On Saturday, June 18, Americas1stfreedom.org reported that NPR’s “Morning Edition” had covered up the political PR background of Shannon Watts, director of Bloomberg’s Moms Demand Action (MDA). NPR’s Chris Arnold reported, “Watts had never done anything political before” she started the Facebook page that became MDA. Americas1stfreedom.org pointed out that Watts was a career PR professional who had once worked for anti-gun Missouri Gov. Mel Carnahan. On June 20, NewsBusters.org’s Tim Graham posted a feature detailing Watts’ public relations work history, as well as her political contributions to Democratic campaigns.
On Thursday, NPR issued a correction, noting Watts’ background in corporate communications and her history of political contributions to Democratic campaigns. However, NPR took her at her word that her job as a public affairs officer in Carnahan’s administration was “non-political.”
Incredibly, Watts characterizes her political contributions as “trying to win contests to meet the president.” Watts attempted to pivot the conversation to a definition of “stay-at-home mom,” but Katie Couric’s example proves that hiding the truth doesn’t work in the digital age.
