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NPR said early Wednesday that the radio organization's board had accepted Schiller's offer to step down.

"It is with deep regret that I tell you that the NPR Board of Directors has accepted the resignation of Vivian Schiller as President and CEO of NPR, effective immediately," the public broadcaster said in a statement. "The Board accepted her resignation with understanding, genuine regret, and great respect for her leadership of NPR these past two years."

The Los Angeles Times reports:

The resignation comes at a dicey time for NPR. On Tuesday, a video featuring former NPR executive Ron Schiller (no relation) came to light. In the video, the work of conservative activist James O'Keefe, Schiller is heard demeaning tea party supporters as racists and "gun-toting" Christian fundamentalists who had "hijacked" the Republican Party. Schiller also said that NPR would be "better off in the long run" without federal support.

Vivian Schiller had already taken significant heat for NPR's dismissal of commentator Juan Williams last fall, after Williams confessed to apprehension when seeing Muslims on airplanes. Williams' ouster became a cause célèbre for conservatives — and helped spark the O'Keefe project. NPR's top news executive, Ellen Weiss, resigned in January as a result.

Joyce Slocum, the senior vice president for legal affairs and general counsel at NPR, has been appointed as the interim chief. A committee will look for Schiller's permanent replacement.