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NPR slams the door on Elon Musk. American radio has decided to stop using its 52 Twitter accounts in response to a rule change on the social network, which has changed its rules overnight and has assigned the media a label similar to the one it grants to public media from dictatorial countries without freedom of expression. NPR is publicly funded, but has editorial freedom and has rebelled against this change of criteria, as stated in a statement on Wednesday.
“We made this decision after Twitter rejected repeated requests to remove an inaccurate label designating NPR as a ‘state-affiliated media outlet.’ The label has since been changed to ‘government-funded media’, which does not accurately reflect our governance structure of public media and continues to send Twitter users an explanation implying ‘government involvement in editorial content’ ‘. We believe this label is intended to challenge our independent editorial and undermine our credibility. If we kept tweeting, every message would carry that misleading label,” NPR said.
NPR claims it is a private, non-profit organization with an independent publisher and that it receives less than 1% of its $300 million annual budget from the federally funded Public Broadcasting Corporation (CPB). The combination of these two factors, lack of profit and federal support (both direct and indirect, through its associated stations), has caused it to be seen as a kind of public radio station, but without government interference in its content. .
Twitter’s rules are exclusive to independent publishers such as the BBC and NPR, and this is what the quoted person expresses, of the qualification of “state-affiliated media” that applies to Russia Today or the Chinese agency Xinhua. However, without preview and against its own rules, Twitter began applying the tag to NPR and the BBC as well. Later, the social network modified its rules.
After the protests, there was that small change that still does not satisfy the American media. In an interview with the BBC and published on Wednesday, Musk had hinted that he could further change the label from “government-funded” to “publicly funded.” But according to information published by NPR itself, then the words have not convinced the managers of the radio.
According to the outlet’s CEO John Lansing, even if Twitter dropped that designation entirely, NPR would not immediately return to the platform. “At this moment I have lost my faith in decision-making on Twitter,” Lansing had seen in an interview with his own network. “I would need some time to understand if Twitter can be trusted again,” he added.
“The question is not whether or not we are funded by the government,” adds Lansing. “Even if we were funded by the government, which we are not, the question is independence, because all journalism has income of some kind.” Public radio stations KCRW, from Santa Monica (California); WESA, from Pittsburgh (Pennsylvania) and WEKU, from central and eastern Kentucky, along with Twitter.
inconsistent application
The vast majority of the media receive some public funds, even if it is through institutional advertising. Twitter also applies inconsistently as labels. It does not grant it to communication media such as news agencies, international public television and radio stations, which are financed almost exclusively with state funds, but it has imposed it on NPR, with a lower percentage of public financing.
NPR will allow journalists and other NPR employees to decide for themselves whether to operate using a social network. In an email to employees explaining the decision cited by NPR, Lansing wrote: “It would be a disservice to the serious work you all do here to continue to share it on a platform that is associating the federal public media statute with an abandonment of the independent publisher or the standards”.
Most of NPR’s funding comes from businesses, individuals, and grants. It also receives significant programming fees from affiliated stations. These, in turn, received around 13% of their funds from the Public Broadcasting Corporation and other state and federal sources.
Musk’s ups and downs have led him to clashes with the media, which he treats in a hostile manner, partly in response to the criticism they receive from them and partly because they are perceived as somehow competitive. The tycoon has suppressed his communication department and when questions are sent by email he automatically responds with the smiley poop emoticon.
Musk has removed the blue checkmark recently by New York Times, with whom he has had frequent encounters. The social network has ensured that as of April 20 it will withdraw that badge from all users who are not subscribed. Until the rule change, the verification mark only certified the authenticity of an account, but also its relevance. The date chosen for the change (April 20, 4-20 in English) is a new nod to 420, the number of marijuana.
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