NPR CEO Vivian Schiller Resigns

[Zephie]

Source: NPR

NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller has resigned, NPR just announced.

This follows yesterday's news that then-NPR fundraiser Ron Schiller (no relation) was videotapped slamming conservatives and questioning whether NPR needs federal funding during a lunch with men posing as members of a Muslim organization (they were working with political activist James O'Keefe on a "sting.")

Vivian Schiller quickly condemned Ron Schiller's comments, and he moved up an already-announced decision to leave NPR and resigned effectively immediately. But Ron Schiller's gaffe followed last fall's dismissal of NPR political analyst Juan Williams, for which Vivian Schiller came under harsh criticism.

Read more: http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/03/09/134388981/npr-ceo-vivian-schiller-resigns

---

Statement from NPR at link, as well as an additional update which implies she may have been forced out, not resigned.

[PA Democrat]

1. When will the MSM cover the fact that O'Keefe is a white supremacist?

That racist piece of shit needs to be exposed.

http://www.salon.com/news/james_okeefe/index.html?story=/news/feature/2010/02/03/james_okeefe_white_nationalists

[fascisthunter]

3. how is it even possible he gets away with this shit?

[fittosurvive]

9. As we saw with the Koch phone call, this type of stuff is permissible

when it comes to publicly known figures.

[JackRiddler]

26. Walker wasn't edited deceptively to make him say anything he didn't.

The full unedited conversation was released.

[fittosurvive]

32. Like the ACORN episode, it was misleading; nevertheless,

it was perfectly legal.

[JackRiddler]

35. Please make a case: How was the presentation of the Walker phone call misleading?

The fake Koch misled Walker.

Walker spoke to his beloved sponsor from the heart, and didn't dare deny or take back a thing in retrospect.

The trickster immediately published an unedited version of the whole phone call. No deceptive editing. Also no pretending: the trickster admitted to the trick soon as he made it public. He tricked Walker, then provided a full accounting to us.

...

By contrast, O'Keefe didn't actually get footage that incriminated ACORN in any wrongdoing. He therefore engaged in deceptive editing. He created lies: the falsehood that he had showed up at ACORN offices in the pimp outfit. The falsehood that ACORN people had suggested any illegal activities. He did not. They didn't. Everyone got the impression otherwise.

[fascisthunter]

30. what he did to ACORN should never have been permissable

and is not even in the same league. Just look at the results of each. Also, what Jack said above.

[fittosurvive]

34. It doesn't matter, undercover media (term used lightly) investigations like this are legal.

[defendandprotect]

37. Not a question of what's "legal" -- question of full facts, full information which defeats O'Keefe -

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

7. I doubt that NPR (or anyone else) will even bother with this. That's too damn bad. nt

[forty6]

15. Talk of the Nation, radio show at 11 AM Eastern, just spent the last hour

covering this whole fiasco, complete with audio clips from the sting, etc.

Call-in show ! Several people brought up O'Keefe's background and style.

This sting will KILL federal funding for NPR from now on, just as it killed ACORN. my opinion

[alp227]

24. isn't that show on 2PM Eastern? maybe you're talking about another show n/t

[Guy Whitey Corngood]

28. I was referring specifically to O'Douche's racism and racist connections. but if they covered that.

That's great. Federal funding will probably be gone before the end of the year and NPR will have to depend on corporate sponsors who will make them toe the line from then on.

[Uncle Joe]

21. I highly doubt they ever will as the corporate media's primary agenda and that of O'Keefe

mesh too well.

The Prime Directive is the destruction of all things public on behalf of promoting corporate supremacy over the American People.

O'keefe may be harsh and boorish in his approach while most of the corporate media is more subtle but ultimately their goals are the same.

[ananda]

2. Yeah.

I don't see why anyone should resign over calling the tea party racist.
They clearly are.

[BlueIris]

4. Unfortunate. nt

[salvorhardin]

5. Good riddance. Vivian Schiller was no friend of public radio.

Believe me, NPR is better off without her. She's responsible for most of what people complain about NPR around here.

[flamingdem]

17. Could you elaborate on that? I'd like to be reassured this is a good thing! nt

[salvorhardin]

20. Schiller was working to transition NPR into a web-only media content provider

She wasn't a radio person and didn't believe in radio. She wanted to make it so that in ten years, NPR wouldn't be producing radio programming. Plus she set up NPR to be in direct competition with local stations for listener donations and attention ("go to NPR's website, give to NPR, never mind that local station you're hearing the story on"). And she wanted to dumb down NPR News (which really is, or was anyway, editorially separate from the commentators). Really, the stuff we all bitch about with NPR is almost a direct consequence of Schiller's leadership. There's also the role NPR has played in pushing HD Radio (which does not stand for High Definition, but originally Hybrid Digital, now just a trademark), using public money to profit a proprietary for-profit company and kill off analog radio.

That's just a capsule summary and includes a lot of my own opinion, so take it with a huge grain of salt. It's the result of personal experience that I can't be specific about and reading radio industry blogs and news for years. Sorry I can't be more specific.

A good jumping off point for reading up on the darker side of public radio is the blog Keeping the Public In Public Radio. The guy who runs it is highly biased and very angry though, so don't just go with his view of things. Use it as a way of wading into the wider radio blogosphere. Another excellent blog, which is much more balanced, is Radio Survivor.
http://keeppublicradiopublic.com
http://www.radiosurvivor.com

[flamingdem]

23. Very insightful, thanks very much nt

[Cattledog]

31. Just like the web disaster she created at the NYT. ; )

She should never have gotten the job. Incompetent .

