Of course there’s no liberal bias at NPR.
(TheDC) — National Public Radio’s Michele Norris, who co-hosts All Things Considered, is stepping down “temporarily” from her post as her husband works to re-elect President Barack Obama.
Norris’ husband, Broderick Johnson, worked for Massachusetts Democratic Sen. John Kerry’s 2004 presidential campaign, and for Obama’s 2008 White House bid. Norris did not step down in 2008, but did recuse herself from political coverage in 2004.
Johnson will be a “senior adviser” for the Obama 2012 campaign, according to an internal message Norris sent her colleagues.
“After careful consideration, we decided that Broderick’s new role could make it difficult for me to continue hosting ATC,” Norris wrote, explaining to coworkers her discussions with NPR management. “Given the nature of Broderick’s position with the campaign and the impact that it will most certainly have on our family life, I will temporarily step away from my hosting duties until after the 2012 elections.”
Apparently Norris will be continuing to produce some news content for the taxpayer-subsidized radio network — just not 2012 political coverage. “I will be leaving the host chair at the end of this week, but I’m not going far,” Norris adds in her memo to staff. “I will be wearing a different hat for a while, producing signature segments and features and working on new reporting projects. While I will of course recuse myself from all election coverage, there’s still an awful lot of ground that I can till in this interim role.”