NPR Veteran Uri Berliner Reveals How Mainstream Newsrooms Have Lost Credibility
Blind trust in institutions almost always spells disaster. Growing up, I can recall a sense that questioning certain groups was to be less than patriotic.
Donât question military brass; theyâd never lie to the American people. Trust what the evening news and morning paper tell you; itâs the journalistâs responsibility to report the facts and expose wrongdoing.
While there have always been pockets of individuals smart enough to know that questioning institutions and verifying information are a citizenâs right and, in many ways, responsibility, the trend only took off in the last few years. Luckily, there are a few veteran journalists out there willing to speak the truth.
Take NPR veteran Uri Berliner, who went rogue to expose just how left-wing American newsrooms really are.
Down with Trump!
While Iâm not your typical NPR listener, I have listened to quite a bit of NPR for much of my adult life. I enjoyed some of their offbeat stories and cultural takes.
However, like many other moderates, I stopped listening because, as veteran NPR journalist Uri Berliner wrote this week, I got tired of being told what to think. Uri Berliner penned an essay for The Free Press titled Iâve Been at NPR for 25 Years. Hereâs How we Lost Americaâs Trust.
In his essay, he lays out how NPR, while always left-leaning, at one point still had a diverse audience. But, like many news organizations, the introduction of President Donald Trump was the beginning of the end of that diversity.
Mr. Berliner wrote:
ââŠwhat began as tough, straightforward coverage of a belligerent, truth-impaired president veered toward efforts to damage or topple Trumpâs presidency.â
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Itâs clear from his tone that Mr. Berliner isnât a MAGA Trump supporter. Yet, even he was uncomfortable with the coverage of his organization.
His rightful disdain for how NPR approached anything related to Donald Trump is an excellent example of how good journalists should operate. While itâs natural for a journalist to have a political viewpoint, itâs unethical for a journalist to use that viewpoint to guide their reporting.
Itâs about politics, not facts
Mr. Berliner gives examples of how NPR went from a newsroom to a Democrat mouthpiece. On the dedication to the Russiagate debacle at NPR, he wrote:
âIt is one thing to swing and miss on a major story. ⊠Whatâs worse is to pretend it never happened, to move on with no mea culpas, no self-reflection. ⊠Thatâs what shatters trust and engenders cynicism about the media.â
Itâs important to note that NPR wasnât the only newsroom to fail to issue any apology for the Russiagate hoax.
Mr. Berliner continues with the following example regarding the Hunter Biden laptop story.
He writes:
âDuring a meeting with colleagues, I listened as one of NPRâs best and most fair-minded journalists said it was good we werenât following the laptop story because it could help Trump.â
It didnât matter to NPR or those like it that the story was newsworthy; it mattered how it would affect Donald Trump and, perhaps most notably, Joe Biden. Mr. Berliner punctuates the point with this observation on NPRâs COVID coverage:
âAgain, politics were blotting out the curiosity and independence that ought to have been driving our work.â
And therein lies the truth. Mainstream journalism is not about facts or truth-telling but politics and thought control.
Itâs in everything
Unsurprisingly, NPR has become the mouthpiece of the progressive left. According to Mr. Berliner, at the NPR D.C. headquarters, there are 87 registered Democrats in editorial positions and zero registered Republicans.
When Mr. Berliner attempted to bring up what he calls an âabsence of viewpoint diversity,â he was told by a top NPR news executive that:
ââŠshe had been âskeweredâ for bringing up diversity of thought when she arrived at NPR.â
Like many other institutions from science, higher education, medicine, and government â the world of journalism hopped onto the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion train after the death of George Floyd. As Mr. Berliner explains, the NPR union had:
ââŠensured that advocacy groups are given a seat at the table in determining the terms and vocabulary of our news coverage.â
What does Mr. Berliner mean by this statement? He provides the following example:
âIn a document called NPR Transgender Coverage Guidance â disseminated by news management â weâre asked to avoid the term biological sex.â
A scientific term that, if removed from the transgender conversation, eliminates any dissenting viewpoint. Finally, Mr. Berliner states the obvious about NPR today:
âOur news audience doesnât come close to reflecting America. Itâs overwhelmingly white and progressive, and clustered around coastal cities and college towns.â
This exclusive audience directly reflects NPRâs and other mainstream newsroomsâ allegiance to the cult of DEI. Segregating audiences by base characteristics and viewing reporting through a left-wing political lens will always ironically cater to the white elite.
Letâs see how long it takes for NPR to let go of Uri. After all, we donât want any diversity of thought in the news space.
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