NPR CEO Katherine Maher recently traveled to London for the city’s SXSW festival because, apparently, she thinks London is the place to be when she needs to convince American lawmakers not to rescind her federal funding. While in London, Maher sat down for an interview with CNN International’s Max Foster that aired on his Monday installment of What We Know, where she insisted that NPR wasn’t on the left because nobody really knows what “left” means. She also claimed NPR is needed in order for people to have safe drinking water after hurricanes.
Foster had more of a declaration than a question when he opined, “America's got lots of networks that aren't so common here in Europe, which are opinion-based networks, and that's a different culture. But you have to serve everyone. So you're trying to stay in the middle. And that's become harder.”
Maher agreed, “I think it's harder insofar as people don't agree on what the middle is now. It's not harder in the sense of our commitment to ensuring we're hearing from different voices. I also tend to think there's this perspective that, you know, people can be reduced to sort of political platforms, but in reality, when you drill down on people's preferences, they're far more complex than that.”
After trying to use manufacturing jobs versus environmental protection as an example, Maher added, “And so, when we do really good reporting, what we're actually offering is the ability for us to hold that context, that nuance and that complexity in ways that allow people to connect with how it affects people's lives, as opposed to reducing it to sort of left versus right.”
Okay, but what about issues that are pretty clearly left versus right, like eco-terrorism or abortion?
Foster wasn’t interested in that. Instead, he proclaimed, “It's been undermined by parts of the right.”
Later, Foster lobbed another softball, “When you're dealing with the Trump administration, you've got this particular challenge at the moment. They're effectively trying to take away your funding, which I know doesn't necessarily affect the national network, but does affect the local networks massively, doesn't it?”
Maher gladly took the opportunity to claim, “Our local network, I think is, it's such an under-realized part of what it is that we do, and it's very different from other public media broadcasters, which is why it's sometimes confusing for people to understand. We at NPR are a producer of news. We've got a newsroom, news gathering, culture, information.”
She then warned, “So, it's about 100 million in annual funding that goes directly to stations. So, it's both a lot of money. And also, you know, it's relatively small compared to the size of the federal budget. And so, the way that these public stations work, these local stations is they play a critical role in emergencies -- not only in terms of emergency broadcasting, warnings, tornado watches, things along those lines, but recently, there were -- in the last year, Hurricane Helene, which hit North Carolina terribly hard. The residents of Asheville and the surrounding area went without drinking water, showering water, cooking water for more than –”
After Foster interrupted to add “and internet,” Maher rolled on, “And Internet and news and electricity and all these things. The radio was the only thing that worked. It was the only thing that worked. And it was where people found safe drinking water. It was where people found information about their loved ones to know whether they were okay. So, this is what we're talking about. It's not just a medium of last resort, but it's really important that it is there.”
Asheville is a city of nearly 100,000 people, and NPR is not the only radio station in town. Claiming NPR is necessary to direct people to safe drinking water after hurricanes is just emotional blackmail.
Here is a transcript for the June 10 show:
CNN International What We Know with Max Foster
6/10/2025
3:37 PM ET
MAX FOSTER: America's got lots of networks that aren't so common here in Europe, which are opinion-based networks, and that's a different culture. But you have to serve everyone. So you're trying to stay in the middle.
KATHERINE MAHER: Yes, yes.
FOSTER: And that's become harder.
MAHER: It -- I think it's harder insofar as people don't agree on what the middle is now. It's not harder in the sense of our commitment to ensuring we're hearing from different voices. I also tend to think there's this perspective that, you know, people can be reduced to sort of political platforms, but in reality, when you drill down on people's preferences, they're far more complex than that. When you go into local communities and you talk to them about what they want in terms of economic revitalization, they will recognize real tensions, perhaps around manufacturing and ensuring that their environment is something healthy for their children. And so, when we do really good reporting, what we're actually offering is the ability for us to hold that context, that nuance and that complexity in ways that allow people to connect with how it affects people's lives, as opposed to reducing it to sort of left versus right.
FOSTER: It's been undermined by parts of the right. Do you feel all the brands are suffering from a lack of trust? I mean, where does that come from?
MAHER: I think it's indisputable that media right now has a trust problem. And it's not just NPR, it's not just major broadcast organizations. We're seeing a real rise in people's trust in media influencers, news influencers.
I would always note that usually those influencers are relying on other media organizations, reporting organizations. They don't have newsgathering. I don't know that that's necessarily a bad thing. I think what it teaches us is that people want a relationship not with an institution, but with an individual. We have a historic belief in media that the brand name of our organization is enough to convey trust, confidence and integrity. But people right now are really looking for relationships with the reporter. They want to understand why someone is saying what they're saying. That is as meaningful now as the brand of the organization itself.
FOSTER: When you're dealing with the Trump administration, you've got this particular challenge at the moment. They're effectively trying to take away your funding, which I know doesn't necessarily affect the national network, but does affect the local networks massively, doesn't it?
MAHER: Yeah. Our local network, I think is, it's such an under-realized part of what it is that we do, and it's very different from other public media broadcasters, which is why it's sometimes confusing for people to understand. We at NPR are a producer of news. We've got a newsroom, news gathering, culture, information.
Our local stations are on the ground and they are doing local newsgathering. They're producing shows that are relevant to their local communities. The loss of federal funding will hit them first and foremost. So, it's about 100 million in annual funding that goes directly to stations. So, it's both a lot of money. And also, you know, it's relatively small compared to the size of the federal budget. And so, the way that these public stations work, these local stations is they play a critical role in emergencies -- not only in terms of emergency broadcasting, warnings, tornado watches, things along those lines, but recently, there were -- in the last year, Hurricane Helene, which hit North Carolina terribly hard. The residents of Asheville and the surrounding area went without drinking water, showering water, cooking water for more than –
FOSTER: And Internet.
MAHER: And Internet and news and electricity and all these things.
FOSTER: They're still working.
MAHER: The radio was the only thing that worked.
FOSTER: Yeah.
MAHER: It was the only thing that worked. And it was where people found safe drinking water. It was where people found information about their loved ones to know whether they were okay. So, this is what we're talking about. It's not just a medium of last resort, but it's really important that it is there.
