Katherine Maher, President and CEO of National Public Radio (NPR), will receive the prestigious James C. Goodale First Amendment Award from Harper’s Magazine on October 26. This recognition comes despite her past remarks about the First Amendment being a ‘challenge’ in certain contexts.
Harper’s Magazine praised Maher for leading NPR through challenging times of political, legal, and financial scrutiny. The publication highlighted her efforts to navigate the organization’s path during President Donald Trump’s campaign to eliminate funding to NPR. Although Congress later withdrew $1.1 billion in federal support to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2025, Maher’s leadership was noted for successfully battling the defunding attempts.
NPR recently received an $80 million gift from a Democratic donor, which served as a significant boost after losing government funding.
Maher served as CEO of Wikimedia before joining NPR. In 2021, she spoke about combating disinformation and referred to the First Amendment as a challenge due to its robust protection of rights. These rights allow platforms to regulate content, complicating efforts to address the spread of false information.
Katherine Maher has acknowledged NPR’s mistakes, including not covering the Hunter Biden laptop story aggressively ahead of the 2020 presidential election. Critics viewed this as an attempt to shield Joe Biden, the candidate at the time.
Maher defended NPR’s mission of serving the public interest, emphasizing the importance of the First Amendment in safeguarding freedom and encouraging understanding. She expressed her deep honor in receiving the award and reiterated NPR’s commitment to defend constitutional rights.
Not all agree with this recognition. Tim Graham from NewsBusters criticized Harper’s Magazine for what he sees as a typical liberal bias, focusing criticism only on Trump and Republicans while allegedly ignoring issues related to President Biden. He questions awarding Maher, who once considered the First Amendment a hurdle, with a First Amendment award.