Former NPR President and CEO Vivian Schiller, participating in a Breakfast Round-table at the Paley Center for Media in New York Tuesday, ripped the video sting operators that eventually cost her her job calling them an “abomination” and disputing the notion that it is a form of journalism.

PAT MITCHELL, PRESIDENT AND CEO OF THE PALEY CENTER FOR MEDIA: These hidden video cameras, I mean, how concerned are you about this, and in particular the way this one has gone down and continues to be?

VIVIAN SCHILLER, FIRED NPR CEO: Extremely concerned. I think it’s an abomination. I mean, this kind of tactic — for somebody to attach the word, some are calling this a form of journalism, this is not journalism. You don’t ensnare people; you don’t entrap people with hidden cameras; you don’t pretend to be somebody who you’re not. This is, I don’t know what this is, but it’s got nothing to do with anything that resembles the journalism that I know. And it’s very troubling, it’s very troubling and I think, I worry in particular about the impact it will have I think because of this latest ACORN and Planned Parenthood had come before this, I think with this NPR sting, I don’t know what else to call it, uh, I think that now everybody that I have talked to in the media is on the lookout thinking, “Who’s next? Are we next?” And I worry about how that will have an impact on people’s behavior because they are in fear that every conversation, everything they do might be, you know, not what it appears to be. It’s terrifying.

MITCHELL: Well is that part of the objective actually?

SCHILLER: Of course. I mean, I don’t know. I can’t possibly put myself in their heads. I don’t really want to try. But I would speculate that that would be the case.

Later during the Q&A Schiller said it was “chilling moment”  when in March she saw her name on the front page of  The New York Times and that she didn’t ever want to be there again in that way.

Schiller’s comments about the video stings, however, were nothing more than liberal fear mongering.  If establishment groups are operating as they are supposed to and staying within their mission and the law they should have nothing to fear and Schiller knows that.

There is no doubt that Schiller is bitter about what happened to her as a result of the videos that were released, coming so soon after the Juan Williams fiasco. But she should look on the bright side, which is that the very threat of future stings should get groups to clean up their acts and operate as they should and not as they please.

The complete video is available at FORA.tv

h/t Fox News

Share This

• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 
• 

About the author

Don Irvine
Don Irvine is Chairman of Accuracy in Media. He is active on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow him @donirvine to read his latest thoughts.

Related Posts

3 Comments for Former NPR CEO Calls Video Stings an “Abomination”

Nick Neanderthal

Yes, we all know that REAL JOURNALISTS are Communist puppets who hate America. Honest revelations are obviously no part of “journalism” today.
Thanks for the heads-up, Schiller!

Jim G

It is extremely telling that she calls these tactics an “abomination” Terrifying….not the “Type of journalism that I know” Yopu don’t pretend to be someone you are not

She should shut up and realize that the jig is up. How it will impact the behavior of the journalists? It might make tyhem become HONEST and OBJECTIVE in their reporting of the news and not slant the picture in favor of their agendas.