[salvorhardin]

33. Haha! I forgot about that.

You're right. Vivian Schiller was the mastermind behind Times Select!

[Bardley]

6. NPR has been corporatist propaganda for years

I remember years ago, when H-1b was really becoming a serious threat to my livelyhood (and turned out far worse than my worst nightmare), I listened to NPR every morning, waiting for them to say something

Nothing, except mild praise for guest workers

and every news segment, sponsored by a tech giant ;)

they are a HUGE mis-representation of 'objective' news, whoever sponsors them is immune from criticism

you think wal mart and microsoft sponsor them because these companies are 'progressive'?

they should be called NCR, not NPR

[earthside]

8. Stopped listening long ago.

NPR has been pretty much a corporate tool for many years now.

Frankly, I don't much care if Congress de-funds NPR ... or PBS either.

On the other hand, this hidden camera "sting" thing is getting out of hand. I didn't like it when it was played on ACORN and really, I didn't like it as a tactic when it was used on Walker.

This kind of 'gotcha' technique is lowering the public discourse even more -- I think it is a sign of decay and decadence in our politics.

Because ... the left is going to have to now employ the same strategies on the Teabaggers and right-wingers, it seems to me.

[Joe Bacon]

36. NPR = Nothing but Propaganda from Republicans.

Media Matters and FAIR have extensive documentation of NPR's right wing bias. I stopped contributing to NPR when Nina Tottenberg crucified Anita Hill. And I still cringe at how NPR became the main cheerleader for the impeachment of Bill Clinton. When I want to hear news, I go to the BBC. NPR has lied too many times for me to waste any time listening to them.

[kestrel91316]

10. If she has been in charge the last several years while RWery has held

sway at NPR, this is no loss. I am tired of NPR interviews and pieces trying to glorify RW viewpoints and completely ignoring the opposing liberal view.

[glinda]

11. Could move further right and then they will save the funding. lol!

[bongbong]

12. IOKIYAR

How many hundreds of repigs have publicly called Obama racist names, or lied about him, with no penalty?
How many hundreds of repigs have publicly equated Liberals with fascism, or hatred, or terrorism, with no penalty?

IOKIYAR

[Akoto]

13. Fleeing ahead of the shitstorm, I'm sure. n/t

[StarburstClock]

14. What a heinous crime, a media person told the truth about racist teabaggers

Never mind that the objectivity a media person is supposed to maintain is a sham. Mainstream media in the U.S. lost all credibility when they decided that torture was a debatable topic, not to mention a million other proven falsehoods like "trickle down" and WMD lies that were clearly pure BS from the beginning.

[forty6]

16. Yeah, terrible crime, in a personal luncheon with potential donors..not intended to..

be made public. Telling the truth, a real crime.:spank:

[flamingdem]

18. How did having a private opinion turn into a fire-able offense? nt

[salvorhardin]

22. It isn't

However, when you're at a meeting representing your employer's interest, it's best not to express your own opinions because they can be mistaken for the opinions of your employer.

[KamaAina]

19. Strike "Resigns", insert "Gets Rathered"

:eyes:

[JackRiddler]

25. What a bunch of cowards. What a wasted opportunity. What a disgusting kow-tow.

[DirkGently]

27. Non-editorial staff, when goaded, presents rational personal opinon, & NPR burns?

[Tace]

29. I Met Vivian Last Year At A Free Press Conference In Wash. D.C.

She spoke for about an hour at the conference and took questions.

I don't know anything about what has been happening at NPR lately, except a few headlines I've seen.

I don't particularly like NPR, due to corporate sponsorship and its impact on programming and news coverage, yet Vivian Schiller was not particularly offensive. She seemed genuinely daunted by the challenges public media faces, including survival of public media independent of government support, and adaptation to web technology and media convergence.

It may be for the best, but NPR lost a talented news executive. I'm not sure that all the criticism of her I'm seeing on this thread is warranted.

[abqmufc]

38. This is the future of US media..News of the World

Watching the NPR story unfold I can't get the image of England's former football (soccer) manager being caught in a similar situation with a fake sheikh. I sense stories like the one below will become mainstream journalism in the USA.

Fake sheikh reveals Eriksson 'bid to quit England'
By Cahal Milmo January 16, 2006


"As someone who has featured regularly on the front page of the News of the World, Sven Goran Eriksson should perhaps have been suspicious when he was invited to Dubai to enjoy the hospitality of an Arab sheikh.

The England football manager was yesterday left to rue the moment he entered the world's only seven-star hotel to eat crab cakes and lobster during "private" discussions with the "monied prince" about his future career.

In a case of what his agent claimed was "disgraceful entrapment", Mr Eriksson found himself revealing his ambitions to Mazher Mahmood, the "fake sheikh" behind the News of the World's stings on figures from the Countess of Wessex to a cocaine-snorting Tory peer
The Football Association last night insisted that Mr Eriksson had its "full support" despite a catalogue of indiscretions to the Sunday paper's undercover team, including a claim that he would leave his England role after this summer's World Cup in return for a £5m-a-year contract to manage a Premiership club.

In Dubai's sail-shaped Burj al-Arab hotel, where Mr Eriksson and his entourage drank wine and champagne costing £900, it is claimed the England coach made a number of frank comments to his hosts about his career plans and several high-profile players.."

http://www.independent.co.uk/news/media/fake-sheikh-reveals-eriksson-bid-to-quit-england-523188.html