'Nobody is telling us what to write': GBH president responds to Twitter branding NPR as 'state-affiliated media'

On Tuesday night, Twitter branded the official NPR Twitter account as "state-affiliated media" on its profile. If you click on that label, you get Twitter's definition of what that means: "outlets where the state exercises control over editorial content through financial resources, direct or indirect political pressures, and/or control over production and distribution."

Previously, the social media platform also had this line in its policy: "State-financed media organizations with editorial independence, like the BBC in the UK or NPR in the US for example, are not defined as state-affiliated media for the purposes of this policy." Twitter dropped the reference to NPR on Tuesday, leaving only the BBC as a listed exception. As of Friday, Twitter's policy no longer includes any reference to editorial independence or either organization.

The "state-affiliated media" designation has been used for propaganda outlets in countries such as Russia and China, and it's only the latest in a series of controversial decisions the site has made since it was bought by Elon Musk in October 2022.

NPR receives a small amount of money indirectly from the federal government via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and the U.S. government has no editorial input on the organization. Despite the inaccuracy of the label, Musk has defended the move, saying that it "seems accurate," causing concern in the public radio industry whether similar designations will be applied to other newsrooms in the future. To help understand GBH's response and Twitter strategy moving forward, GBH's All Things Considered host Arun Rath spoke with GBH President and CEO Susan Goldberg.

Arun Rath: To start off, tell us about what GBH's response and reaction is, and what we're thinking coming out of this. If they can designate NPR this way, it seems like they could designate GBH that way too.

Susan Goldberg: Well, I can't control what Twitter is going to do or how or who they're going to designate as what. But what I can tell you is that GBH News — like all public media outlets — is independent, fact-based and community-oriented. We are supported in a very small way by the federal government, and not just the news department. We get a small amount of money from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that goes into running our entire operation, whether it's our children's programing or our shows for PBS. What we do is get our money and our support from our listeners. More than 180,000 people in the Boston area give support to GBH, and that is what undergirds everything that we do.

Rath: Just to underscore the point, even though I've said it, we don't get any editorial input pressure or anything in that way from the government, correct?

Goldberg: Oh, absolutely not. We operate as an independent news entity. We are busy going all over town, working on fact-based stories that make a difference in the Boston area to our readers and to our listeners on every single platform. That is that's what we do. That's what other public media does. Nobody is telling us what to write, what to record, what to broadcast in any way.

Rath: I want to expand this as well, because GBH is a lot more than GBH News and what we do on the radio. Obviously, GBH produces a lot of programing, a lot of television programing, digital video, national programing. I'll leave you to make the same point of clarity about everything GBH does.

Goldberg: We are a multi-faceted news and information and entertainment media company, so we're creating everything from amazing children's programing and have done that for our entire history as being the largest producer of shows for PBS. I don't think most people really realize it, but shows like "FRONTLINE" and "Antiques Roadshow," "NOVA," "Masterpiece," "American Experience," all of these shows are produced by GBH and distributed nationally on PBS.

When it comes to the radio side of our business, we've got more than 600,000 people a week who are coming to our content locally, produced by 110 people right here at GBH News. That's everything from people listening on the actual radio to our YouTube channel to digital content on GBH.org or streaming content for 89.7. So we've got this large local audience and a large national and international audience.

Rath: Having established that, let's talk about how we deal with this, because, Susan, it's disturbing when we see NPR branded with that state media organization label. Twitter is an important way we are used to connecting with our audiences and doing reporting. Now, with that label, that means that that could restrict the number of people who are seeing what NPR is producing. And again, that has implications for all of us.

Goldberg: We're obviously disappointed and concerned by this move and think it's wholly unwarranted. That said, I think what we really need to focus on is continuing to create the kind of journalism that makes a difference in communities. A vibrant free press is absolutely essential to the health of our democracy and right now, we've got a situation where there are a lot of people who don't believe what they see in the free press, in legitimate legacy news organizations. What we've really got to do is double down against that by creating content that is fair, that is accurate, that reflects all the voices in the community and that is transparent in how we gather it and how we disseminate it. I think we do a great job of that at GBH and really are a model organization in that regard. So, we need to give our local communities that we reach the information that will empower them to make better and smarter decisions in everything from how government is run to how they're operating their own lives. That is the point and the cornerstone of a free press, and we just need to continue to do that.

Rath: Is there any point at which we would need to think about changes to our policy around Twitter usage?

Goldberg: You always have to look at a current situation and make smart decisions about it. I would say that right now we don't have any plans to change what we're doing on Twitter.

Rath: Have we received any guidance from NPR in terms of what their approach is going to be?

Goldberg: We have not received any guidance. I think a lot of people are talking about this just because it is so inaccurate in terms of reflecting NPR content as well. They, just like us, do not receive any marching orders from government or people in power. You know what we're all about and what they're all about is holding the powerful to account.

Rath: Susan, really appreciate you taking the time to talk with us about this. We'll have you back on to talk about more interesting and engaging things, I promise. Thank you.

Goldberg: Thank you, Arun. I appreciate being on.