Media
NPR Backlash Over Systemic Bias Govt funding at risk after veteran editor blows whistle on one-sided reporting.
He was suspended, soon saw the writing on the wall, and resigned. But if NPR leaders thought Berliner’s exit would mollify
T BY DAVID A. PATTEN
he tally was 87–0. That’s the number of registered Democrats ver-
sus registered Republicans working in the news- room of National Public Radio, according to one of
its former veteran editors, Uri Berliner. Berliner’s revelations in April of systemic bias at NPR
could spell big trouble for the network, that received an estimated $12 million from taxpayers in 2023, if Republicans gain control of Congress in November. Several GOP lawmakers have already demanded its fund-
ing be yanked over blatant viewpoint discrimination. Exposing the systemic bias at the radio network cost Ber- liner his job. “An open-minded spirit no longer exists
within NPR,” Berliner declared in April, blow- ing the whistle after a 25-year-long NPR career. Berliner went on to publish evidence on
BERLINER
The Free Press website that NPR now refl ects the “worldview of a very small segment of the
U.S. population.” NPR programming is heard on more than 1,000 stations
across the U.S. The share of its listeners who describe them- selves as “very liberal” nearly doubled from 2011 to 2023, from 37% to 67%. After the George Floyd killing in May 2020, “white privi-
lege” and diversity became a fi xation of NPR management and viewpoint diversity was all but silenced, he wrote. NPR completely whiff ed on its coverage of the now- debunked Russiagate story, the Hunter Biden laptop revela- tion, and the lab leak theory of COVID-19. But rather than admit its biased blunders, he wrote, NPR editors did their best to ignore them. He cited a Harris Poll that found only 3 in 10 Americans
found NPR “trustworthy.” The New York Times and CNN rated even lower. “NPR is targeting this tiny fringe,” notes Newsmax
author and columnist James Hirsen, “and yet all working Americans are paying for it to some extent.” Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Berliner’s broad-
side: his own impeccable, left-leaning pedigree. A 25-year veteran of public radio, he says he was raised
by “a lesbian peace-activist mother” and “eagerly” voted against Donald Trump twice. Yet he found the pervasive worldview at NPR insuff erable. The reaction at NPR seemed almost intended to prove Berliner’s point that NPR frowns on viewpoint diversity.
40 NEWSMAX | JUNE 2024 % TRUST GREAT DEAL/FAIR AMOUNT 1998 2003 2008 2013 2018 SOURCE:
News.Gallup.com, “Media Confidence in U.S. Matches 2016 Record Low,” Oct. 19, 2023 2023
the public frustration, they were grossly mistaken. Instead, the scrutiny shifted to NPR’s new CEO Kather-
ine Maher, 41, who claimed Berliner’s exposé was “hurtful and demeaning.” She also asserted in a Wall Street Journal interview that “our journalism is really solid.” In his letter of resignation, Berliner wrote, “I cannot work
in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confi rm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay.” Maher, formerly the executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation that runs Wikipedia, soon found herself under fi re for past statements and social media posts suggesting she doesn’t believe in absolute truths, and may support cen- sorship of so-called “misinformation.” Christopher Rufo, the Manhattan Institute senior fel-
low who played a key role in exposing critical race theory throughout the United States, shared a video of Maher stat- ing that her “No. 1 challenge” in combatting disinformation was “the First Amendment in the United States.” This troublesome Constitution, she suggested, made it
more diffi cult to censor those who post “bad information.” Who would be the arbiters of what constituted good or bad information remained unclear. But Rufo unearthed a video of Maher stating she had
Trust in Media — How Low Can It Go?
N
PR isn’t the only mainstream media outlet getting a Bronx cheer when it comes to credibility. Just ask the
Gallup polling organization. Gallup has been surveying Americans annually since 1997
to determine their level of trust in the mass media. And you might say things appear to be going from bad to worse.
55%
32%
BERLINER/SEAN ZANNI/PATRICK MCMULLAN VIA GETTY IMAGES
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