Damage Control - NPR Style
Segment # 140
I am not a damage control expert; however, in my humble opinion I can’t imagine a worse response. This is like ripping the bandaid off, jammng a knife into the open wound and then asking if it hurts. Uri Berliner for all his courage to speak his well-known opinions publicly, is toast. Again Berliner will be the gift that keeps on giving as NPR instead of showing some humility will continue to trash Berliner and Bari Weiss further enlarging their megaphones. My prediction is both testifying before the House before the election.
NPR has also sent a very clear message to 50% of the country, which is everyone from the center to the right of center, that they don’t want their support. This time NPR and unfortunately PBS will probably succeed in killing both private and public support for much of the great programming that has traditionally added a great deal to what commercial TV has produced. At a time when funding is becoming more difficult not less difficult, it would suggest a real inability to read the room when you go out of your way to undercut both private and public donors.
NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, wrote in a memo to staff Tuesday afternoon that she and the news leadership team strongly reject Berliner's assessment.
"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."
NPR fires back at editor who decried organization for 'telling listeners how to think'
by JACKSON WALKER | The National Desk
Wed, April 10th 2024 at 1:26 PM
FILE - The headquarters for National Public Radio (NPR) stands on North Capitol Street on April 15, 2013, in Washington. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak, File)
WASHINGTON (TND) — Media giant NPR on Tuesday issued a response to a scathing editorial by a senior editor at the publication.
Uri Berliner has worked at NPR for 25 years and currently serves as business desk senior editor. He openly lambasted the organization in an editorial for The Free Press, saying it has taken on a wildly liberal skew in recent years.
"An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don't have an audience that reflects America," Berliner wrote. He claims this has led to “the absence of viewpoint diversity” at the organization, with NPR "telling listeners how to think."
Edith Chaplin, NPR’s chief news executive, addressed the comments in a memo to staff Tuesday, saying Berliner’s comments only reflect a broadening of priorities in a turbulent media landscape.
"We're proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories," she wrote. "We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world."
NPR went on to describe “heated pushback” in its workplace toward Berliner and described a loss of trust in the editor for voicing such opinions.
“Given Berliner's account of private conversations, several NPR journalists question whether they can now trust him with unguarded assessments about stories in real time,” it wrote. “Others express frustration that he had not sought out comment in advance of publication.”
NPR also acknowledged criticisms of hosting zero Republicans in editorial positions. The organization blamed this on former President Donald Trump, who it says alienated conservative Americans. In turn, NPR says it changed its editorial staff to reflect its American audience.
"On radio, we were really lagging in our representation of an audience that makes us look like what America looks like today," NPR's former CE, John Lansing said. “The U.S. looks and sounds a lot different than it did in 1971, when NPR's first show was broadcast.”
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