‘DEEPLY SIMPLISTIC’

NPR CEO Hits Back at Claims of Wokeism

The outlet will implement network-wide editorial meetings, and a rotating group which will review NPR’s coverage internally.

NPR CEO Katherine Maher hit back Friday after a week of right-wing frothing over one editor’s essay accusing the publicly funded newsroom of having a liberal lean. On Tuesday, Uri Berliner, a senior editor at NPR, blamed the outlet for losing listeners by failing to report on subjects that ignited far-right news cycles, complained about growing diversity initiatives, and decried a “lack of viewpoint diversity.” Donald Trump and Fox News quickly grabbed hold of the editorial, and calls to defund NPR over its wokeism ensued. Maher struck back at critics in a statement on Friday. “It is deeply simplistic to assert that the diversity of America can be reduced to any particular set of beliefs, and faulty reasoning to infer that identity is determinative of one's thoughts or political leanings,” she said. She announced that the outlet would be implementing network-wide editorial meetings, and a rotating group which will review NPR’s coverage internally. She cited the institution’s “curiosity” in pursuing the perspectives, and criticisms, of its many employees across the country.