NPR Radio editor quits after being suspended over essay
NEW YORK »A National Public Radio editor who wrote an essay criticizing his employer for promoting liberal views resigned on Wednesday, a day after it was revealed that he had been suspended.
Uri Berliner, a senior editor on NPR’s business desk, posted his resignation letter on X, formerly Twitter.
NPR would not comment on the resignation. Its head of public relations said the organization does not comment on individual personnel matters.
While Berliner said that he wishes NPR to thrive and do important journalism, he wrote that “I cannot work in a newsroom where
I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm” problems that he discussed in his essay.
Katherine Maher, a former tech executive appointed in January as NPR’s chief executive, has been criticized by conservative activists for social media messages that disparaged former President Donald Trump. The messages predated her hiring at NPR.
Berliner, who wrote his essay for the online Free Press site, had been suspended without pay for five days for violating the company’s policy that it must approve work done for outside organizations, NPR reported on Tuesday.
Berliner was told he violated the company’s policy that it must approve work done for outside news organizations.
Berliner told NPR that he was not appealing the suspension.
He wrote his essay last week for The Free Press. Berliner wrote that NPR has always had a liberal bent, but for most of his 25-year tenure had an openminded, curious culture.
“In recent years, however, that has changed,” he wrote. “Today, those who listen to NPR or read its coverage online find something different: The distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population.”
His commentary became an instant hit with outside conservative activists who have made similar criticisms of NPR. He specifically criticized his employer for its coverage of former President Donald Trump, of accusations against the president’s son, Hunter Biden, and of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Following publication, NPR’s top editor, Edith Chapin, said she strongly disagrees with Berliner’s conclusions and is proud to stand behind NPR’s work.
One of his NPR colleagues, “Morning Edition” co-host Steve Inskeep, wrote on Substack Tuesday that Berliner’s essay in The Free Press was filled with errors and assumptions.
“If Uri’s ‘larger point’ is that journalists should seek wider perspectives, and not just write stories that confirm their prior opinions, his article is useful as an example of what to avoid,” Inskeep wrote.