NPR has employee targeted for Occupy participation

NPR has radio host targeted for exercising First Amendment rights

After National Public Radio learned Wednesday that its producer-host of "World of Opera" Lisa Simeone participated in the nonviolent occupation of Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C., organized by October2011.org., the radio station targeted her financially by persuading another company for which Simeone worked to fire her, cutting her income in half and purging from so-called public airwaves a voice that never mentioned politics on NPR according to author and human rights defender David Swanson. Swanson called NPR staff "bigwigs" who are part of the one percent problem, "agitators" that the occupiers are protesting.

"I don't cover news. In none of the shows that I do, do I cover the news," Simeone said. "What is NPR afraid I'll do? Insert a seditious comment into a synopsis of 'Madame Butterfly?'"

Simeone told Associated Press that she was fired the previous evening from "Soundprint," a music documentary show not produced by NPR but aired by its affiliates across the country.

"She said the head of Soundprint Media Center Inc., which produces the show, read NPR's code of ethics to her before she was fired," reported Associated Press.

NPR questioned Simeone's involvement in "Occupy D.C." and told her its ethics code applies to the shows it carries.

AP says NPR admitted that Simeone doesn't work for it and claimed it "had not pressured Soundprint to fire her."

David Swanson, author of "War is Lie" and prominent participant in the rapidly spreading occupation movements' October2011, released a statement Thursday with the NPR communique it called a "Communications Alert" addressed to Dana Davis Rehm about Simeone:

From: NPR Communications

Sent: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 6:12 PM

Subject: From Dana Rehm: Communications Alert

To: All Staff

Fr: Dana Davis Rehm

Re: Communications Alert

We recently learned of World of Opera host Lisa Simeone’s participation in an Occupy DC group. World of Opera is produced by WDAV, a music and arts station based in Davidson, North Carolina. The program is distributed by NPR. Lisa is not an employee of WDAV or NPR; she is a freelancer with the station.

We're in conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this. We of course take this issue very seriously.

As a reminder, all public comment (including social media) on this matter is being managed by NPR Communications.

All media requests should be routed through NPR Communications at 202.513.2300 ormediarelations@npr.org. We will keep you updated as needed. Thanks."

Swanson wrote in his emailed statement Thursday, "Simeone told me: 'I find it puzzling that NPR objects to my exercising my rights as an American citizen -- the right to free speech, the right to peaceable assembly -- on my own time in my own life. I'm not an NPR employee. I'm a freelancer. NPR doesn't pay me. I'm also not a news reporter."

She furthered, "I don't cover politics. I've never brought a whiff of my political activities into the work I've done for NPR World of Opera."

"This sudden concern with my political activities is also surprising in light of the fact that Mara Liaason reports on politics for NPR yet appears as a commentator on FoxTV, Scott Simon hosts an NPR news show yet writes political op-eds for national newspapers, Cokie Roberts reports on politics for NPR yet accepts large speaking fees from businesses. Does NPR also send out 'Communications Alerts' about their activities?"

She said, "This sudden concern with my political activities is also surprising in light of the fact that Mara Liaason reports on politics for NPR yet appears as a commentator on Fox TV, Scott Simon hosts an NPR news show yet writes political op-eds for national newspapers, Cokie Roberts reports on politics for NPR yet accepts large speaking fees from businesses.

"Does NPR also send out 'Communications Alerts' about their activities?" she asked.

Such inequality is all too familiar for the typical workplace mobbed target, mobbed out of a job, and then, more often than not, out of their career and income. Such is the life of a Targeted Individual unless hired by a trusted friend.

Linda Shallcross, head of Workplace Mobbing portal in Australia called Blacksheep, says that those targeted at work are often:

Change agents
High achievers (sometimes with public recognition)
Enthusiastic (eg those who volunteer)
Whistleblowers
Known for their commitment to human rights

Last week, Reporters Without Borders urged authorities to halt its repressive measures against reporters covering the Occupy Wall Street movement. The organization said various tactics, including physical injury and through the Internet, are being used to target reporters and that this is unacceptable censorship.

NPR: Sophisticated Big Energy funded gatekeeper, oppressor further exposed

That media news sources are also targeting individuals for participating in the Occupy movement, especially a news group still viewed as ethical by some, lends more weight to others' analysis that NPR is a sophisticated gatekeeper. (See: "Breaking News: Reporters covering Occupy Wall Street now Targeted Individuals", Deborah Dupré, Examiner, October 13, 2011)

AP reported Thursday:

"In the past year, NPR has come under scrutiny for its firing of news analyst Juan Williams after he said on Fox News that he was uncomfortable being on a plane with someone wearing clothing that identifies them as Muslim. At the time, NPR said Williams's comments violated its code of ethics by participating in media 'that encourage punditry and speculation rather than fact-based analysis.'"

"It may be difficult for NPR bigwigs to understand why we don't all just rent $400 per night hotel rooms instead of littering a public square with tents," Swanson asserted.

"But NPR's highly paid political agitators on behalf of the 1% are part of the problem. They are what we are protesting. And that is presumably what makes our speech and assembly 'unethical.'"

Political analyst Don DeBar told Dupré in a Skype interview on October 2, "The real power behind NPR showed its hand when it ran off the CEO, Vivian Schiller, because a fundraiser for the network was caught on camera telling the truth - that the Tea Party is racist and that the Republican Party was anti-intellectual."

"The new CEO promises that NPR will be even more 'even-handed' than the previous one which, if anything, has catered to the absurdities of the Right to a frightening degree," DeBar said.

"The Republicans - and too many Democrats, for that matter - have made it clear enough to NPR (which we called at the old Pacifica, 'National Petroleum Radio'), given the large part of the network's funding that comes from oil and gas companies) that if they don't toe the line, they don't get the grants from the Federal government."

"They don't cover anything beyond Democratic and Republican mainstream politics - certainly, if there is a revolution brewing, they aren't going to cover it," he said.

Although NPR has "covered" the Occupy Wall Street protests, it was slammed by some after its coverage of the 700 arrests at the Brooklyn Bridge.

"What they did NOT cover well is that allegedly, according to videos, is that police ordered protesters on the bridge and then arrested them for following orders," DeBar told Dupré.

On Thursday, Swanson stated, "Let's be clear about Simeone's political activities. We have three quarters of the country wanting billionaires taxed, two-thirds wanting wars ended, large majorities wanting funding moved from the military to green energy and education and jobs."

"Simeone has been taking part in a nonviolent encampment designed to facilitate the petitioning of our government for a redress of grievances, a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. That's all. She has been participating. Nothing more.

"There is nothing more specific to the allegation, nothing in particular that she has allegedly done other than participate in a nonviolent mass mobilization on behalf of majority opinion."

Swanson says, "The most important point to stress here, I think, is that all requests should be routed through NPR Communications at 202-513-2300or mediarelations@npr.org."