(Daily Wire) National Public Radio (NPR) has suspended Senior Business Editor Uri Berliner after he publicly accused the network of espousing left-wing bias with an essay that began a media firestorm.
Last week, Berliner received a letter that informed him of a five-day suspension without pay beginning Friday, according to a report by NPR’s media correspondent David Folkenflik.
NPR told Berliner he failed to follow the network’s rules and get approval for outside work for other news outlets after his essay for The Free Press and follow-up interviews.
Berliner was also accused of publicly releasing proprietary information about audience demographics that NPR considered confidential, per the report.
The letter, which was called a “final warning,” said Berliner would be fired for another policy violation.
Berliner, a dues-paying member of NPR’s newsroom union, told Folkenflik that he would not appeal the punishment.
He claimed the figures discussed in his essay “were essentially marketing material. If they had been really good, they probably would have distributed them and sent them out to the world.”
Berliner conceded that he did not get permission to speak with Folkenflik, but said he thought it would be “extraordinary” if he were fired for speaking to an NPR journalist.
The Free Press published the essay on Tuesday last week in which Berliner argued NPR “lost America’s trust” with its increasingly liberal bent.
His critique touched on topics related to former President Donald Trump, NPR’s COVID coverage, reporting on transgender issues, audience figures, the network’s own level of diversity, and more.
Berliner additionally wrote about how he tried to make some of his concerns known internally. He said no one ever “trashed” him, but he was repeatedly brushed off and nothing changed.
