The Associated Press is reporting that Lisa Simeone, the host of “World of Opera” and a freelance contributor to “Soundprint," has been fired from the latter after her involvement in "Stop the Machine," an occupation protest similar in philosophy to #ows. It is being reported that NPR is also questioning her involvement in the protests, referring to them as an "Occupy DC" group.
Here is the story from The Washington Post:
A freelance broadcaster who works for music and documentary programs has been fired from a job after NPR questioned her involvement in a Washington protest.
Lisa Simeone said Thursday that she was fired from “Soundprint,” a documentary show that is not produced by NPR. Simeone says she was fired Wednesday in a phone call during which NPR’s code of ethics was read to her.
Simeone also hosts “World of Opera,” a show produced by WDAV, a North Carolina-based music and arts station in North Carolina. The show is distributed by NPR.
NPR issued a statement on its website that said it is in “conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this.”
Simeone says she’s involved with protesters who have been using the slogan October 2011/Stop the Machine.
As noted in the updates at the bottom of this post, NPR questioned WDAV (which hosts her opera show) about her involvement in an "Occupy DC" group. It appears that she was fired from "Soundprint" – a syndicated show produced by Soundprint Media Center Inc. – by Soundprint Media. While reports indicated that this was due, in part, to pressure from NPR, this has been flatly denied by the NPR ombudsman.
According to the Associated Press (emphasis mine):
Simeone told The Associated Press she is not a news reporter.
"I don't cover news. In none of the shows that I do, do I cover the news," she said. "What is NPR afraid I'll do? Insert a seditious comment into a synopsis of 'Madame Butterfly?'"
Simeone, who lives in Baltimore, said she has been serving with about 50 people on a steering committee for an occupation protest on Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington. She said it is not connected to the Occupy Wall Street movement that began in New York, but they share similar philosophies.
NPR issued a statement on its website Wednesday saying it had learned Simeon was participating in an "Occupy D.C." group but that she is not an NPR employee.
"We're in conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this," the statement read. "We of course take this issue very seriously."
This move is falling in line with a number of chilling incidents, executed both by the authorities as well as mainstream institutions, intended to dull both the efficacy of Occupy Wall Street and other, similar, protests as well as the dissemination of information on their efficacy.
The irony (as we've seen time and again in the past month): such moves only serve to give these protest movements a broader forum and increased publicity.
Contact NPR and SoundPrint Media
You can contact Soundprint Media, the company which fired Simeone, here.
You can contact NPR to let them know that this is NOT a "serious issue" and to protest this move by Soundprint here. You can also call their "Listener care" hotline (202) 513-3232 or access their fax line (202) 513-3329.
As for WDAV in North Carolina, you should SUPPORT the station by contacting it here and by calling 877-333-8990. WDAV is supporting Simeone!
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Author's Note 1: There was original confusion as to whether or not Simeone was fired for specifically participating in #ows, or for "Stop the Machine." This has since been clarified, though the outrageous nature of this story, and its chilling effect, remains.
This from the AP:
Lisa Simeone said she was fired the previous evening from "Soundprint," a music documentary show that isn't produced by NPR but is aired by its affiliates across the country. She said the head of Soundprint Media Center Inc., which produces the show, read NPR's code of ethics to her before she was fired.
NPR also questioned Simeone's involvement in the "Occupy D.C." protest and said its ethics code applies to the shows it carries. But NPR said Simeone doesn't work for the radio network, and it hadn't pressured Soundprint to fire her.
Simeone also hosts "World of Opera," a show produced by North Carolina-based music and arts station WDAV. That program is distributed by NPR. She said that station is supporting her so far.
Author's Note 2: Below is the official statement from NPR, which seems to be taking Simeone's role in these protests "very seriously" –
We recently learned of World of Opera host Lisa Simeone's participation in an Occupy DC group. World of Opera is produced by WDAV, a music and arts station based in Davidson, North Carolina. The program is distributed by NPR. Lisa is not an employee of NPR or of WDAV; she is a freelancer with the station.
We're in conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this. We of course take this issue very seriously.
Author's Note 3: Thanks to Hear Our Voices for pointing us to Think Progress, where it seems clear that Simeone was fired after direct pressure from NPR:
[Despite Simeone not being an NPR employee], NPR reacted sharply to pressure from conservative media outlets, sending out an e-mail to its staffers noting that it was “in conversations” with radio station WDAV, which produces one of Simeone’s shows, about “how to handle this. We of course take this issue very seriously.” And late last night, the station that hosts Soundpoint caved to pressure from NPR and fired Simeone from her job hosting the show after NPR’s code of conduct was read to her.
We also have this from Simeone:
Simeone told me: “I find it puzzling that NPR objects to my exercising my rights as an American citizen — the right to free speech, the right to peaceable assembly — on my own time in my own life. I’m not an NPR employee. I’m a freelancer. NPR doesn’t pay me. I’m also not a news reporter. I don’t cover politics. I’ve never brought a whiff of my political activities into the work I’ve done for NPR World of Opera. What is NPR afraid I’ll do — insert a seditious comment into a synopsis of Madame Butterfly?
