WASHINGTON -- NPR president and CEO Vivian Schiller resigned Wednesday under pressure, a day after an undercover video showed one of her executives on a hidden camera calling the Tea Party racist and saying the news organization would be better off without taxpayer money.
The shake-up comes at a critical time. Conservative politicians are again pressing to end congressional funding for NPR, money the organization said it needs to keep operating public radio and television stations in some of the nation's smallest communities. The White House defended the funding.
Vivian Schiller also faced criticism for her firing of analyst Juan Williams over comments he made about Muslims. She told said that the recent remarks made by her fellow executive Ron Schiller were outrageous and unfortunate, and her staying on would only hurt NPR's fight for federal money.
Comments