KUNM will no longer post new content to its Twitter account.
KUNM is an NPR member station and this decision comes after Twitter labeled NPR "state-affiliated media," a term it uses for propaganda outlets in Russia, China and other autocratic countries.
Twitter has since revised that label to "government-funded media," which is also misleading. NPR is a private, nonprofit company with editorial independence. It receives less than 1% of its $300 million annual budget from the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).
KUNM is a nonprofit organization licensed by the University of New Mexico and 70% of our operating funds come from listeners. We get a very small amount from CPB. We maintain our editorial independence and regard the actions by Twitter as misleading and a threat to independent media, which is fundamental to a democracy.
As NPR CEO John Lansing said in an interview, "I would never have our content go anywhere that would risk our credibility.” This is a sentiment with which we wholeheartedly agree.
We are turning away from Twitter, but not from you, our audience. You can find our content at KUNM.org, on air at 89.9FM and through our numerous transmitters and translators that reach over half of New Mexico, on our mobile app and the NPR One app, as well as Facebook andInstagram.
Internally we have noticed a decline in engagement on Twitter and have recently discussed whether it's the best platform for reaching our audience. So we plan to focus on other channels for engagement. Our journalists and other staff may decide to maintain their own personal or professional presence on Twitter.