NPR legal affairs correspondent Nina Totenberg surprised the media industry when she incorrectly reported Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s retirement. With over five decades of experience, Totenberg is familiar with errors and controversies in her career.
Her story initially stated, “Justice Samuel Alito, who wrote the opinion overturning Roe v. Wade, retires,” but was swiftly amended with an editor’s note stating it was wrongly published. Attempting to clarify on “All Things Considered,” Totenberg’s professional journey includes numerous mistakes.
NPR Retracts False Report Claiming Justice Samuel Alito Is Retiring From The Supreme Court
Plagiarism marked Totenberg’s earlier career. Fired in 1972 from the National Observer, she took paragraphs and quotes verbatim from a Washington Post report without attribution, as reported by Columbia Journalism Review in 1995. Totenberg acknowledged the mistake, expressing the need for punishment to avoid future errors.
In 1987, a Legal Times reporter accused Totenberg of omitting credit for information regarding Supreme Court nominee Douglas Ginsburg. In 1992, she faced criticism for reading Anita Hill’s confidential affidavit, impacting Clarence Thomas’s nomination.
Vanity Fair described Totenberg’s challenging week when Senator Alan Simpson criticized her ethics. The senator’s confrontation extended to the street after a “Nightline” appearance. In 1995, Totenberg faced backlash for suggesting Senator Jesse Helms might receive AIDS through transfusion as “retributive justice.” She later regretted the remark, acknowledging its lasting impact.
NPR’s Alito Retirement Blunder Raises Eyebrows
Following Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s passing in 2020, Totenberg wrote about their close friendship, which was never publicly disclosed despite her Supreme Court coverage. The friendship raised questions about potential conflicts of interest.
Media analysts expressed concerns, with Tom Jones from the Poynter Institute arguing such relationships should not exist between journalists and subjects. The Washington Post published a piece exploring if the friendship affected NPR’s impartiality.
In 2022, Totenberg’s NPR report claimed Justice Neil Gorsuch refused a mask request from Justice Sonia Sotomayor due to her COVID safety concerns. The report stated Chief Justice John Roberts directed mask usage during the omicron surge, but both Sotomayor and Gorsuch disputed the claims.
Fox News and other sources contested NPR’s accuracy, while NPR supported Totenberg’s account despite the justices’ statement contradicting the story.
Brian Flood, a media editor/reporter for FOX News Digital, welcomes story tips via email at [email protected] and Twitter: @briansflood.