Report: NPR Punishes Senior Editor Who Blasted Network’s Leftist Mindset and ‘Angered’ Colleagues

NPR senior Editor Uri Berliner is reportedly facing consequences after publicly criticizing the outlet’s progressive leanings.

According to a Tuesday article by NPR’s David Folkenflik, Berliner has been suspended for five days without pay, a term that began on Friday after he penned an essay for the Free Press.

“It angered many of his colleagues, led NPR leaders to announce monthly internal reviews of the network’s coverage, and gave fresh ammunition to conservative and partisan Republican critics of NPR, including former President Donald Trump,” Folkenflik wrote.

In Berliner’s April 9 essay titled “I’ve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust,” he said, “NPR has always had a liberal bent.” Please click here to read the entire piece.

Berliner continued:

In recent years, however, that has changed. 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.

…

An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America.

That wouldn’t be a problem for an openly polemical news outlet serving a niche audience. But for NPR, which purports to consider all things, it’s devastating both for its journalism and its business model.

NPR later issued a rebuke over Berliner’s criticisms, Breitbart News reported Wednesday, noting NPR’s chief news executive Edith Chapin said in a memo to staffers that leadership rejected his assessment.

“We’re proud to stand behind the exceptional work that our desks and shows do to cover a wide range of challenging stories. 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,” she stated.

The Breitbart article pointed to the fact that Berliner’s essay cited examples of NPR’s coverage that tried to damage Donald Trump’s presidency, put a spin on the coronavirus “lab leak theory,” Hunter Biden’s laptop, and the 2016 Russia hoax “while harboring an obsession with DEI and progressive diktats.”

It is important to note that Berliner also pointed out that NPR employs 87 registered Democrats in editorial positions but no Republicans in the same positions inside its Washington, DC, headquarters, Breitbart News reported April 9.

According to Folkenflik, Berliner told him he did not receive permission from NPR to be interviewed for the story. However, he did not appear to be concerned about what might happen as a result.

He stated, “Talking to an NPR journalist and being fired for that would be extraordinary, I think.”