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NPR President Katherine Maher Speaking Against the !-A
It seems National Public Radio is intent on being the torch bearer of inflamed journalism. An announcement came out that the head of NPR will be honored later this month, and it becomes another example of the news industry not taking itself seriously…while posturing in a very serious manner.
Although the outlet is not directly behind this current farce, the details are steeped heavily in what has brought down the credibility of NPR. The network President Katherine Maher is being honored by Harper’s Magazine with its “First Amendment Award”, and the headshaking it induces is involuntary.
Of course, when the concept of free expression is shackled in a sentence with NPR, the mind instantly goes to that outlet’s most infamous move regarding open dialogue. That would be the move to suppress the reporting on the Hunter Biden laptop.
In that instance the network not only held back on reporting on that brewing news; the NPR heads actually came out and declared it would not touch that story. The public editor came out and stipulated, “We don’t want to waste our time on stories that are not really stories.” Of course, they failed to actually investigate and show how there was no veracity to the news.
As is known today, the site ended up coming out later (safely after the 2020 election) to admit the Hunter laptop was legitimate. It did so in a hoped-for overlooked manner. It admitted its error as an editor’s note at the end of a book review on Hunter Biden’s memoir.
Last spring Katherine Maher herself admitted to this dose of shame her network holds to this day. At a Congressional hearing she was asked pointedly about the decision, and she fessed up, albeit in a terse, one sentence response. “NPR acknowledges that we were mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner.”
The folks at Harper’s are intent on puffing up Maher for their event, facts being secondary, apparently, when handing out 1st Amendment prizes.
Maher has led the nation’s most trusted public media institution through a period of heightened scrutiny and challenge, including successfully battling Trump’s 2025 executive order aimed at terminating federal funding for NPR and PBS.
“Successfully”, really?! Federal funding for NPR, and the Corporation for Public Broadcasting has, in fact, been terminated. The gang at Harper’s may be referring to a judge’s ruling that the executive order from President Trump was invalid, but this was the embodiment of a moral victory while losing the game.
The funding for public broadcasting was cut by Congress, and that remains to be case. The CPB has been shuttered as a result, and the breadth of TV and radio stations across the country have been grappling with curtailed budgets.
But there is one main reason that Katherine Maher being celebrated for First Amendment nobility is a complete farce: It is Katherine Maher’s own words in speaking not only against free expression, but the First Amendment in particular.
In a TED Talk she gave in 2021, just prior to taking on the role of NPR’s head, Maher was discussing the need to control speech for the purpose of preventing what she – and others – consider inappropriate discourse. “Our reverence for the truth might be a distraction,” she announced quixotically, and then, in praising the efforts seen in other countries to suppress certain speech, she showed contempt for…(wait for it)…the First Amendment.
The #1 challenge that we see here is, of course, the First Amendment in the United States. So, you know, in a lot of countries—in Europe, for example—there’s a lot more willingness to pass legislation to restrict certain kinds of content. In the United States, the First Amendment makes it a little bit trickier.
I’m sorry but, while acknowledging that she has every right to express that thought, taking that position should be considered a disqualifying trait for anyone tabbed to lead a journalism outlet. It should certainly eliminate her from any consideration for praise regarding upholding the First Amendment.
Yet the think tank at Harper’s appears oblivious to these dogmatic positions that Maher and NPR have displayed and wants to fete her with their neutered award. The irony being they are allegedly celebrating truth in journalism by completely overlooking the facts regarding their honoree.
The post NPR President Katherine Maher Awarded a 1st Amendment Prize — Despite Her Hostile History Towards the 1st Amendment first appeared on Mediaite.
NPR President Katherine Maher Awarded a 1st Amendment Prize — Despite Her Hostile History Towards the 1st Amendment 2026 THE NEWS FROM BULGARIA – NEWS AGENCY 2009-2025 2026-10-12 16:26:17 Latest news World news Country news Most important news latest news most important latest of the day Justice Petar Nizamov Feathers Petar Nizamov- Feathers Justice bg iustitia.bg iustitia iusticia usticia investigation Burgas Bulgaria news news of the last hour news of the day news of today Bulgaria news The news from Bulgaria blitz news top news most important most commented latest news Boyko Borisov news weather coronavirus news news weather facebook youtube facebook instagram news today news of the last minutes news today today news news bg news leading news hot news bg news site for news all news news bg news of the last hour latest latest news bg news of today news today news today news of the last hour latest news today news bg news news 24 hours news vesti bg novini news world bird bg bivol bg bivol trud bg novini latest news today novinite bg news hello bulgaria political party coat of arms delyan peevski scandalous Bulgarian National Television Free Europe Television scandal exclusive live tv live right now tv tv online tv program bg live now tv news online tv online live court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas court Burgas district court Burgas district court Burgas appellate court Burgas prosecutor Burgas prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Burgas district prosecutor’s office Prosecutor General Ivan Geshev Prosecutor Geshev Tsatsarov Ministry of Internal Affairs Burgas ODMR Burgas ODPR Burgas police Burgas district police Burgas prosecutor Tsatsarov SGS cases Varna court chairman of the SGS court decisions on civil cases decisions on cases Plovdiv court decision of the court decisions cases Varna court criminal cases district district court decisions work in the court SGS chairman of the SGS judges Sofia court post judges Plovdiv court Plovdiv judges Plovdiv Supreme Court Inspectorate Supreme Court Supreme Judicial Council lawyer lawyer criminal cases lawyer civil cases lawyer marriage cases lawyer administrative criminal law criminal process civil law civil process administrative law constitutional law
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