Uri Berliner Slams NPR CEO for Breaking Firewall, Criticizing Him as a Journalist

Uri Berliner, the former NPR editor who was ousted after writing an essay about the left-wing takeover of the newsroom, has accused NPR CEO Katherine Maher of breaking the "firewall" between journalism and business. Berliner says Maher crossed the line by publicly rebuking his essay, which questioned the integrity of NPR's journalists.

Uri Berliner, the veteran NPR editor who was ousted after penning his bombshell essay about the left-wing takeover of the newsroom, knocked CEO Katherine Maher for breaking the "firewall" that is supposed to separate NPR's journalism from its business side.

Speaking at the Dissident Dialogues festival on Saturday, Berliner revealed that one of the "big factors" that motivated him to go public with his concerns about NPR's ideological groupthink was Maher's arrival in March. He hoped the new CEO could "turn a new leaf" for the outlet.

"As I said in my essay, we're welcoming a CEO, I'll be rooting for her because I thought, okay, maybe this is the time to bring this up. We've got new leadership. Maybe this is the time we could really tackle these things," Berliner said.

Berliner then pivoted to the memo Maher penned to staff publicly rebuking his essay, "Questioning whether our people are serving our mission with integrity, based on little more than the recognition of their identity, is profoundly disrespectful, hurtful, and demeaning."

"Supposedly there's what's called a firewall in the newsroom," Berliner said. "There's the newsroom, the editorial team, and there are people who run the business, the CEO."

"And I think basically in one of her first acts, if not her first act, she crossed over that firewall to criticize me as a journalist. And that I found especially troubling given her views on the First Amendment, free expression," he continued.

NPR did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital's request for comment.

Berliner, an award-winning journalist who had spent 25 years at NPR, authored an explosive essay in The Free Press detailing the far-left transformation of the organization's newsroom which he concluded impacted its coverage in the Trump era. He was placed on a five-day unpaid suspension for violating NPR's policy of seeking permission before appearing on another news platform. Berliner ultimately resigned.

Meanwhile, Maher herself faced her own scrutiny for her trove of social media posts featuring pro-Democrat activism and woke ideologies.

A group of 50 NPR employees signed a letter calling on Katherine Maher and Edith Chapin to publicly rebuke "factual inaccuracies" in Uri Berliner's essay.

Maher spoke publicly about the controversy, saying she had not met Berliner before his exit and repeatedly insisting she had no editorial control over NPR's news coverage.

However, when asked whether she should prioritize viewpoint diversity in the newsroom, a concern Berliner prominently raised in his essay, Maher sidestepped the question.

"We are committed to having a diversity of voices, backgrounds, and perspectives represented on our staff and in our coverage," Maher said. "We are also committed to having a respectful and inclusive workplace where everyone feels welcome and valued."

Berliner's allegations come amid a wave of scrutiny over NPR's alleged bias. In recent months, the public news outlet has been accused of suppressing conservative voices, promoting left-wing propaganda, and engaging in "woke" reporting.

Critics have pointed to a number of incidents as evidence of NPR's bias, including the firing of Juan Williams, a conservative commentator, and the publication of a story that was critical of President Trump.

NPR has denied these allegations, but the controversy has continued to cast a shadow over the organization.