{"id":2622351,"date":"2026-07-01T17:01:01","date_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:01:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/npr-does-frantic-damage-control-after-trusted-reporter-made-worst-mistake-of-career-claiming-alito-retired\/"},"modified":"2026-07-01T17:02:16","modified_gmt":"2026-07-01T21:02:16","slug":"npr-does-frantic-damage-control-after-trusted-reporter-made-worst-mistake-of-career-claiming-alito-retired","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/npr-does-frantic-damage-control-after-trusted-reporter-made-worst-mistake-of-career-claiming-alito-retired\/","title":{"rendered":"NPR Does Frantic Damage Control After Trusted Reporter Made Worst Mistake of Career Claiming Alito Retired"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">32<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fnpr-does-frantic-damage-control-after-trusted-reporter-made-worst-mistake-of-career-claiming-alito-retired%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2622351&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>The article discusses a significant error at NPR involving a false report about supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito&#8217;s retirement. Nina Totenberg, a veteran journalist with NPR as 1975, initially published a story claiming Alito was retiring, attributing this to an announced statement from the court. Though, the story was later retracted after it was revealed that no such proclamation had been made, and Alito remained an active justice.Totenberg issued a public apology, attributing the mistake to a rushed inference and mishearing a comment during a busy court day. The <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/police-report-sheds-light-on-live-fire-controversy-at-camp-pendleton-marine-corps-celebrations\/\" title=\"Police Report Sheds Light on Live Fire Controversy at Camp Pendleton Marine Corps Celebrations\">incident prompted criticism<\/a> of NPR&#8217;s editorial processes and raised questions about how such an error occurred without proper verification. Totenberg has a long history of notable journalism, including breaking major stories like Anita Hill\u2019s allegations against Clarence Thomas, but has also faced past controversy, including a plagiarism issue early in her career. Despite ongoing retirement speculation about other justices, there is no confirmed data about Alito\u2019s departure from the court.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><br \/>\n<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC \"-\/\/W3C\/\/DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional\/\/EN\" \"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/TR\/REC-html40\/loose.dtd\"><br \/>\n<?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><?xml encoding=\"utf-8\" ?><html><body><\/p>\n<section> \t\t\t\t<script>console.log(\"ad slot (AC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC1)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC2)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC3)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (IC4)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_0)\")<\/script><script>console.log(\"ad slot (REP_1)\")<\/script><\/p>\n<p>After a frantic day of U.S. Supreme Court rulings, things got even more frantic over at NPR \u2014 and not because of what anyone on the high court did, but what they <em>didn\u2019t<\/em> do.<\/p>\n<p>Nina Totenberg, who has been with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/npr-admits-get-rich-libs-pay-coverage-trashing-conservatives-instead-forcing-conservatives-foot-bill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">the network<\/a> since 1975, has been scrambling to explain how she broke a story that Justice Samuel Alito was retiring, only to discover the story was untrue. The revelation led to a frantic day of finger-pointing at the <a href=\"https:\/\/amzn.to\/3YuVZYV\" >public radio broadcaster<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Totenberg\u2019s piece on the non-retirement retirement, which was filed at 10:51 Eastern Time and appeared to be extensively pre-prepared, can still be <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/TA4PF\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">read<\/a> on several internet archive sites.<\/p>\n<p>In it, Totenberg called Alito \u201c[a] consequential conservative\u201d and a justice who will be remembered chiefly for writing \u201cthe Supreme Court\u2019s opinion reversing Roe v. Wade.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn the history of the Supreme Court, the names of just a few justices are linked with a single very famous, or infamous decision,\u201d the piece read, noting that \u201cin our own times, Alito\u2019s name is indelibly linked with the court\u2019s opinion overturning a half century\u2019s worth of decisions declaring that women have a right to abortion.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, there was a problem: Totenberg\u2019s piece said that the retirement was announced by the court. No such thing had happened, and as of Wednesday, Alito is still an active justice with no announced intention of retiring.<\/p>\n<p>Shortly thereafter, the piece was removed, with a simple editor\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.is\/TniCK#selection-1111.14-1111.72\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">note<\/a> in its place: \u201cThis story has been taken down. It was published in error.