WASHINGTON (TND) — House Republicans continued a push to take away federal funds from National Public Radio after an op-ed written by an editor sparked a controversy over whether political favoritism was playing a factor in its coverage.
The Oversight and Investigations subcommittee of the Energy and Commerce Committee held a hearing on Wednesday focused on alleged biases in the public broadcaster’s coverage that did not include testimony from the editor whose claims sparked the backlash or anyone who is working at NPR.
Uri Berliner, a longtime editor who has since resigned from his position, published a lengthy online essay for The Free Press that included accusations of a left-leaning bias in its coverage that has gotten more pervasive over time. He has also rejected calls to defund the outlet despite his critiques of its editorial decisions.
“It’s true NPR has always had a liberal bent, but during most of my tenure here, an open-minded, curious culture prevailed,” Berliner wrote. “We were nerdy, but not knee-jerk, activist, or scolding. In recent years, however, that has changed.”
The hearing was the latest twist in the controversy for the public broadcaster, which has been facing renewed congressional claims of political bias in its coverage since the blog post was published. It has also ramped up calls from GOP lawmakers in Congress to “defund” NPR, an idea that has popped up occasionally for years over complaints about alleged biases.
Berliner was not one of the witnesses at the hearing. NPR CEO Katherine Maher was invited to testify but did not attend due to a scheduling conflict with a board meeting. An NPR spokesperson said she submitted a statement for the record and proposed alternate dates to appear before the committee.
"NPR takes the Committee’s comments and questions seriously, and welcomes the opportunity to discuss how we can best meet our public mandate to serve all Americans and reflect a diversity of perspectives," the spokesperson said.
Several GOP lawmakers questioned whether taxpayer funds should continue to go to NPR, who they accuse of having liberal biases in their coverage.
“What was intended to be a media organization that brought together millions of Americans across geographic socioeconomic and ideological boundaries to discuss the issues, to discuss life, the arts and culture has now turned into what appears to be a progressive propaganda purveyor using our taxpayer dollars,” Griffith said.
Most of the lawmakers’ complaints about NPR were centered on its Washington headquarters that focuses on national news rather than the many local affiliates whose programming is primarily made up of local or regional programming that focuses on more community-centric issues and topics.
Democratic lawmakers said the attacks on NPR and threats to take away its funding hurt its legitimacy, which comes at a time when local journalism outlets are struggling to stay in business with lower revenues that have led to layoffs and shuttering of local newsrooms.
“These Republican attacks are unfortunate considering that public media plays an important role in all of our communities and should be supported now more than ever,” said Rep. Frank Pallone, D-N.J.
Republicans on the subcommittee accused NPR of advancing Democratic or progressive positions in its coverage and failing to cover conservative viewpoints. They also pointed to an accusation made by Berliner in his essay that the outlet does not employ Republican editors.
“It is a fundamental principle under the First Amendment for news agencies to report on stories however they see fit,” said Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-Wash. “It is not, however, a fundamental principle for news organizations to receive public funding to express their viewpoint.”
NPR has said that government funding accounts for less than 1% of its annual operating budget, with a majority of it coming from private sponsorships and dues from its member stations. While NPR receives little direct government funding for its newsrooms, it does receive money indirectly from local public stations that use taxpayer funds through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to air some of its programming on their airwaves.
Its website says that “federal funding is essential” and that the programming fees that are paid through government-funded grants comprise a significant piece of NPR’s revenue.
A bill has been introduced to strip NPR of the federal funds it receives by House GOP lawmakers, though it faces virtually no path to becoming law in the current Congress with a Democratic majority in the Senate and a certain veto from President Joe Biden.
Democrats on the committee rejected Republicans’ claims and accused them of twisting disagreements over coverage decisions and reporting into accusations of bias.
“Despite the clear benefits of public radio, committee Republicans have brought us here to discuss an alleged bias at NPR. Republicans say NPR is biased against conservatives, but what they point to are examples of objective journalism. Disagreeing with reporting does not mean the information is biased,” said Rep. Kathy Castor, D-Fla., and ranking member of the subcommittee.
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