Jessica Birthisel | Oct. 20, 2009
National Public Radio CEO Vivian Schiller spoke Oct. 19 at the Buskirk-Chumley Theater as the School of Journalism’s second Speaker Series guest. Below are highlights from the question and answer session with the audience that followed the talk.
Q: Is there a need for a public version of NPR that could bring quality journalism to television similar to a BBB model?
Photo by Jeremy Hogan
Schiller told students to "experiment like crazy" as they follow their career pursuits.
Q: A lot of journalism is dismissed by large segments of the audience if it doesn’t align with preconceived notions, such as ideas about liberal bias. How do we get past this?
Schiller said there is always going to be a section of the audience that is looking for substantiation of their point of view. NPR tries “really, really hard” to be completely unbiased and to just provide information that people need to make their decisions, said Schiller.
Q: Do you see the future of decline of newspapers and the increase in online and multimedia journalism as a good thing?
Schiller described both print and online platforms as “empty vessels,” explaining that what matters is what you put on these platforms.
“There’s nothing inherent about the Internet or a blog that makes it less credible,” said Schiller, adding that on the contrary, Internet has more flexibility, making it much less static than a piece of paper. “Personally, I like to read the printed page, but I don’t think democracy will crumble if newspapers go away. I think democracy will crumble if journalism goes away.”
Q: What would be some of the qualities and characteristics of an ideal applicant for an NPR position?
Schiller joked that beyond basic morality, she considers the highest standard of a human being to be “insatiable curiosity.” Additionally, Schiller wants a job candidate to be proficient in multiple platforms, to have a good grounding in the basics of journalism as well as energy and enthusiasm.
Q: In objective journalism, is there a space to confront biased sources when you believe they are off mark?
“Being a journalist and not being biased doesn’t mean that you have to leave your intelligence at the door,” said Schiller, describing it as the responsibility of a good reporter to challenge sources if they are providing skewed information. “It’s the role of the journalist to always be skeptical.”
Q: As you said, the average age of an NPR listener is 49. How do you plan to target the next generation of listeners?
Schiller said that NPR has to be wherever the audience is, whether that’s on Facebook or on iPhones. “We need to be in front of them. Otherwise how is anyone going to know what we offer?”
Q: How is NPR looking at international news in the future?
Schiller said she hopes to move beyond basic international stories at NPR’s 17 international bureaus and dive deeper into overseas issues just like they already do with American issues. She also hopes to train international reporters to provide content on multimedia platforms.
Q: A lot of people are resistant to digital platforms. How can you, especially with older audiences, fight that resistance?
Schiller answered that because of the abundance of content on the Web, “the law of averages tells you that probably most of it is not going to be very good. By not very good, I mean not real journalism.” She said online operations are providing quality content and this content will rise to the top to find an audience.
Q: What are the implications of having NPR correspondents and contributors such as Cokie Roberts and Juan Williams participate on other news stations like ABC and Fox News, respectively?
Some such journalists, like Roberts, are employed equally by both companies and therefore present no ethical problems. For others, she said, the situation is “a tricky one that we are wrestling with.” On the one hand, these appearances are promotion for NPR. On the other, she is not in favor of reporters expressing their opinions publicly. Additionally, NPR journalists often represent “the left” in topic debates, a representation she said she’s not comfortable with.
