The Biggest Scandals To Hit NPR

NPR is usually seen as boring and unabashedly nerdy, so it may come as a surprise that even an outfit as vanilla as NPR can still frequently find themselves embroiled in scandal. Here are some of the biggest scandals to impact NPR.

World of Opera consisted of opera performances from all over the world interspersed, with cultural and historical insights into the composers and performers. With episode titles like "A Baroque Variety Hour", the program was inoffensive at best. Airing on 60-odd stations around the country, World of Opera was as popular and as innocuous as they come, so it surprised many when NPR stopped broadcasting the program in 2011.

When it was reported that the show's host, Lisa Simeone, had been acting as a spokesperson for a group associated with the then-ongoing Occupy Wall Street protests, NPR decided to cut ties with World of Opera. Many listeners accused NPR leadership of caving in to people who claimed the station was taking a progressive stance. NPR CEO Joyce Slocum noted that NPR had ceased producing the show over a year prior and that NPR hosts represent the organization and have standards to uphold.

Simeone responded to NPR correspondent David Folkenflik:

"What is NPR afraid I'll do, insert a seditious comment into a synopsis of Madame Butterfly?"

World of Opera continued to be distributed by WDAV, the new producer of the show, until its 2016 cancellation.

Watch the video for more about the biggest scandals to hit NPR!

#NPR #NationalPublicRadio

NPR drops World of Opera | 0:00
CEO resigns following undercover video | 1:16
Host fired over work environment | 2:12
Popular host fired over allegations | 3:17
Alleged Israeli and Palestinian bias | 4:32
Firing a prominent black correspondent | 5:30
Claims that NPR is elitist | 6:41
Sexual allegations against news chief | 7:46
NPR's diversity problem | 8:56
NPR bans "torture" from air | 10:12

Read Full Article: https://www.grunge.com/219091/the-biggest-scandals-to-hit-npr/