National Public Radio (NPR) on Tuesday erroneously reported the retirement of Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, a mistake swiftly retracted by the news organization. The error, attributed to veteran court reporter Nina Totenberg, prompted an apology from NPR’s executive editor and a detailed explanation from its public editor.
The false report, which also aired on NPR’s broadcast, stemmed from Totenberg’s misunderstanding of a statement made by Chief Justice John Roberts on the final day of the court’s session.
This led to pre-written copy being published live on NPR’s website for approximately five minutes, though some affiliate stations carried it for longer. An editor’s note from some NPR affiliates stated: “Earlier today, we erroneously published a story saying that Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was retiring. Neither Alito nor the court’s public information office has announced his retirement, and we have retracted the story.”
Tommy Evans, NPR’s Editor-in-Chief, later issued a statement expressing regret for the error and any confusion caused. “Due to a misunderstanding, NPR’s Supreme Court and Legal Affairs Correspondent Nina Totenberg incorrectly reported that Justice Samuel Alito had retired. Neither Justice Alito nor the Supreme Court Public Information Office has announced his retirement,”
Evans confirmed. He added that the story was retracted and removed from the website, with an on-air correction broadcast, “as soon as the error was realized.”
Speaking on NPR’s “All Things Considered,” Ms. Totenberg described the incident as “the worst professional mistake of my more than 50 years in journalism.” She explained that she had rushed out of the courtroom after opinion announcements, and upon realizing others had not, she inquired about the delay.
When told of “retirement announcements,” she mistakenly concluded it referred to Justice Alito. “This was a rookie mistake,” Ms. Totenberg admitted, taking full responsibility: “I scared everybody half to death for about five minutes, and it’s entirely on me.”
Evans, also appearing on “All Things Considered,” acknowledged his own responsibility, stating NPR would review its newsroom systems to identify areas for improvement. Separately, public editor Kelly McBride further elaborated on the error in her column, explaining that previously prepared “preparedness” copy – often drafted in anticipation of significant events – was inadvertently published after Totenberg misheard the announcement.
“Alito is not retiring. The story was wrong,” Ms. McBride wrote, noting that Ms. Totenberg had discussed what she heard with her intern and Executive Editor Krishnadev Calamur before the story went live.
Chief Justice Roberts had, in fact, announced the retirement of several court employees, a customary practice after the court’s final opinions are delivered. However, Justice Alito’s name was not among them. Speculation regarding Justice Alito’s future on the bench had circulated earlier in the year, though reports from Fox News and CBS in the spring indicated his intention to remain. Justice Alito has served on the court since 2006, having been nominated by President George W. Bush to succeed Justice Sandra Day O’Connor.
McBride concluded in her column that she did not anticipate the mistake having a lasting impact on public perception. “For most news consumers, the error is a blip, something that flashed across their feed or they heard on their radio,” she wrote. “It was corrected quickly and will not have lasting consequences.”
