I’ve been watching the ping-pong over at NPR’s blog as to what exactly happened to Ron Schiller after the videos of his extremely prejudiced remarks became public.
Follow the timeline:
Our original post:NPR’s soon-to-be-departing senior vice president for fundraising Ron Schiller is seen and heard on a videotape released this morning telling two men who were posing as members of a fictitious Muslim Education Action Center Trust that …
Update at 5:35 p.m. ET. More on Ron Schiller’s status:The official word from NPR spokeswoman Dana Davis Rehm is that he’s been “placed on administrative leave.“ [my emphasis] Here’s a new statement from Rehm:
[…]
“Prior to the lunch meeting presented in the edited video, Ron Schiller had informed NPR that he was resigning from his position to take a new job. His resignation was announced publicly last week, and he was expected to depart in May. While we review this situation, he has been placed on administrative leave.” [my emphasis]
Update at 5:25 p.m. ET. Ron Schiller’s status.More from David Folkenflik’s upcoming All Things Considered report:
“Just last Thursday Ron Schiller announced he would be leaving NPR to take a position at the Aspen Institute in Colorado. He has been commuting from his home in Aspen, at his own expense, during his 18 months on the job. Today, his departure was made effective immediately.” [my emphasis]
Update at 2:40 p.m. ET: Earlier, on first reference we called Ron Schiller the “then-senior vice president.” To be more precise, we’ve changed it to “soon-to-be-departing.”
Update at 11:12 a.m. ET: NPR’s Dana Davis Rehm has told members stations that “there is no connection between the video and [Ron Schiller’s] decision to leave NPR.” [my emphasis]
But was it Schiller’s decision to leave NPR so soon, at this particular period, on this particular day, right as video of his very disparaging remarks was made public?
Slate says he was canned, I’m inclined to believe the same, “administrative leave” notwithstanding.
*UPDATE: The Aspen Institute had barely announced Schiller’s hiring before this story broke. Dated from a March 6 post:
The Aspen Institute has appointed Ronald J. Schiller as the new director of the Aspen Institute Arts Program and Harman-Eisner Artist-in-Residence Program.Currently president of the NPR Foundation, Schiller starts his new position on April 1, serving as the program’s second director, following Dana Gioia’s departure to serve on the faculty at the University of Southern California. He will be based out of the Institute’s offices in Aspen.
Starting his new position on April 1st? It gives a bit of weight to NPR’s earlier dance of “administrative leave” if he was going to work up to, or close to, his April start date. Perhaps “canned” is right.
Woooee! As expected, the comments in the Aspen piece are heated. A sample:
Comment count on this article reflects comments made on Breitbart.com and Facebook. Visit Breitbart's Facebook Page.