservatives, and former President Donald Trump called for NPR’s federal funding to be stripped, sparking internal turmoil. The New York Times reported Friday.
The essay was featured in what was described as a “long-scheduled meeting” with the hosts of NPR’s biggest shows on Wednesday, during which NPR Editor-in-Chief Edith Chapin said Berliners should He reportedly said that he did not want to appear on the show. According to the Times, he is a “martyr.”
Some used internal messaging systems to denounce Mr. Berliner’s claims.
“Mr. Berliner’s essay also sent critical Slack messages via some of the same employee affinity groups that focused on the racial and sexual identities he cited in his essay. In one group, several staffers took issue with Mr. Berliner’s points about the lack of ideological diversity, saying efforts to hire more people of color would improve NPR’s journalism.” reported.
Tony Cavin, editor-in-chief of NPR’s Standards and Practices, disputed Berliner’s assumptions, arguing that the essay would likely “make NPR journalists’ jobs more difficult.”
“The next time one of my employees calls a Republican or something and tries to get a response, they’re probably going to say, ‘Oh, I read this article, you guys are being unfair, so I’m not going.’ “To talk to you,” Cavin said.
NPR did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Berliner told the Times on Thursday that he doesn’t regret publishing the essay, that he loves NPR and that he is “broadcasting criticism that has gone unheeded by our leaders for years.” He said he wants to make NPR better.
Calling the station a “national trust” that people trust for its fair reporting and first-class storytelling, he said: The news is being covered. ”
Berliner said he was not disciplined for writing the essay, but that his superiors informed him that NPR requires employees to clear speaking appearances and media requests to the standards and media relations teams. Stated.
Some former NPR employees defended Berliner’s essay.
Jeffrey A. Dvorkin, NPR’s former ombudsman, said Berliner was “not wrong.” NPR’s former editor-in-chief, Chuck Holmes, called Berliner’s essay “brave.”
After the essay was published, Berliner said, “I received tremendous support from colleagues, many of whom I had not expected, who told me that they agreed with me.”
“Some of them say this in private.” Berliner told NewsNation anchor Chris Cuomo on Tuesday.
Chapin pushed back on Berliner’s claims of liberal bias, saying he was “proud to support the extraordinary work our desks and programs are doing to cover a wide range of challenging stories.”
