NPR CEO Katherine Maher is scheduled to receive Harper’s Magazine’s James C. Goodale First Amendment Award on Oct. 26, according to the magazine’s announcement cited by Fox News. Harper’s praised Maher for leading NPR through political, legal and financial scrutiny and for supporting journalism’s role in democratic life.
The award has prompted criticism over remarks Maher made in 2021, when she led Wikimedia. In a discussion about efforts to address misinformation, she described the First Amendment’s strong protections in the United States as a challenge to tackling the problem. She also said those protections for online platforms were important, while making it more difficult to address sources of false information and those who profit from it.
NewsBusters executive editor Tim Graham criticized the decision in comments to Fox News, arguing that Maher’s remarks and NPR’s past coverage decisions were inconsistent with the award. NPR did not immediately provide a separate response to Fox News; the outlet pointed to an earlier statement from Maher.
Maher said she was honored to accept the award and described the First Amendment as essential to protecting Americans’ freedom and ability to understand one another. She also said citizens have a responsibility to defend constitutional rights when they are threatened.
The Fox News report notes that Maher became NPR’s CEO in 2024. It also recounts her 2025 congressional testimony in which she acknowledged that NPR had been mistaken in not covering the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner. Harper’s characterized NPR as having battled efforts by President Donald Trump to cut its funding; Congress nevertheless rescinded $1.1 billion in federal funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting in 2025.
