WMRA is suspending official activity on Twitter today, joining NPR and many public radio stations across the country in standing up for the editorial independence and integrity of our journalism.
At WMRA, we proudly hold to our mission to be a trusted source of news and information that supports connections among communities in the Shenandoah Valley and Central Virginia.
Earlier this week, NPR CEO John Lansing announced that NPR was halting activity on its institutional Twitter accounts because Twitter was “taking actions that undermine our credibility by falsely implying that we are not editorially independent.” He explained, “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.”
We too have decided to step back from posting to our official Twitter account: @WMRANews. Staff members will remain free to make their own choices about using Twitter in their work.
We also understand this is a quickly evolving discussion both inside and outside public radio and public media, and if Twitter stops incorrectly labeling public media, we’ll reconsider this pause.
You can continue to find WMRA everywhere you go looking for news and information: on the air; at WMRA.org; on the WMRA app, through our weekly newsletter; on Facebook, Instagram, and YouTube; and with the WMRA Daily and Folklife Fieldnotes wherever you get your podcasts.
Thank you for your support of WMRA and our independent journalists.
