Follow up now on a story we told you about last week…
NPR has taken action against senior business editor Uri Berliner after he published an essay critical of the network’s editorial decision making and what he described as an over-emphasis on diversity, equity and inclusion in news coverage.
Citing an NPR internal policy which says employees must get permission before working with an “outside” news organization, Berliner was suspended without pay for five days and told if he violates NPR policy again he will be fired.
Berliner’s criticism of NPR is being held up as an example of “progressive bias” by right wing news organizations and has drawn rebukes from many of his colleagues. He is standing by his story.
From a public relations perspective; there is “company policy” and there is common sense. As a PR move, it does not look good for a news organization to suspend someone for publicly voicing their concerns about coverage decisions. A firm, private scolding would have done the job here.
