After alleged pressure from fellow board members, NPR (National Public Radio) CEO Vivian Schiller announced her resignation from the popular public radio newsgroup on Wednesday. The surfacing of a video featuring colleague Ron Schiller has been widely reported as the catalyst that prompted Vivian Schiller’s departure.
According to a recent post on NPR’s website, Schiller stepped down after the release of a video featuring then-fellow executive Ron Schiller denigrating conservative political groups. Ron Schiller was videotaped by conservative supporters who were trying to expose the possibility of political bias held by members of the public news entity. In the video, he described the Tea Party as being racist without any evidence outside of his own opinion.
Vivian Schiller’s resignation followed a recent statement regarding the possibility of NPR losing its federal funding. The news station does not have direct support from the U.S. government, but it does receive money from federal grants that could be cut by Congress.
NPR news representative David Folkenflik confirmed that Vivian Schiller’s resignation came after alleged pressure from the NPR board of directors. There has been no official word of her being forced out of the position.
“Well the board of directors of NPR have put out a statement saying they accepted Vivian Schiller’s resignation. I’m told by sources that she was forced out—that this was, I guess, the final shoe dropping, you could say,” Folkenflik told the NPR news team.
Schiller recently spoke at a luncheon for The National Press Club. She discussed the possible losses NPR would suffer if the station lost federal funding. The loss of funding could become a reality depending on what cuts are made to help the U.S. climb out of a $1.4 trillion deficit.
“There certainly were attempts to defund public broadcasting in 2005 and more famously in 1995 ... So we take this very seriously, and I think the threat is more serious than in the past,” Vivian Schiller told The National Press Club.
According to a recent post on NPR’s website, Schiller stepped down after the release of a video featuring then-fellow executive Ron Schiller denigrating conservative political groups. Ron Schiller was videotaped by conservative supporters who were trying to expose the possibility of political bias held by members of the public news entity. In the video, he described the Tea Party as being racist without any evidence outside of his own opinion.
Vivian Schiller’s resignation followed a recent statement regarding the possibility of NPR losing its federal funding. The news station does not have direct support from the U.S. government, but it does receive money from federal grants that could be cut by Congress.
NPR news representative David Folkenflik confirmed that Vivian Schiller’s resignation came after alleged pressure from the NPR board of directors. There has been no official word of her being forced out of the position.
“Well the board of directors of NPR have put out a statement saying they accepted Vivian Schiller’s resignation. I’m told by sources that she was forced out—that this was, I guess, the final shoe dropping, you could say,” Folkenflik told the NPR news team.
Schiller recently spoke at a luncheon for The National Press Club. She discussed the possible losses NPR would suffer if the station lost federal funding. The loss of funding could become a reality depending on what cuts are made to help the U.S. climb out of a $1.4 trillion deficit.
“There certainly were attempts to defund public broadcasting in 2005 and more famously in 1995 ... So we take this very seriously, and I think the threat is more serious than in the past,” Vivian Schiller told The National Press Club.
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