NPR Caught in James O'Keefe Sting; So What's the Fallout? [VIDEO]

Smile for the camera.

Soon-to-be-departing NPR executive Ron Schiller is the latest victim of hidden-camera wielding conservative activist James O'Keefe.

Schiller, who thought he was sitting down with two Muslim philanthropists and potential donors, was caught on film making choice statements, including "tea party people" are "seriously racist, racist people," and NPR "would be better off in the long run without federal funding," a statement directly opposing the organization's official position.

You can watch the video, here:

Schiller was actually planning his departure from NPR before the video surfaced, taking a job with the Aspen Institute, but this still doesn't bode well for his image or that of NPR.

Surge Desk has opinions from across the Web.

First, Dana Davis Rehm, NPR's senior vice president of marketing, released the following statement:

The fraudulent organization represented in this video repeatedly pressed us to accept a $5 million check, with no strings attached, which we repeatedly refused to accept.

We are appalled by the comments made by Ron Schiller in the video, which are contrary to what NPR stands for.

Mr. Schiller announced last week that he is leaving NPR for another job.

The New York Times' Brian Stelter offers some context:

The release of the video comes at a sensitive time for NPR. Republicans in Congress who view NPR as biased are trying to cut federal funding for its local stations across the country. Some quickly seized on the video as further evidence of their views and further reason to reduce funding for the stations.

The Atlantic's Chris Good argues that this bolsters the conservative case against NPR:

But the video nonetheless could be a perfect rallying cry for the would-be NPR defunders, because it shows a top NPR executive articulating the fiscal-conservative case against NPR funding -- explaining that the network can survive, and indeed is better off, without federal monies -- the same case Republican lawmakers have made as they look to strip its federal appropriations.

Hot Air's Ed Morrissey also weighs in on the funding issue:

The big news for me comes when Schiller, who thinks he's meeting with representatives from the fictitious Muslim Education Action Center (MEAC) to discuss a $5 million donation to NPR to help MEAC "spread Sharia worldwide," that NPR would do better without federal funding. Just before this, Schiller tells the two undercover reporters that federal funding only accounts for 10 percent of their direct funding, but a sudden end to subsidies for public broadcasting would close a number of their stations, which gives a little more clearer explanation of their financial dependence on taxpayers.

Slate's Dave Weigel digs Schiller's skills:

Schiller is a professional fundraiser, not a journalist. His pandering to the group is actually sort of masterful.

Time's James Poniewozik emphasizes NPR's perception problem:

What may matter most here, though, given the political season and the funding vote, is perception -- and whether Schiller still works at NPR are not, there is no way the perception is good here. On the edited video at least, Schiller's insulting remarks about conservatives and Tea Party members read like a satirical script of a condescending, smug, insular liberal (and it's hard to imagine a context, other than deliberate parody, where they'd sound much better).

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