National Public Radio (NPR) has found itself at the center of controversy after an embarrassing email snafu regarding longtime gay host Ari Shapiro. Initially, NPR’s managing editor for standards and practices, Tony Cavin, advised Shapiro to skip a corporate Pride event, citing the network’s ethics handbook which discourages appearances at private industry functions.
This guidance, however, was mistakenly sent to a broader group of NPR editorial staff. The email said, “The guidance in our ethics handbook is to ‘avoid appearances at private industry or corporate functions. Because this is a closed corporate event I think it would be best to politely decline.”
Shapiro, known for his leadership as co-host of NPR’s All Things Considered, immediately questioned this recommendation. He pointed out that he had previously spoken at Pride events with management’s approval. He also highlighted the blunder of sending the message to the entire editorial group instead of directly to him.
This incident comes amid heightened threats from conservative lawmakers to cut funding for NPR, which has faced pressure since the Trump administration and more recently with the introduction of the Defund Government Sponsored Propaganda Act by Senator Mike Lee. Ari Shapiro has been with NPR since 2001, covering major stories across the nation.
