NPR Critic Suspended Amid Bias Claims

NPR has come under increased scrutiny recently, with a business editor, now suspended, criticizing the network’s coverage and lack of ideological diversity. The editor, Uri Berliner, published an essay in The Free Press, questioning NPR’s liberal bias and its handling of major topics like elections and COVID-19.

In response, NPR suspended Berliner for five days, citing failure to seek approval for outside work. The network’s chief news executive announced plans for monthly meetings to address diversity in coverage. However, NPR faced further criticism when tweets from its CEO, Katherine Maher, resurfaced, including statements about Donald Trump and support for Joe Biden.

Berliner’s essay highlighted concerns about NPR’s progressive viewpoint dominating its staff, noting a lack of ideological diversity. This, combined with Maher’s tweets, has reignited calls to defund NPR. Former President Donald Trump has called NPR a “TOTAL SCAM” and a “LIBERAL DISINFORMATION MACHINE,” urging an end to its funding, while Berliner believes defunding NPR is not the solution.

Despite these controversies, NPR receives only about 1% of its budget from federal funding. Calls to defund NPR have been ongoing since its inception, with past presidents attempting to reduce its funding. However, these efforts have had limited success, with NPR continuing to receive federal support.