NPR CEO slams Uri Berliner’s ‘bad faith distortion’ of her woke social media posts

Embattled NPR chief executive Katherine Maher shrugged off criticism of her “woke” social media comments and pushed back on internal turmoil after a veteran staffer called out the public broadcaster for its left-leaning bias.

Maher, the former head of Wikipedia parent Wikimedia who grabbed the reins as NPR’s CEO in March, faced backlash over past comments she made on everything from the First Amendment to misinformation to the idea that written history is tilted toward the worldview of white men. 

“All of this, frankly, is a bit of a distraction relative to the transformation our organization needs to undergo in order to best serve our mandate,” Maher told the Wall Street Journal on Wednesday.

The resident of liberal bastion Park Slope, Brooklyn, agreed to the interview with the conservative publication two weeks after NPR was slammed for its myopic coverage by Uri Berliner, who penned an essay on website the Free Press called “I’ve Been at NPR for 25 years. Here’s How We Lost America’s Trust.”

Maher condemned Berliner’s claims of bias at the network, telling the Journal that NPR should be open to criticism, but defended the news organization against his accusations.

“We have robust conversations across the organization, including in response to the article,” she said.