NPR Completes Probe Of Freelancer's Use Of Recyled Audio Clips

Report

NPR's internal investigation of freelance news contributor DANIELLE KARSON has concluded that KARSON's reports from 2011 through 2018 contained almost 11% recycled sound bite material, including 157 of 1,429 reports, according to NPR Ombudsman ELIZABETH JENSEN.  The interview clips were from previous stories and were reused in the network's top-of-the-hour or twice-an-hour news updates.

The report from Acting SVP/News and Editorial Director CHRISTOPHER TURPIN, Supervising Sr. Editor/Standards & Practices MARK MEMMOTT, and Acting VP/News Programming SARAH GILBERT, stated that the clips were not identified as having been "recorded months, or sometimes years, earlier" but were presented as new, and that KARSON did not tell her editors that she was recycling the clips.  Two of 33 stories KARSON wrote for the NPR website also included clips from the problem newscasts.

The report said that NPR is revising its practices to ensure freelancers are familiar with the NPR Ethics Handbook and editing practices are being changed to require reporters to tell editors the details of how, when, and where interview material and audio were collected.

Read the complete report here.

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