Uri Berliner, the NPR editor who publicly criticized the network in an essay last week, resigned Wednesday.
In an excerpt of the resignation letter he sent to NPR CEO Katherine Maher and shared on X, formerly known as Twitter, Berliner said that he “cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay.”
An NPR spokesperson declined to comment, citing personnel matters.
NPR Correspondent David Folkenflik reported Tuesday that Berliner had been suspended for five days without pay for violating NPR policy that prohibits contributing to another outlet without prior approval.
In his Free Press essay last week, Berliner wrote that “an open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR.” He criticized DEI efforts at NPR and complained of bias in the newsroom.
Berliner previously told Folkenflik that he took exception to Maher’s response to his essay in which she cited “a criticism of our people on the basis of who we are.”
He also told Folkenflik that he was supportive of efforts to diversify NPR’s workforce.
The essay gained traction with conservative activists and politicians keen on defunding NPR, including Sen. Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) who plans to introduce legislation to cut funding to NPR, Fox News reported Wednesday.
“I don’t support calls to defund NPR,” Berliner wrote in his resignation letter. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism.”