“This sudden concern with my political activities is also surprising in light of the fact that Mara Liaason reports on politics for NPR yet appears as a commentator on FoxTV, Scott Simon hosts an NPR news show yet writes political op-eds for national newspapers, Cokie Roberts reports on politics for NPR yet accepts large speaking fees from businesses. Does NPR also send out ‘Communications Alerts’ about their activities?”
Author's Note 4: Thanks to DRo for pointing us to Stop the Machine's blog, which has posted this:
Let's be clear about Simeone's political activities. We have three quarters of the country wanting billionaires taxed, two-thirds wanting wars ended, large majorities wanting funding moved from the military to green energy and education and jobs. Simeone has been taking part in a nonviolent encampment designed to facilitate the petitioning of our government for a redress of grievances, a right guaranteed by the First Amendment. That's all. She has been participating. Nothing more. There is nothing more specific to the allegation, nothing in particular that she has allegedly done other than participate in a nonviolent mass mobilization on behalf of majority opinion.
It may be difficult for NPR bigwigs to understand why we don't all just rent $400 per night hotel rooms instead of littering a public square with tents. But NPR's highly paid political agitators on behalf of the 1% are part of the problem. They are what we are protesting. And that is presumably what makes our speech and assembly "unethical."
Or perhaps the breech of ethics is to be found in behaving as a decent citizen while simultaneously possessing some connection to the most insidious corporate loudspeaker in the country, one labeled "public" but belonging to the 1%.
The most important point to stress here, I think, is that all requests should be routed through NPR Communications at 202-513-2300 or mediarelations@npr.org
Author's Note 5: Thanks to David Mizner for pointing us to NPR's Code of Ethics.
Here is the code that, ostensibly, Simeone is in "violation" of:
2. NPR journalists may not participate in marches and rallies involving causes or issues that NPR covers, nor should they sign petitions or otherwise lend their name to such causes, or contribute money to them.
Given that she is not a journalist, it would be patently ridiculous for this to have any ethical force.
Author's Note 6: NPR is claiming, contrary to reports, that it was in no way involved in Simeone's firing at Soundprint, and that she will remain at WDAV. Given this, some commenters are suggesting that NPR clearly had nothing to do with her original firing.
I disagree that this denial immediately exonerates NPR, though the truth of what occurred is now being contradicted by the parties involved.
Simeone herself seems to clearly indicate that NPR was involved, which contradicts NPR's claim. If Think Progress is correct that NPR pressured Soundprint, there may be a logical (though entirely hypothetical) progression here:
NPR could not legally fire Simeone due to its code of ethics, given that she's not a journalist.
However, to appease those conservative groups pressuring it to act, NPR turned its focus on Soundprint and pressured the media organization to fire her, given her involvement in a documentary program (despite her not being an NPR employee in the show's capacity).
I do not know if this is what has transpired. However, if reports are accurate, and if NPR's denial is disingenuous, NPR has attempted to have it both ways here.
It's important to note, however, that this is just speculation. We have 1) a flat NPR denial, and 2) sources (including Simeone's words) that seem to contradict this.
The truth may reside somewhere in between.
Author's Note 7: A story from Salon adds information to the mix, and makes it clear that Soundprint felt pressured by blog posts at the Daily Caller:
Lisa Simeone, host of two cultural programs on National Public Radio, was fired from one of her positions last night for her leading role in the Freedom Plaza occupation in Washington, D.C. The proximate cause was a series of blogs posts in the Daily Caller asserting that she had violated NPR’s code of ethics, an allegation which Simeone denies.
“It overblown. Everyone’s overreacting,” Simeone told Salon in a phone interview. “It’s like McCarthyism.”
Simeone, a former weekend host of NPR’s “All Things Considered” show, had not worked directly for the network since 2002. As a freelancer contracting with WDAV, a music and arts station in Davidson, N.C., she hosts NPR’s “World of Opera” program. NPR and WDAV released statements today saying they are “in conversation” about Simeone’s future.
We know now that 1) she will remain at WDAV, 2) NPR was in discussions about Simeone's future, and 3) NPR has denied having any hand in her dismissal from Soundprint.
At this stage, the only thing that can be confirmed is this: Soundprint's executive producer is pathetic, and clearly crumpled under intense pressure. This can be seen clearly in the Salon piece:
Simeone said she was fired Wednesday night by Moira Rankin, executive producer of “Soundprint,” a weekly documentary program that Simeone hosts. The program, independently produced, airs on NPR stations around the country.
“It was bewildering,” Simeone said. “She started by quoting all these reports from the Daily Caller, and I didn’t know even what that was. She said, ‘Are you involved with this organization [October 2011]? I said, ‘Yes, I was one of about 50 people who helped put this together.’ She said, ‘That’s a problem because I’m getting all these calls. I think you violated the NPR code of ethics.’”
“I said, ‘Can you explain how?’” Simeone went on. “Scott Simon writes Op-Eds. Cokie Roberts [is paid] tens of thousand of dollars in fees talking to business groups. Moira Ellison goes on Fox TV to express her opinions. They all report on the issues — which I don’t do. I finally said, ‘Are you firing me?’ She said yes.”