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Later, a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2026\/06\/30\/nx-s1-4622951\/samuel-alito-retires\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">fuller retraction<\/a> was issued: \u201cEarlier today, we erroneously published a story saying that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. Neither Alito nor the court\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/authorities-investigate-united-airlines-engine-explosion\/\" title=\"Authorities investigate United Airlines engine explosion\">public information office<\/a> has announced his retirement, and we have retracted the story.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Appearing on the network\u2019s \u201cAll Things Considered,\u201d the 82-year-old Totenberg was far more apologetic, reading from a prepared letter.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cDear Justice Alito, there are no words to adequately apologize for today\u2019s error in reporting your retirement. It was entirely my fault. I rushed out of the courtroom after the opinion announced \u2014 announcements, and when I realized that the usual rush of folks after a few minutes had not happened, I asked somebody what was going on inside, to which the answer was retirement announcements,\u201d she said, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/thehill.com\/homenews\/media\/5948722-npr-journalist-apologizes-alito\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Hill<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI didn\u2019t hear the \u2018s\u2019 on announcements, and assumed something no reporter should ever do, that you were retiring. It was the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years in journalism. I could go on, but I don\u2019t know what else to say, except that I am so, so sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>However, she didn\u2019t explain how the mistake managed to make it through the editorial process \u2014 something that caught the eye of CNN media analyst Brian Stelter.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\">\n<p dir=\"ltr\" lang=\"en\">Totenberg\u2019s on-air apology this afternoon didn\u2019t really explain why NPR published her report without additional confirmation. Did she have some other reason to believe that Alito was preparing to retire? If so, she didn\u2019t say. Here\u2019s my full story\u2026 <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/CTNtZXQtSe\">https:\/\/t.co\/CTNtZXQtSe<\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u2014 Brian Stelter (@brianstelter) <a href=\"https:\/\/x.com\/brianstelter\/status\/2072092684160839680?\">June 30, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.x.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>In his piece for <a href=\"https:\/\/edition.cnn.com\/2026\/06\/30\/media\/npr-alito-totenberg\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">CNN<\/a>, NPR editor-in-chief Thomas Evans said \u201cwe do have systems in place\u201d to avoid errors like this, but did not explain how the systems failed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe are trying to be a nimble news organization during breaking news and still be correct at all times, and this is something we should learn from,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/cnns-stelter-calls-swalwell-resignation-testament-power-journalism-journalists-tell-different-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Stelter<\/a> also noted that \u201cTuesday\u2019s incident sparked speculation that Totenberg, who has been well-sourced at the court for decades, might have had some advance knowledge that Alito was about to retire.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTotenberg did not address that during Tuesday\u2019s mea culpa,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n<p>NPR public editor Kelly McBride, meanwhile, blamed the story on a misheard comment by Chief Justice John Roberts and Totenberg\u2019s failure to check in with Alito\u2019s office before passing on the news to both NPR\u2019s <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/graham-how-to-blow-up-the-lefts-terrorist-narrative\/\" title=\"GRAHAM: How to Blow Up The Left\u2019s Terrorist Narrative\">executive editor<\/a> and an intern who was shadowing her, according to <a href=\"https:\/\/thedesk.net\/2026\/06\/npr-retracts-samuel-alito-story\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">The Desk<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis sort of s*** should not happen,\u201d executive editor Krishnadev Calamur reportedly told McBride. However, The Desk reported he, too, did not fact-check the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-implores-2-conservative-justices-remain-supreme-court\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Alito<\/a> retirement story before publishing.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cShe\u2019s the preeminent Supreme Court reporter in the courtroom, so I\u2019m assuming that\u2019s what she heard. I\u2019m not waiting to see what the Times is reporting. It\u2019s when Nina says, \u2018Here\u2019s what happened,\u2019 and we do it. That\u2019s the trust you build up,\u201d Calamur reportedly told McBride.<\/p>\n<p>Totenberg\u2019s error came on a busy day for the court, which handed down decisions on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/trump-brushes-off-birthright-citizenship-loss-celebrates-consequential-decision-gives-tremendous-additional-power-back-presidency\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">birthright citizenship<\/a>, transgender bans in school sports, and campaign finance. However, her long history of reporting on the Supreme Court, combined with what she herself called a \u201crookie mistake,\u201d took on a life of its own as the day progressed.