Nina Totenberg, NPR’s Supreme Court reporter, wrote a book called “Dinners with Ruth” that celebrated her close friendship with Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Kelly McBride, NPR Public Editor, took on the idea that Totenberg had destroyed media ethics and tried it to be a positive.
The headline read “Nina Totenberg, not the rule, is the exception and NPR leaders should state so.” Totenberg did not speak directly with McBride after she was caught making fake information in January about Chief Justice John Roberts asking other justices to wear masks for Sonia Sotomayor. Totenberg said to the Daily Beast that she can write whatever goddamn thing she wants, regardless of whether I believe it is true.
McBride highlighted NPR executives praising Totenberg’s public sex with RBG in this case. She claimed she never slanted any Supreme Court stories!
Tony Cavin, Managing Editor for Standards and Practices, told me that he wished more journalists would establish similar relationships with their sources to gain insights to share with their listeners. [!]
“As with any serious reporter covering a beat for many decades, it is normal that Totenberg would make friends with some of her sources. He wrote in an email that not all of his sources became Supreme Court justices. “Her relationships with her source have given NPR’s audiences a front-row seat on developments at the nation’s highest court, which is not known for transparency. We’ve heard the criticisms, but we have yet to hear specifics about a story Totenberg allegedly did not cover, slanted, or changed because of her relationships with her source.
Totenberg’s work is also being defended by John Lansing, CEO.
“Nina Totenberg has been covering the Supreme Court for over 40 years. Her knowledge and expertise are unsurpassed. Her work has been honored with numerous awards for editorial excellence and provided NPR listeners with insightful and thoughtful coverage of one the most isolated institutions in the country,” Lansing wrote in an email. “As President & CEO, I respect the firewall protecting our editorial integrity and delegate decisions about our journalism and to our journalists. I have complete confidence in Nina’s editors, and still oversee her work at the Washington Desk. They are trustworthy and NPR’s rigorous editing process is something I believe in.”
McBride often quoted a leftist writer to support his point of view.
Hamilton Nolan tweeted that Nina Totenberg was emblematic of Washington, where media/business/politics all worked together with an agreed worldview. Trump’s historic inequality discredit American institutions, and there is more to come. It was broken by you all.
McBride said that conservatives should not be quoted because McBride said to Brian Stelter that conservatives should not be ignored since they aren’t constructive critics who want NPR success.
McBride suggested Totenberg is legendary, but he might be called a “legal commentator” instead of a reporter to avoid confusion. No one should be confused. Totenberg, the leftist hack who tried to destroy Clarence Thomas (and succeeded by destroying the Douglas Ginsburg Supreme Court nominee), is still in power. NPR continues to support this hackdom.
