NPR Business Editor Uri Berliner has announced his resignation from the outlet he called home for 25 years Wednesday.

Last week, Berliner penned an essay criticizing the network for what he called a liberal bias, stating NPR had “lost America’s trust” in the process. After his comments went viral, the organization “strongly disagreed” with his encapsulation.

On Friday, Berliner was suspended by NPR for breaking previously established internal protocols. While he stated he would not fight the discipline, he called into question whether or not newly minted CEO Katherine Maher was fit to lead the network due to her left-wing bias after former social media posts were uncovered.

In a statement published to X, Uri Berliner stated “I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years. I don’t support calls to defund NPR,” Berliner wrote. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism. But I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay.”

Reaction to the news from the news media was generally drawn down party lines, with conservatives championing the move, while liberals chastised the longtime editor. Meanwhile, colleagues took aim at Berliner for placing the outlet in the crosshairs.

A recent study claimed 75% of America’s leading newspapers are behind paywalls. KFI-AM 640 morning host Bill Handel believes it’s a mixed bag.

The Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism revealed that paywalls stop millions of Americans from accessing news both nationally and locally.

While discussing the findings on his morning show, Handel noted that, on one hand, that’s a bad thing.

“What paywalls do is get in the way of informing the public. And that’s what journalism is about,” said Handel. “It is a tough one.”

However, he added that paywalls are an important differentiator between credible and not credible outlets.

“The internet…is free. We’ve always been able to Google for free. You look at Wikipedia for free. News isn’t free. Not from the major news outlets,” said Handel. “If you go to CNN.com, NewYorkTimes.com, LATimes.com, you’re going to see the pop-ups where you have to subscribe and of course, the subscription is always the same.

“I’ll tell you what you can get for free: crazy conspiracy theory crap. That, you can get for free. Can you get hard news, objective news? Not as much. So paywalls create a two-tiered system. Paywalls for news, you get fact-based information credible for people willing to pay for it. And then way less reliable, at times crazy, stuff for everyone else.”

Bill Handel concluded by admitting he subscribes to the Los Angeles Times and The Wall Street Journal.

After a tumultuous week since releasing an op-ed criticizing his place of employment, NPR Business Editor Uri Berliner has announced he’s leaving the network.

In a post to X, Berliner announced that, after 25 years, he is departing the organization.

“I am resigning from NPR, a great American institution where I have worked for 25 years,” he wrote. “I don’t support calls to defund NPR,” Berliner wrote. “I respect the integrity of my colleagues and wish for NPR to thrive and do important journalism.”

However, Berliner pointed to the conduct of NPR CEO Katherine Maher was the biggest reason for his abrupt departure.

“I cannot work in a newsroom where I am disparaged by a new CEO whose divisive views confirm the very problems at NPR I cite in my Free Press essay,” Berliner wrote.

Berliner was suspended late last week for breaking internal policies from the public broadcaster.

At the time of his suspension, he questioned whether or not new NPR CEO Katherine Maher was fit to lead the organization after former tweets of hers were unveiled, purporting to show a left-wing bias.