NPR CEO Warns Of Hostile Environment

TheBigA · Nov 15, 2024

NPR's CEO is warning the staff that the next few years may be a hostile environment for journalists and public broadcasting:

NPR CEO warns of ‘hostile environment’ ahead for journalism, scrutiny of pubmedia

“We should be well prepared at every moment to talk with enthusiasm about the purpose and value of public media,” CEO Katherine Maher said.

current.org

“We should be well prepared at every moment to talk with enthusiasm about the purpose and value of public media,” she said. “… We should be prepared to defend the work of our journalists, whose work is held up to the highest of ethical standards, constructed to withstand the hardest of gazes. And we should constantly be involved in a rigorous conversation about the needs of the American people for news: Are we serving people fairly? Are we serving them well? And can we serve them better?”

This comes as Elon Musk posted a comment of the CEO out of content from 3 years before she worked for NPR:

Tesla CEO Elon Musk, who is expected to co-chair a proposed Department of Government Efficiency, posted a 10-second video clip of Maher on X, his platform formerly known as Twitter, in which she said, “I think our reverence for the truth might have become a bit of a distraction that is preventing us from finding consensus and getting important things done.” The clip was taken from a 2021 TED Talk given by Maher before she became NPR’s CEO. Musk wrote, “Should your tax dollars really be paying for an organization run by people who think the truth is a ‘distraction’?”

gr8oldies · Nov 15, 2024

TheBigA said:
NPR's CEO is warning the staff that the next few years may be a hostile environment for journalists and public broadcasting:

NPR CEO warns of ‘hostile environment’ ahead for journalism, scrutiny of pubmedia

“We should be well prepared at every moment to talk with enthusiasm about the purpose and value of public media,” CEO Katherine Maher said.

current.org

This comes as Elon Musk posted a comment of the CEO out of content from 3 years before she worked for NPR:

This almost passed. It'll be back: House rejects bill enabling punishment of non-profits supporting ‘terrorism’

Delete My Account · Nov 15, 2024

The fact the context of her remark can be so taken out of context by the grandiose and eccentric Musk without question by thousands of people and amplified in the conservative media with zero good faith "it's possible this actually meant" tells me something about human nature and herd mentality in 2024 I really had hoped we'd grow out of.

Y2kTheNewOldies · Nov 15, 2024

This is not shocking given that Public media has been hit and in some cases escalated with defunding threats for the past year. Everytime we have to look at which segments Elon Musk does not want aired on NPR affiliates we get hit with multiple Reuters articles that has stuff Musk does not want his fans to know about him. Why is Musk going after NPR and their affiliates if in fact the news outlets that investigated him the most is Reuters and Associated Press.

Elon Musk renews calls to defund NPR after controversial clip of CEO resurfaces

Elon Musk on Tuesday renewed calls to defund NPR after a controversial video of its CEO questioning the importance of truth resurfaced online.

nypost.com

Days earlier, NPR announced it would be dropping X, then Twitter, over “credibility” concerns after their account was labeled “state-affiliated media.” Twitter later changed the outlet’s label to “government-funded media.”

“We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public’s understanding of our editorial independence,” NPR said in a statement at the time. “We are turning away from Twitter but not from our audience and communities. There are plenty of ways to stay connected and keep up with NPR’s news, music, and cultural content.”

Musk responded by asking in a separate tweet, “what have you got against the truth @NPR?”

Elon Musk says he and Trump have 'mandate to delete' regulations. Ethics laws could limit Musk role

Choosing billionaire Elon Musk to be what President-elect Donald Trump calls “our cost cutter” for the U.S. government, is not the first time an American president has empowered a business tycoon to look for ways to dramatically cut federal regulations.

apnews.com

Bluesky has added 1 million users since the US election as people seek alternatives to X

Social media platform Bluesky has gained 1 million new users in the week since the U.S. election. The social media site said Wednesday its total users have jumped to 15 million.

apnews.com

https://www.reuters.com/legal/lawsuit-claiming-elon-musk-rigged-dogecoin-ends-2024-11-15/

https://www.reuters.com/world/us/democratic-senators-ask-pentagon-us-attorney-general-probe-musks-alleged-russia-2024-11-15/

TheBigA · Nov 15, 2024

Andy Travis said:
The fact the context of her remark can be so taken out of context by the grandiose and eccentric Musk without question by thousands of people and amplified in the conservative media

It's become a common tactic. It's what happens when government becomes a reality TV show, where the public votes to throw people off the island.

Y2kTheNewOldies · Nov 16, 2024

Also we are hit with the issue over CPB funding when this happens. When we talk about that we mentioned that the local affiliates of NPR and PBS gets the funding not NPR and PBS itself. However in some cases that affiliate will have to go through state budgets given that some of the local NPR affiliates are owned by State Universities like KUT-FM Austin owned by the University of Texas.

NPR CEO Warns Of Hostile Environment

TheBigA