(ProsperNews.net) – National Public Radio (NPR), which receives public funding, has acknowledged it has zero Republicans in editorial posts at its headquarters in Washington, DC. Senior editor Uri Berliner, who concedes that his politics lean to the left, has criticized the institution for its lack of political diversity.
Writing in the Free Press, Berliner said he has opposed NPR’s political positions in the last few years and admits it has a “bias problem.”
Mr. Berliner described how NPR had changed during his 25-year employment there. In 2011, he wrote, the listenership comprised roughly 26% conservative, 23% “middle of the road,” and 37% left-wing. Now, however, it is only 11% conservative, and the vast majority – 67% – are on on the left. “We weren’t just losing conservatives, we were also losing moderates and traditional liberals,” he explained.
The editor furthermore proclaimed that NPR staff were largely devastated by the 2016 election of Donald Trump, and instead of providing unbiased but critical coverage of the US president, the collective decision was to try to bring him down.
NPR interviewed anti-Trump antagonist Rep. Adam Schiff dozens of times about his claims of collusion between the former President and Russia, giving him a veneer of credibility that Berliner admits was unjustified. When the Mueller report found no evidence of such collusion, Berliner acknowledged that NPR sparsely covered it and there was “no mea culpa and no self-reflection” in the aftermath.
Berliner furthermore admitted that NPR refused to cover the Hunter Biden laptop scandal, saying it was “a waste of listeners’ time.” He recalled a meeting during which a journalist he considered principled and unbiased openly stated that not covering the laptop story was a good move because reporting on it could help Donald Trump.
In the wake of the scathing article, Republicans and right-wing figures are demanding NPR is defunded. On his Truth Social media platform, Donald Trump said the network should not receive one more dollar from the American taxpayer.
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