The chief diversity officer at National Public Radio (NPR) has announced that he will retire amid widespread backlash to diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs.
The organization announced Wednesday that its Chief Diversity Officer, Keith Woods, would retire on May 2 after 46 years in journalism, spending the last 15 years at NPR.
According to the network, the 66-year-old made the decision unilaterally and had been preparing for retirement since 2023.
“After more than four decades in journalism, I’m happy to finally be able to say the words, ‘I’m retiring.’ Though the attacks on the work of diversity, equity and inclusion have taken some of the joy out of this moment,” Woods said in a statement released by NPR.
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NPR chief executive Katherine Maher praised Woods and told staffers and executives that the network would continue to support and defend DEI initiatives.
“NPR remains committed to supporting a diverse workforce, a welcoming workplace, and journalism that serves an audience that is representative of the American public,” Maher wrote in a Wednesday memo.
His announcement comes as the federal government and a slew of companies have backed away from or outright abolished their DEI programs. PBS, another public broadcasting station, closed its DEI office earlier this month.
“I have spent some of the most meaningful days of my career at NPR. I’m proud of what we’ve done together, and I leave behind a team, colleagues and friends I know will keep this work at the center of their mission,” Woods said regarding his retirement.
Uri Berliner, a 25-year NPR veteran journalist, went viral late last year for exposing how liberal groupthink captured the NPR newsroom and drew significant attention to diversity becoming the news outlet’s so-called “North Star” following the death of George Floyd in 2020.
Berliner repeatedly cited former NPR CEO John Lansing, who left the organization in 2023 after a 4-year tenure.
“When it comes to identifying and ending systemic racism, we can be agents of change,” Lansing wrote to staff at the time. “Listening and deep reflection are necessary but not enough. They must be followed by constructive and meaningful steps forward. I will hold myself accountable for this.”
An article published by NPR in September 2020 declared DEI “is not a project: it is our work” with Lansing, stating, “the leaders in public media — starting with me — must be aware of how we ourselves have benefitted from white privilege in our careers. We must understand the unconscious bias we bring to our work and interactions. And we must commit ourselves — body and soul — to profound changes in ourselves and our institutions.”
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NPR also began requiring its journalists to log the “race, gender, and ethnicity,” among other traits, of their interviewees and sources in a “centralized tracking system” that monitored diversity, according to Berliner.
Following the allegations, NPR editor-in-chief Edith Chapin sent a memo to staff saying she and her leadership team colleagues “strongly disagree” with Berliner’s essay and are “proud to stand behind the exceptional work” of their journalists.
“We believe that inclusion – among our staff, with our sourcing, and in our overall coverage – is critical to telling the nuanced stories of this country and our world,” Chapin wrote. “We track sources… so we can expand the diversity of perspectives in our reporting.”
Fox News’ Joseph A. Wulfsohn contributed to this report.
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