We've heard from many listeners recently regarding NPR's coverage of Bernie Sanders. In particular, many felt that Mara Liasson's recent analysis during All Things Considered regarding a possible Joe Biden bid for president missed the mark.
We at Vermont Public Radio shared these concerns directly with our colleagues at NPR, who shared the following with us:
“The reference in that conversation to Clinton 'basically running against herself' was intended to mean that her campaign is being buffeted in large part by issues related to things she's done - including using a private email server - rather than by attacks from other campaigns.
“We understand and apologize that the inference was not clear to some listeners. We did not intend to suggest that Clinton is not facing competition from Sen. Sanders.
“We also agree that a mention of the challenge posed by the Sanders' campaign would have been appropriate and helpful to include.”
This is not the first time that listeners have questioned NPR's coverage of Sanders' bid for president. Elizabeth Jensen, NPR's ombudsman, catalogs the critiques in an Aug. 7 blog post.
But along with that piece, at NPR.org. you can find links to at least 15 pieces of Sanders coverage produced by NPR for radio and web.
Locally, we at VPR have been covering Bernie Sanders' run since the beginning, and we have been collecting all of our coverage on a special section of our website.
We're also working on a documentary-style program about Sanders, Becoming Bernie, that will air in early October.
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As independent news organizations, VPR and NPR adhere to carefully developed codes of journalistic ethics. We strive to provide comprehensive and in-depth news and analysis that offers multiple perspectives on an issue. The goal, as always, is to be fair and objective in covering the news of the day.
We'll continue to keep a close ear on coverage of the 2016 election, and we encourage you to stay tuned and continue to share feedback with both VPR and NPR.