Report: NPR Almost Ignores Filner Story

NPR in general and their legal affairs/Supreme Court correspondent Nina Totenberg in particular want the public to believe that they view sexual harassment charges against public figures as a very important issue that demands immediate and full coverage.

The reality according to Newsbusters: they behave that way only if the accused has a Republican party identification.

The most recent evidence of that: the reporting on the charges of sexual harassment and sexual assault by San Diego’s current Democratic mayor and former 20-year U.S. Congressman Bob Filner.

Congressman Filner

In the two weeks following the initial disclosure of the accusations July 11, which was followed by named accusers coming forward July 22, 23 and 24, NPR has aired a grand total of two pieces on the matter. The first occurred a full five days after the accusations first came out, on July 16 (even The New York Times reported it July 12). And both pieces were done by a public radio journalist in San Diego who doesn’t even work for NPR.

Compare that with the charges of sexual harassment made against then-Republican primary presidential candidate (and current syndicated radio talker) Herman Cain. In the two weeks following the initial disclosure of the accusations on October 30, 2011, which was also followed by multiple named accusers, NPR aired FORTY pieces by multiple NPR journalists. The first occurred just 8 hours after the accusations came out—on the first available NPR news show. One black reporter insisted Cain wasn't suffering yet because he was "willing to be a minstrel" for white conservatives.

Even NPR’s liberal game show Wait! Wait! Don’t Tell Me! skewered Cain in three separate segments in the same two weeks (they’ve done nothing on Filner).

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