NPR editor blames lack of audience trust on diversity efforts

In an article for Bari Weiss’ Free Press, senior editor of NPR’s Business Desk Uri Berliner criticized the public media outlet’s coverage and biases, claiming a lack of “viewpoint diversity” has clouded NPR’s approach to political stories and led to a loss of trust in the outlet. Specifically, Berliner wrote that NPR’s audience has shifted dramatically to the left and no longer represents America, in part because of the outlet’s DEIB efforts.

Neiman Lab founder Joshua Benton noted on X that the ideological shift in NPR’s audience from 2011 to 2023 likely has more to do with how listeners identify politically in the Trump era than alienation of conservatives. 

NPR chief news executive Edith Chapin rejected Berliner’s assessment in a memo to staff, stating, “We believe that inclusion — among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage — is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world.” David Folkenflik, who also works on NPR’s Business Desk, wrote that colleagues were frustrated that Berliner did not seek out comment and rejected his critique of their coverage. 

DEIB efforts are increasingly being criticized by far-right lawmakers, and that pushback is spilling into newsrooms such as the Cleveland Plain Dealer who are working to represent their communities.

“Making sure your community is fairly and adequately represented is not DEI. It’s just good journalism,” said Letrell Crittenden, API’s director of inclusion and audience growth, when discussing source tracking.

News In Focus
Headlines, resources and events aligned with API’s four areas of focus.

Civic Discourse & Democracy

+ Content creators ask Meta to reverse politics limits on Instagram, Threads (The Washington Post)

Earlier this year, Meta announced it would no longer recommend content about political or social issues on Facebook and Instagram, and users now have to opt in to view that content. Hundreds of content creators have signed an open letter to Meta requesting it reverse the decision, which they say has significantly affected creators who are Black, female, disabled or LGBTQ.

+ CalMatters’ Digital Democracy fuses journalism, AI and data to supercharge legislative transparency for California (CalMatters)

Nonprofit news organization CalMatters launched a tool that allows users to view every dollar given to a state legislator and track all bills, votes and transcripts of all public hearings. The Digital Democracy portal also features AI-powered tools that assess the data for patterns or anomalies and generate tip sheets for journalists. CalMatters and other state outlets have already published stories stemming from the data. 

  • Related: Apply for the 2024 Data Institute — a free, two-week hands-on workshop on using data, design and code for journalism — held July 8-19, hosted by the Center for Journalism & Democracy at Howard University in Washington, D.C.

+ Join us: Developing products for voters and local audiences. Table Stakes alumni are invited to attend a set of virtual lightning talks with three news organizations that created products to help their audiences make more informed decisions in local elections. Journalists from LAist, Enlace Latino NC and Spotlight PA will share what they’ve learned and how they’ve navigated 2024 so far. Learn more and register for this event to be held on Thursday, April 18 at 1 p.m. Eastern. 

Culture & Inclusion

+ How to work with local incarcerated writers (Reynolds Journalism Institute)

The Appeal, which covers the legal system and often features the work of incarcerated writers, outlines steps to work with any of the 2 million people detained in US jails and prisons. Beyond suggesting ways to find and connect with incarcerated writers, they emphasize the changes you’ll need to make to your editorial, style and communications processes.

+ Join the Mental Health in Journalism Summit (The Self-Investigation)

The Mental Health in Journalism Summit is designed for managers, editors, reporters, freelancers and anyone working in the media industry. It will be held online on October 8-10, coinciding with World Mental Health Day. This summit, offered in English and Spanish, is a free and collaborative forum addressed to anyone working in the media ecosystem.

Community Engagement & Trust

+ Sarah McCammon on covering evangelicals and ‘exvangelicals’ (Columbia Journalism Review)

NPR political correspondent Sarah McCammon left the evangelical Christian community she was raised in and relates with a growing number of “exvangelicals” who grew disillusioned after seeing Christian politicians align with Trump. She offers insight on covering the exvangelical movement ahead of the November elections, as well how to engage with Christian-right communities without alienating them.

+ Editorial pages forge community dialogues and insightful conversations (Editor & Publisher)

Gretchen A. Peck details the success of The Dallas Morning News, The Charlotte Observer and the Chicago Sun-Times after investing in their editorial sections during a time when many outlets are further distinguishing their opinion pages from “straight news.” By holding editorial page content to the same standards as news articles and discussing national politics through a local lens, the papers use the section to engage the community and inform coverage.

Revenue & Resilience

+ Axios sees AI coming, and shifts its strategy (The New York Times)

Axios will focus on offering more live events, more paid subscription newsletters and a $1,000/year membership program promoting the work of key journalists to stay ahead of the rise of generative AI, CEO Jim VandeHei told Katie Robertson. Delivering journalistic expertise, trusted content and in-person human connection are essential for the survival of media in the age of AI, he said. 

+ In New Orleans, a pioneering nonprofit newsroom ponders a future beyond its founder (Poynter)

The Lens is an 14-year-old nonprofit news organization in New Orleans, and one of the first nonprofit newsrooms in the country. Co-founder Karen Gadbois has started working with staff to build out the infrastructure for a larger, stable organization — with or without her. Nonprofit news founders often play an outsized role in the outlet’s operations and voice, and planning for their departure is essential, writes Amaris Castillo. 

+ At nonprofit newsrooms, is good journalism but sparse audiences a recipe for irrelevance? (Poynter)

The nonprofit news model has grown more popular, but many startups aren’t focusing enough on marketing, which can result in great journalism but few readers. What a community needs and what it will proactively read aren’t always aligned — for startups, marketing and audience functions are as essential as strong journalism.

What else you need to know

🫴News/Media Alliance survey reveals support for AI companies to compensate publishers (News/Media Alliance)

💵Rest of World receives $200,000 from Luminate to expand coverage of AI technology (Rest of World)

👩‍💼Fortune Magazine names a new CEO (The New York Times)

⚖️OpenAI prepares to fight for its life as legal troubles mount (The Washington Post)

Weekend reads