Fabulosity, Media and Journalism, Nina Totenberg, SCOTUS, Supreme Court, You Go Girl

In Defense of Nina Totenberg: Ari Shapiro

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You know you’re a celebrity when everyone has an opinion about you. And by that standard, Nina Totenberg, who covers the Supreme Court for NPR, is definitely a celebrity. Ever since we first started writing about Ms. Nina, we’ve received tons of messages and stories about her.
We feel like we’re running confirmation hearings for La Totenberg — or maybe hearings to decide whether she should be reappointed dean of the SCOTUS press corps. Witnesses have been coming forward with alternating positive and negative accounts.
Since our last post was decidedly anti-Nina — excerpts from the memoir of John Hockenberry, a former NPR colleague of hers — it’s time for something positive. This message comes from one of Nina Totenberg’s current colleagues, Ari Shapiro:

I interned for Nina seven years ago, and I’ve been her colleague at NPR ever since. I have to disagree with the assertion that she’ll “ruin the career of anyone who crosses her.” I think Tom Goldstein and Jan Crawford Greenburg got it exactly right. Nina has been unfailingly kind, generous, and helpful to me. Because I cover the Justice Department and she covers SCOTUS, we work together all the time. My cubicle is just outside of hers (yes, she has a cubicle – no office, no couch), so I see her nearly every day. She has been an extraordinary mentor and colleague, and she is always supportive. Having seen seven years’ worth of her interns come and go, I know that most of them feel the same way.

I do agree with you on one point, though. Nina is utterly fabulous. I’ve never met anyone like her, and I mean that in the best possible way.

We thank Mr. Shapiro for these thoughts.*
So, after reading all about her, what do you think of Nina Totenberg? Take our reader poll, after the jump.


* As you know, our general rule here at ATL is anonymity for tipsters and correspondents. We identify Mr. Shapiro with his permission (because we love to crow about our contacts with prominent media types).
Earlier: Prior ATL coverage of Nina Totenberg (scroll down)

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