Journalists critical of their own companies cause headaches for news organizations

Journalists see themselves as truth-tellers, and sometimes as contrarians. That fuels news organizations, but it also can bite back. Internal turmoil this spring at NBC News, NPR and The New York Times can essentially be traced to journalists turning a critical gaze toward their own employers. NBC faced an internal revolt over its since-reversed decision to hire Ronna McDaniel as a political contributor, and an NPR editor quit after criticizing the radio news division for too often presenting news through a liberal prism. The Times has concluded an internal probe into who leaked material that made public internal deliberations over a controversial article.