NPR and PBS Leaders Defend Federal Funding in Congressional Hearing
- On Wednesday, Paula Kerger, the 68-year-old CEO of PBS, and Katherine Maher, the 41-year-old CEO of NPR, will testify before a U.S. House subcommittee on Capitol Hill regarding the federal funding their organizations receive.
- The hearing, titled "Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable," is driven by long-standing conservative distrust and accusations of profound liberal bias against the networks, potentially leading to the elimination of federal funding.
- Marjorie Taylor Greene, chair of the DOGE subcommittee, has publicly criticized NPR and PBS for alleged biased coverage, while figures like Elon Musk have labeled NPR as "state-affiliated" and supported defunding efforts.
- Kerger stated, "This could be a perfect storm," emphasizing the critical need to defend public service and educational programming like PBS's "Carl the Collector," while Maher highlights NPR's role in informing national discourse, stating "The work we do and the reporting that we do informs the national discourse."
- With NPR's annual operating budget around $300 million and PBS receiving 16% of its funds from the CPB, the potential loss of federal funding is viewed as an existential crisis, particularly impacting public media entities serving rural and underserved areas, while critics argue that corporate underwriting, station fees, and private donations could sustain the broadcasters.
154 Articles
154 Articles
“Fire Elon, Not Elmo”: Democrats Ridicule GOP Hearing Aimed at Defunding Public Media
On Capitol Hill, far-right Republican Congressmember Marjorie Taylor Greene held a hearing Wednesday as part of a campaign to defund public media. She called NPR and PBS — whose heads were called in to testify — “radical left-wing echo chambers” with a “communist agenda,” as she attacked, among other things, LGBTQ+ programming. Democrats on the panel highlighted Republicans’ hypocrisy and called to “Fire Elon, not Elmo,” in reference to the belo…
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Bias Distribution
- 40% of the sources lean Right
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