<\/p>\n<p>While Totenberg has covered the Supreme Court for NPR in some capacity since the 1970s, she\u2019s arguably best remembered for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.npr.org\/2016\/04\/14\/474265633\/nprs-nina-totenberg-recalls-breaking-anita-hills-story-in-1991\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">breaking<\/a> the sexual harassment allegations by Anita Hill against then-nominee Clarence Thomas in 1991. Thomas was ultimately confirmed after testimony from both him and Hill on the matter.<\/p>\n<p>That scandal led to the revelation of Totenberg\u2019s only other major journalistic scandal: During the hearings, The Wall Street Journal uncovered evidence that Totenberg had been fired from the long-defunct National Observer in 1972 for plagiarism.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI was in a hurry. I used terrible judgment,\u201d she told the <a href=\"https:\/\/web.archive.org\/web\/20060511235348\/http:\/\/archives.cjr.org\/year\/95\/4\/plagiarize.asp\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Columbia Journalism Review<\/a> in 1995. \u201cThe fact I used so many direct quotes obligated me morally to credit the Post. I should have been punished. I have a strong feeling that a young reporter is entitled to one mistake and to have the holy bejeezus scared out of her to never do it again.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>While rumors have swirled that both Alito \u2014 a 76-year-old George W. Bush appointee \u2014 and Thomas might leave the court while the Republicans have both the White House and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/leftist-turn-rage-former-heroes-ruth-bader-ginsburg-barack-obama-wake-roe-ruling\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">a Senate majority<\/a>, nothing concrete has emerged that either justice plans to retire.<\/p>\n<div style=\"background-color: #f7f7f7; color: #171717; display: flex;font-size: 16px;font-weight: 600;line-height: 1.5;margin: 24px 0;padding: 18px 20px 18px 30px;text-align: left;\">\n<div style=\"align-self: stretch;border-left: 3px solid #171717;flex-shrink: 0;padding-left: 20px;\"><\/div>\n<p><a style=\"text-decoration: none;\" href=\"https:\/\/www.google.com\/preferences\/source?q=https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/\">Choose The Western Journal as your preferred source on Google and never miss reporting that defends truth, protects freedom, and advances Western civilization<\/a><\/div>\n<p style=\"border: 1px solid #f5f5f5; padding: 16px;\">Advertise with The Western Journal and reach millions of highly engaged readers, while supporting our work. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/advertise-us\/?wj_source=article\">Advertise Today<\/a>.<\/p>\n<div style=\"position: relative;\">\n<div class=\"ff-fancy-header-container\"> \t\t\t \t<\/div>\n<div class=\"entry-submit-correction inner-content\">\n<div class=\"correction-form\">\n<form style=\"display: none;\">\n<div class=\"sc-name-field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* Name<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"name\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<div class=\"sc--field\"> \t\t\t\t\t\t<label>* <\/label> \t\t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"text\" name=\"\" required> \t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<label>* Message<\/label> \t\t\t\t\t<br \/> \t\t\t\t\t<textarea name=\"message\" required><\/textarea> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"required-message\" style=\"display: none; padding-bottom: 15px;\">* All fields are required.<\/div>\n<p> \t\t\t\t\t<input type=\"submit\" value=\"Submit\" onclick=\"event.preventDefault(); firefly_sc();\"> \t\t\t\t\t \t\t\t\t\t<\/p>\n<div class=\"firefly-sc-confirm\" style=\"display: none;\">Success!<\/div>\n<\/p><\/form>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p> \t\t<script> \t\t\tfunction firefly_sc() { \t\t\t\tif( typeof window.captchaPublicKey == typeof undefined ){ \t\t\t\t\tconsole.error('window.captchaPublicKey is not defined'); \t\t\t\t} \t\t\t\tgrecaptcha.execute( window.captchaPublicKey, { action: 'submit_correction' } ).then( function( token ) { \t\t\t\t\tvar opts = { \t\t\t\t\t\taction:    'firefly_sc_submit', \t\t\t\t\t\tname:      document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"name\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\t:     document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tmessage:   document.querySelector( '.entry-submit-correction [name=\"message\"]' ).value, \t\t\t\t\t\tpost_id:   firefly_post_id, \t\t\t\t\t\tcap_token: token \t\t\t\t\t}  \t\t\t\t\tvar inputs = [ 'name', '', 'message' ];  \t\t\t\t\tfor( var i = 0; i < inputs.length; i++ ) if( ! 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Veteran journalist Nina Totenberg, with NPR since 1975, hurried to clarify how she reported Justice Alito&#8217;s false retirement story<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2622352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Alito-vs-Totenberg.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[33651],"tags":[4430,16561,7620],"class_list":["post-2622351","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-the-western-journal","tag-alito","tag-npr","tag-retirement"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/www.westernjournal.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/Alito-vs-Totenberg.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622351","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2622351"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622351\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2622355,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2622351\/revisions\/2622355"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2622352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2622351"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2622351"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2622351"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}