National Public Radio (NPR) senior business editor Uri Berliner, who recently accused the platform of destroying its reputation with an unacceptably limited left-wing perspective, has officially resigned from the company.
Berliner announced his resignation on X, highlighting the fact that he spent 25 years at the company but saying he could not continue to work under a “divisive” CEO.
My resignation letter to NPR CEO @krmaher pic.twitter.com/0hafVbcZAK
— Uri Berliner (@uberliner) April 17, 2024
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This follows from his five-day suspension without pay after the new CEO, Katherine Maher, called his letter “profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning.” In his open letter, published through Bari Weiss’ The Free Press, Berliner lamented that the outlet’s leftward drift alienated its moderate and conservative leaders, and attributed its increasingly progressive bias with the organization’s numerous internal DEI boards that regulate content policies.
Berliner had hoped the arrival of Maher could help spur a sea change, citing her background in the tech world as evidence she could focus on efficiency rather than polemic, but his hopes were dashed when she responded without sympathy.
Matters were made worse when Chris Rufo, a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute, shined the spotlight on Maher’s past tweets in which she routinely expressed far-left viewpoints.
According to NPR, Berliner was suspended in part because his comments “gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, including former President Donald Trump,” in addition to angering their colleagues and forcing them to implement a new content review session each month.
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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