This is very different from what NPR is now saying — that Totenberg's status in the newsroom led editors to believe what she initially thought she heard, and the outlet rushed to publish it. What is astonishing about the matter is that NPR's listeners do not rely on it to break news — they expect the outlet to help them make sense of the world around them, with reporting rooted in care, deliberation, accuracy and integrity. NPR does not need to scoop anyone, but the error on Tuesday shows a culture shift within its own newsroom, where being first matters as much as being right. Kelly McBride's cavalier attitude about what happened today further illustrates the culture within the NPR newsroom today. McBride once argued to Vice News that police assaulting protesters during the George Floyd rallies were similar to the National Guard breaking up protests during the integration of schools in the 1950s. That's a weird position to take. McBride is now the public editor at NPR, and the Chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership. She is not particularly good at her job, but she serves as an example of someone who continues to succeed in the journalism industry because she is liked by her peers — and that's it. The same can be said for many people who work at NPR, including those who allowed today's pre-written article to be published — a gaffe that could have been prevented if they followed some basic procedures that everyone learns in J-school. McBride is right that NPR's listeners will probably shrug off today's mistake. For her, today is a good day because it got people talking about NPR, and any press is good press in McBrideLand. But it has blemished NPR's sterling reputation within the industry, and handed ammunition to its biggest critics, including those who lob baseless allegations of bias and fake news. As NPR continues to weigh restructuring and layoffs to account for lower revenue, the organization should look extremely carefully at the reporters, editors, ethicists and producers who are helping the outlet, and those who are hurting it.