At the national level, NPR employs a public editor to evaluate the feedback it receives and respond to it after researching the validity of criticism related to both specific stories and the overall tone and tenor of NPR's journalism.
A recent post by NPR public editor Kelly McBride caught my eye. In a piece called "Questioning public faith in elections," McBride responds to NPR listener Lance Brown who wrote to NPR in early October:
While the concerted effort to undermine public faith in elections is unnerving, it’s not NPR’s job to alarm listeners, but rather to dispassionately establish the facts.
"I am writing to express my dissatisfaction with the “Business as usual” and “Everything is normal” attitude expressed by (host) Scott Detrow and (correspondent) Miles Parks in their All Things Considered segment that aired on October 5th, 2024. While they do call out the largest lies told by former President Trump and the Republican Party, they act as if the massive disinformation campaign and outright lies being promulgated to generate fear in the (Republican) base is normal, run-of-the-mill electioneering. It is not. I am saddened to see NPR accepting this framing of the situation and working within it instead of shattering that frame and calling out the liars and fear mongers for what they are. Instead, the speakers calmly discuss what’s happening as if it is usual. Everyone, especially journalists, should be alarmed by the false narratives being pushed on a credulous public and pushing back on them. They should be defending the truth instead of letting it be swept away in a torrent of false statements."
In her response to Brown's feedback, McBride notes that his perspective is similar to other criticism NPR has received about a range of topics, writing "When you are distressed over events, whether it’s climate change, reproductive rights or the war between Israel and Palestinians, there is a measure of comfort in getting your news from a source that can match your agitation."
McBride explains that NPR does not take an alarmist approach to covering the news, instead seeking “to be a common denominator of calm through measured reporting.”
To provide context, McBride interviewed Miles Parks, NPR’s voting correspondent, who’s covered the election beat full-time since 2017, and its chief Washington desk editor Krishnadev Calamur.
Parks told McBride that his calm tone on the radio is deliberate. “I don’t think it’s really sustainable to be screaming every single day about everything,” he said. “I’ve found a more effective strategy is to talk to the people who are actually impacted by these lies and see how it’s impacting them.” McBride notes that Parks’ reporting has directly called out lies on election fraud claims by Republicans, outlined the party’s deliberate disinformation strategy, and has clearly set the record straight. He has also frequently reported that Trump and Republicans are devising a plan to challenge the legitimacy of the election if they lose.
Washington desk editor Krishnadev Calamur acknowledged that, while the concerted effort to undermine public faith in elections is unnerving, it’s not NPR’s job to alarm listeners, but rather to dispassionately establish the facts. “It’s the citizen’s job to get alarmed about whether they think elections are compromised or not,” he said.
Covering the 2024 election continues to be a wild ride for both journalists and news organizations. Here at JPR, and across the NPR Network, we’ll continue to ground our coverage in facts, identify and call out disinformation, and take a disciplined approach to our work that adheres to the highest ethical and professional standards.
