Michele Norris steps down as husband takes role in Obama campaign
Michele Norris will step down temporarily from NPR’s “All Things Considered.” Norris notified colleagues of her decision via email, citing her husband’s role in President Barack Obama’s campaign as the reason.
Yahoo reports that Norris’ husband, Broderick Johnson, has accepted a senior adviser position with the Obama campaign.
“After careful consideration, we decided that Broderick’s new role could make it difficult for me to continue hosting ATC. Given the nature of Broderick’s position with the campaign and the impact that it will most certainly have on our family life, I will temporarily step away from my hosting duties until after the 2012 elections,” Norris said in the email.
Norris continued, “I will be leaving the host chair at the end of this week, but I’m not going far. I will be wearing a different hat for a while, producing signature segments and features and working on new reporting projects. While I will of course recuse myself from all election coverage, there’s still an awful lot of ground that I can till in this interim role.”
Norris’ announcement follows closely on the heels of NPR’s announcement that it would no longer carry “World of Opera” because its host is involved with a branch of the Occupy Wall Street movement. NPR’s desire to keep its hosts from political activity prompted the decision.
Norris has hosted “All Thing Considered” since 2002.
Read more about Michele Norris’ temporary resignation here.
