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NPR Public Editor The Public Editor is the public's representative to NPR, serving as an independent source regarding NPR's programming.

NPR Public Editor

WITH POYNTER'S KELLY MCBRIDE

Thursday January 28, 2010

Fairness & Accuracy

NPR's Mideast Coverage

January 28, 2010 • NPR pays an independent journalist to evaluate its Israeli-Palestinian coverage quarterly. The reports will appear on the Ombudsman's site, but are not edited by the Ombudsman.

Monday January 25, 2010

NPR Public Editor

Gruesome Haiti Photo: A Need for Context

by Alicia C. Shepard

January 25, 2010 • Controversial photos of dead bodies are a standard part of covering any major disasaster. NPR wrestled with one jarring image of a man walking over or on dead bodies. With a strong photo caption, it might have been more clear. The photo needed to ...

Friday January 22, 2010

NPR Public Editor

Is NPR Not Covering Obama's Slip in the Polls?

by Lori Grisham

January 22, 2010 • A conservative media watchdog site, newsbusters.org, criticized NPR for not reporting on a poll that showed how President Obama had slipped in the polls. The Ombudsman's office looked into this and found something different.

Wednesday January 20, 2010

NPR Public Editor

Is Looting a Loaded Word?

by Alicia C. Shepard

January 20, 2010 • Some listeners have expressed concerns about how NPR uses the word 'looting' and another questions the use of Richter Scale to measure the earthquake in Haiti.

Friday January 15, 2010

NPR Public Editor

Covering the Big Story

by Alicia C. Shepard

January 15, 2010 • When the earthquake hit Haiti at 4:53 p.m. on Jan. 12, no news organization was prepared to cover Haiti's biggest quake in two centuries. Here's a behind-the-scenes look at what NPR did when the quake news broke 53 minutes into the first hour of A...

Friday January 8, 2010

NPR Public Editor

OMBUDSMAN: Loud Protests on 'Tea Party' Cartoon

by Alicia C. Shepard

January 8, 2010 • Two months ago, NPR ran an animated political cartoon making fun of Tea Party activists who are deeply critical of the direction President Obama is leading the country. This week someone discovered it and the cartoon suddenly went viral, causing c...

Monday December 28, 2009

NPR Public Editor

Checking It Out to Avoid Hidden Surprises

by Alicia C. Shepard

December 28, 2009 • NPR ran a profile of a mother who tirelessly fights the Veteran's Administration to get needed equipment for her son, Staff Sgt. Jose Pequeno, who was severely injured in Iraq. A phone tip minutes after the story ran on All Things Considered indic...

Thursday December 24, 2009

NPR Public Editor

Congratulating Everyone

by Caitlin Huey-Burns

December 24, 2009 • Talk of the Nation host Neal Conan recently interviewed two men representing different sides of the same-sex marriage debate. At the end of the show, he congratulated the man who crafted a referendum to defeat gay marriage in Maine but didn't offe...

Friday December 18, 2009

NPR Public Editor

Why Do You Call Him Mr. Obama?

by Lori Grisham

December 18, 2009 • Many listeners think it's disrespectful for NPR to refer to President Obama as 'Mr. Obama' in the second reference. But NPR has a decades-old policy dating back to Gerald Ford to refer to the current president as 'Mr.' or 'the president' in the s...

Why Do You Call Him Mr. Obama?

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Wednesday December 16, 2009

NPR Public Editor

NPR Hires a New Head of Diversity

by Alicia C. Shepard

December 16, 2009 • Just in case any of you missed this big announcement at NPR this week. It's hired Keith Woods from the Poynter Institute to help improve the diversity issues I wrote about in October. Poynter Dean Says He's Confident Network Can Change Keith ...

Monday December 14, 2009

NPR Public Editor

Ally Bank: Is It a Good Fit?

by Alicia C. Shepard

December 14, 2009 • Planet Money has an exclusive sponsor, Ally Bank, that raises questions about a potential conflict of interest since Planet Money's mission is to cover the global economy. Is this a good fit for NPR?

Wednesday December 9, 2009

NPR Public Editor

Reposting: Don't Take Mara Off Fox

by Alicia C. Shepard

December 9, 2009 • Dear Readers: There appears to be a problem with the comment section that NPR is working on. I thought I'd see if reposting would fix it. I apologize for this. I have heard from some of you via phone and email about this problem. It's unfortunate,...

Tuesday December 8, 2009

NPR Public Editor

"Don't Take Mara Off of Fox"

by Alicia C. Shepard

December 8, 2009 • On a regular basis the Ombudsman's office gets complaints about Mara Liasson and Juan Williams appearing on Fox. But ever since Politico did a story implying that the White House asked NPR to remove Liasson from Fox --which is did not --an unusual...

Monday December 7, 2009

NPR Public Editor

Down Syndrome and Abortion

by Alicia C. Shepard

December 7, 2009 • Last week, Joseph Shapiro did a story on the rise in births of Down syndrome children. I received emails from listeners who talked about what a blessing their own Down syndrome sons and daughters are. But several took umbrage at closing lines in...

Tuesday November 24, 2009

NPR Public Editor

What the Rabbi Heard — Or Thought He Heard

by Alicia C. Shepard

November 24, 2009 • Radio is a peculiar medium. Many people listen to NPR when they are driving, getting ready for work or making dinner. Few people regularly sit down to concentrate on the radio the way they sometimes do with TV, magazines or newspapers. As a re...

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