Host of NPR Show Also Serves as Spokeswoman for 'Occupy D.C.'

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Host of NPR Show Also Serves as Spokeswoman for 'Occupy D.C.'
A radio host used to talking about operas by Puccini and Wagner now finds herself starring in her own drama.
Lisa Simeone, who hosts the show “World of Opera” on National Public Radio, has emerged as spokeswoman for the “Occupy D.C.” movement, which has set up shop in Freedom Plaza, The Daily Caller reported.
NPR receives some federal funding and also has ethical rules that limit public relations work by its journalists.
But when asked by the Daily Caller about any conflicts of interest, Simeone described herself as a freelancer, saying, “I work in radio still, but this is totally different.”
NPR told FoxNews.com that Simeone is not a staff member. Rather, she is a part-time contract employee of WDAV, the classical public radio station of Davidson College in North Carolina. Her nationally syndicated weekly program is distributed by NPR and is not a news program.
“We're in conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this,” Anna Christopher Bross, NPR’s director of media relations, said in a written statement. “We of course take this issue very seriously.”
The Daily Caller report noted that Simeone has appeared in several stories about the "Occupy" movement protests, saying, “Our main focus is that we are against corporatism and militarism.”
“I do know whenever it ends, we are not going to stop acts of civil disobedience, and various acts of civil resistance and organization,” Simeone said. “That will be done in the myriad of ways around the country, and again, this is not the end, but only the beginning.”

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/19...#ixzz1bHYaj1j6

[Jeanfromfillmore]

Public Radio Host Fired After Involvement in 'Occupy D.C.' Protest
A freelance broadcaster who works for music and documentary programs has been fired from a job after NPR questioned her involvement in a Washington protest.
Lisa Simeone said Thursday that she was fired from "Soundprint," a documentary show that is not produced by NPR. Simeone says she was fired Wednesday in a phone call during which NPR's code of ethics was read to her.
Simeone also hosts "World of Opera," a show produced by WDAV, a North Carolina-based music and arts station in North Carolina. The show is distributed by NPR.
NPR issued a statement on its website that said it is in "conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this."
Simeone says she's involved with protesters who have been using the slogan October 2011/Stop the Machine.

Read more: http://www.foxnews.com/us/2011/10/20...#ixzz1bLx0hVoP

[hannaellis]

The line between individual activities and expert connections can be a very fuzzy one. For journalists, it can be a particularly tough line to draw, just like what happened to Lisa Simeone. Recently, NPR host Lisa Simeone faced questions about political activism. We are aware that she is a freelance content provider for a pair of radio shows that are broadcast by NPR. Simeone has, for a long time, blended her passion for grassroots political activism with her talent on the radio, without anyone remonstrating. However, her involvement in the Occupy movement seems to have deemed by NPR to be a bridge too far. Now, do you think Lisa has crossed that line by acting as a representative for the Occupy D.C. activity?