Boise State Public Radio is joining NPR and public radio stations across the country in support of their editorial independence and the integrity of our journalism. Effective today, we have suspended sharing new posts on Twitter.
A week ago Twitter falsely labeled NPR’s official account “state-affiliated media,” phrasing used for outlets of foreign propaganda. This label ran contrary to Twitter’s own guidelines at that time. This week the designation was changed to “government-funded media,” which we believe indicates government influence on NPR journalism that is misleading. NPR is an independent news outlet.
Boise State Public Radio is locally-operated public media here in Idaho. Our relationship with NPR is that we purchase and broadcast NPR programming. But it’s more than that. We are part of the NPR Network and stand in solidarity with our national partner. We support accuracy in journalism and fair representation across this network of hundreds of public media organizations.
NPR CEO John Lansing wrote, “We are not putting our journalism on platforms that have demonstrated an interest in undermining our credibility and the public’s understanding of our editorial independence.”
You can read about NPR’s decision here.
So we join NPR at this moment. Boise State Public Radio has paused sharing new posts on Twitter from our official account and from supporting the platform with paid ads. Staff members remain free to make their own choices about using the platform. We will revisit our decision in the days ahead, as events warrant.
The majority of our funding at Boise State Public Radio comes from individual membersand local business underwriters. We receive some funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a nonprofit corporation created by U.S. Congress in 1967 to support public broadcasting. We receive some funding from Boise State University, our home for the past 45 years. But the majority is due to the generosity of our audience, who support us in the form of membership, major gifts, business underwriting and vehicle donations.
Here is a short explainer on our funding model:
There are many ways to remain engaged with us. You can continue to find Boise State Public Radio on air and online. Here is how.
