NPR Chooses a Left-Wing Radical for CEO

What’s happening: NPR has hired businesswoman Katherine Maher as its new CEO. Maher has a lengthy history of making far-left statements, earning criticism that the news outlet has fallen out of touch with everyday Americans.

• Context: The taxpayer-funded news outlet recently came under fire when one of its veteran employees published a blistering essay arguing that the organization had become substantially more liberal.

Taxpayer-funded: While NPR claims only 1 percent of its funding comes from the federal government, the actual number is significantly higher due to a complex and hazy network of laws.

Why it matters: Trust in the media is at an all-time low, especially amongst conservatives. When a publicly-funded, supposedly centrist news organization hires someone on the extreme left as its CEO, trust deteriorates further.

Publicly radical: Katherine Maher has not shied away from her radical progressive views, publicly sharing them on her X account over the past decade.

• On white privilege: Maher described herself as “someone with cis white mobility privilege,” and said America is “addicted to white supremacy.” She was also angry to see white men flying in business class.

• On children: Maher appears to have refused to have kids due to her fears of climate change.

• On biology: She once critiqued Hillary Clinton for using the terms “boy and girl” because it was harmful to people who think they are non-binary, and apologized for saying “identity as women.”

• On climate: She once predicted that “driving will be the new smoking” in terms of public acceptance, based on her views of climate change.