Uri Berliner, a senior business editor at National Public Radio (NPR), caused a scandal in the US media world Tuesday when he published a “whistleblower” open letter accusing his network of catering to a limited, left-of-center perspective to influence the audience’s worldview at the expense of facts. This claim prompted a strongly-worded response from NPR’s editor-in-chief, Edith Chapin, aiming to defend the station’s editorial practices.
Berliner’s critique, which was published through ex-New York Times‘ reporter Bari Weiss’ outlet The Free Press, centered on the assertion that NPR, which receives partial public funding, ought to represent the country’s citizenry at large. Instead, it has seen a decline in trust from the public due to a perceived narrowness in viewpoint diversity and a strong focus on diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs. These DEI programs were heavily supported by NPR’s labor union, SAG-AFTRA, which demanded all employees use the “current language and style guidance from journalism affinity groups.”
He suggests that this approach has shifted NPR’s culture, and consequently its audience composition no longer reflects the wider ideological spectrum of the United States.
Data presented by Berliner indicates a change in NPR’s audience demographic over time, with a noted decrease in conservative and moderate listeners and an increase in those identifying as liberal. He describes this shift as concerning for a public broadcaster that aims to serve the entire population.
“Our news audience doesn’t come close to reflecting America. It’s overwhelmingly white and progressive, and clustered around coastal cities and college towns.”@uberliner, a 25-year veteran at @NPR, on what went wrong at the prestigious news organization. https://t.co/EclQJO838a
— The Free Press (@TheFP) April 9, 2024
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Berliner also criticized the company for its credulous presentation of the Trump-Russia investigation (noting NPR interviewed Democratic Rep. Adam Schiff about the story 25 times), its suppression of the New York Post’s Hunter Biden laptop story, its one-sided reporting on the origins of COVID-19, and its over-zealous embrace of the idea that America is a systemically racist country during the George Floyd riots.
In response, NPR’s editor-in-chief Edith Chapin wrote a letter to the staff on Tuesday afternoon emphasizing the organization’s commitment to DEI principles.
“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.”
However, she also welcomed internal debate, writing: “None of our work is above scrutiny or critique. We must have vigorous discussions in the newsroom about how we serve the public as a whole.”
Ironically, in the Free Press article, Berliner had praised the arrival of Katherine Maher, a leader from the tech world who was promoted to CEO just weeks ago, hoping she would embrace viewpoint plurality.
Shane Devine is a writer covering politics and business for VT and a regular guest on The Unusual Suspects. Follow Shane’s work here.
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