Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

From our President and General Manager: Why our stations are suspending their Twitter accounts

A Twitter logo hangs outside the company's offices in San Francisco, on Dec. 19, 2022.
Jeff Chiu
/
AP
Twitter labeled National Public Radio as "state-affiliated media" on the social media site Wednesday, April 5, 2023, a move some worried could undermine public confidence in the news organization.

A statement from Cincinnati Public Radio General Manager Rich Eiswerth:

Last week, Twitter labeled NPR's official Twitter account as "state-affiliated media," a designation usually ascribed to government-controlled media outlets, such as Russia's RT and the Chinese Communist Party's CCTV. Twitter later changed that label to "government-funded media." Both labels are inaccurate, as I will explain below. (Later in the week, Twitter owner Elon Musk even tweeted "Defund NPR!")

NPR has announced that its organizational accounts would no longer be active on Twitter because the platform is taking actions that undermine NPR's credibility by falsely implying that NPR is not editorially independent.

On Wednesday, NPR CEO John Lansing issued a statement explaining why his news organization would cease its use of Twitter.

"The public media system was created by Congress more than 50 years ago to provide free over-the-air and now online news, information, and educational programming to all Americans," Lansing said. "These services are especially valuable to those living in communities with little or no access to other outlets. Actions by Twitter or other social media companies to tarnish the independence of any public media institution are exceptionally harmful and set a dangerous precedent."

Independent journalism is Cincinnati Public Radio's core service to our community. While CPR operates separately from NPR, NPR is a valued provider of high-quality journalism and programming for our audience. We have every confidence in the editorial integrity and independence of NPR's work and are deeply concerned about the potential of Twitter's inaccurate labels to cast doubt on that editorial integrity. While CPR's Twitter accounts (including those for WVXU, WGUC and WMUB) have not been labeled in a similar manner, CPR has made the decision to suspend activity on Twitter for the foreseeable future.

The stations' hosts, news reporters and program producers host their own individual Twitter accounts, and our decision to suspend our business account will not affect how or whether employees wish to continue using this platform.

We remain as committed as ever to connecting with our audiences with credible, independent journalism on multiple platforms. You can always find our trustworthy reporting and compelling programming on the following platforms:

  • 90.9, 91.7 and 88.5 FM
  • WVXU.org or WMUB.org
  • the WVXU or WGUC mobile apps
  • Ask your smart speaker to play "WVXU or "WGUC"
  • Facebook for WVXU and WGUC
  • Instagram for WVXU and WGUC
  • Sign up for our newsletters

Facts about NPR's funding and independence

NPR (National Public Radio) is a nonprofit media organization that produces and distributes news and cultural programming to a network of more than 1,000 public radio stations in the United States.

NPR is not directly funded by the U.S. government, although it does receive some funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) — a nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 to promote public broadcasting — as well as competitive grants from the National Science Foundation and others. This funding only accounts for a very small portion of NPR's total budget, and NPR is required by law to maintain editorial independence from the CPB and any other government entity.

NPR is governed by a Board of Directors, which is composed of NPR member station managers, journalists, and representatives of the public, who oversee the organization's operations and make strategic decisions. This board is responsible for ensuring that NPR adheres to its mission of providing high-quality, independent journalism and programming.

Finally, NPR's editorial independence is further protected by its Code of Ethics (which can be found on NPR's website), which outlines the principles and standards that guide its reporting and programming. NPR journalists are expected to maintain their independence, and they are not subject to editorial direction or pressure from any outside sources.

NPR's funding sources, governance structure, and commitment to editorial independence all provide evidence that NPR is not state-run media, but rather an independent, nonprofit organization dedicated to providing high-quality journalism and programming to the public.

Facts about Cincinnati Public Radio's funding and independence

Cincinnati Public Radio is proud to provide NPR's high-quality programming to our audiences in the Tri-State region, but CPR, like all NPR member stations, is independently owned and operated. CPR has complete editorial control over the programming we provide to our audience.

Like NPR, Cincinnati Public Radio adheres to a robust set of editorial integrity and ethics guidelines, which guarantee our journalists' editorial independence from outside forces.

Like NPR, Cincinnati Public Radio receives a small amount of funding from CPB, but this funding makes up less than 7% of CPR's overall budget. By contrast, support from individuals and businesses in our region make up nearly 90% of our budget. This further underscores Cincinnati Public Radio's independence, in that we are primarily reliant on and accountable to our community.

Cincinnati Public Radio does not receive any funding from NPR. On the contrary, this year we will pay NPR $734,732 for programs that we air (in addition to the $1,025,073 we are investing in our own local newsroom and programming, including Cincinnati Edition). We have similar relationships with American Public Media and other national program distributors.

Cincinnati Public Radio is governed by an independent Board of Directors made up of members of the Greater Cincinnati community who volunteer their time to provide strategic and fiduciary guidance to the organization. CPR and NPR are subject to various regulations and guidelines related to their use of public airwaves. For example, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) requires all broadcasters to operate in the public interest and to provide a certain amount of programming that meets specific educational and cultural standards.

Cincinnati Public Radio's mission is to provide the Greater Cincinnati region with journalism and fact-based content that empower the community to better understand and participate in our diverse and complex world. Our vision is to lead Greater Cincinnati's community conversation, based on substantiated facts and respect for diverse perspectives. We aim to be YOUR essential source for distinctive journalism, grounded in listening and committed to creating a safe but challenging space to broaden our understanding of each other and the world.

Thank you for being part of the Cincinnati Public Radio family. Please email me with any questions or concerns at reiswerth@cinradio.org.

Sincerely,

Rich Eiswerth
President and General Manager