House Subcommittee Hearing Targets NPR and PBS Funding, Citing 'Left-Wing Bias'
A House subcommittee hearing, titled 'Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable', was held recently. Chaired by Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, the hearing targeted public broadcasters NPR and PBS, questioning their coverage and funding.
The hearing, held by the DOGE subcommittee of the House Oversight Committee, saw Republicans arguing against taxpayer funding for news outlets they disagree with. They accused NPR and PBS of being 'radical, left-wing echo chambers' and 'brainwashing and trans-ing' children. Democrats, however, supported the broadcasters' services, particularly in rural communities.
NPR CEO Katherine Maher and PBS CEO Paula A. Kerger defended their organizations' work during the hearing. They are currently facing investigations from the Federal Communications Commission into their underwriting announcements. A 2024 survey by YouGov found that PBS was the third most trusted news outlet among Americans, and NPR ranked seventeenth, indicating public trust in their reporting.
The hearing comes amidst a broader campaign against the media in the United States, including lawsuits and hostile rhetoric from officials. Press freedom groups view it as part of this campaign. Despite the criticism, public media has enjoyed bipartisan support for decades. A 2017 national survey found that only 21% of Americans, including less than a third of Republicans, supported cutting federal support of public broadcasting. The hearing ended with Representative Greene calling for the complete and total defunding and dismantling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
