Vivian Schiller has resigned effectively immediately as President and CEO of NPR following comments made by the network's former chief fundraiser Ron Schiller (no relation) in a video that was secretly recorded by conservative activist James O'Keefe. The video was made at a lunch meeting that was set up under the pretext of a possible 5 million dollar underwriting gift to NPR. In the video, Ron Schiller called the Tea Party racist. He had already announced his resignation a week prior to the release of the video but then quit immediately after the video was made public. That recording angered conservatives and renewed calls to end federal funding for public broadcasting.
Dave Edwards, the chairman of the board of directors of NPR, issued a statement saying that they accepted the resignation with "deep regret."
NPR's media correspondent David Folkenflik tweeted that the board forced out Vivian Schiller. Joyce Slocum, senior vice president for legal affairs, has been appointed as interim CEO.
Wednesday, March 9, 2011
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