(NewsNation) — The heads of public media organizations PBS and NPR will face the line of fire Wednesday by a new subcommittee, helmed by Republican Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, over accusations that the companies produce “systemically biased content.”
Greene, the chairwoman of the House Oversight Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency, summoned Paula Kerger, the chief executive of PBS, and Katherine Maher, the chief executive of NPR, to appear.
“I want to hear why NPR and PBS think they should ever again receive a single cent from the American taxpayer,” Greene said in a statement ahead of the hearing. “Federal taxpayers should not be forced to pay for one-sided reporting, which attacks over half the country to protect and promote its own political interests.”
The CEOs have said they welcome a discussion and are ready to defend their organization’s work.
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At stake are potential cost cuts for the two companies, which are partially funded by the federal government.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a nonprofit authorized by Congress, receives about $500 million yearly from the government and provides about 15% of the Public Broadcast Service’s budget as well as 1% of National Public Radio’s budget.
The legacy public media companies have long caught the ire of Republican leaders who have accused them of a left-leaning slant, including President Donald Trump. Last year, Elon Musk, the head of the Department of Government Efficiency and Tesla, posted on X to “Defund NPR.”
Who will appear at the hearing?
Greene is slated to steer the meeting on Wednesday but will be joined by other members of the subcommittee, including New Mexico Rep. Melanie Stansbury, the top Democrat on the committee.
The DOGE subcommittee, which shares an acronym with Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency, was formed in conjunction with the nongovernment agency.
In addition to Maher and Kerger, Michael Gonzalez with conservative think tank The Heritage Foundation and Ed Ulman, the CEO of Alaska Public Media, are also scheduled to appear.
FILE – PBS President and CEO Paula Kerger speaks during the PBS Executive Session at the Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour on Feb. 2, 2019, in Pasadena, Calif. (Photo by Willy Sanjuan/Invision/AP, File)
Why is the federal government funding PBS, NPR?
The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 authorized the creation of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides funding for several public media initiatives, including PBS and NPR.
Funding goes to individual stations in local communities, which decide programming.
It was put into place because public media “creates and distributes content that is for, by and about Americans of a wide range of backgrounds; and provides services that foster dialogue among the stations and the communities they serve,” according to the CPB.
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The aim is to provide “free high-quality, educational programming for children, arts, current affairs programming for public media stations” but also life-saving emergency alert services, the nonprofit states.
PBS is widely known for its children’s programming, including “Sesame Street,” as well as the “PBS NewsHour. “
NPR provides free radio programming, including popular shows “All Things Considered” and “Fresh Air.”
“Everything is at stake,” Kerger told The New York Times. “The future of a number of our stations across the country will be in jeopardy if this funding is not continued.”
Maher has echoed the concerns, saying that “as a member of the public media system, we know that federal funding is essential to ensuring all of America can hear and be heard on a truly national network,” told the outlet.
Why are NPR and PBS under fire?
In letters to the media companies, Greene specifically called out NPR’s lack of coverage of the Hunter Biden laptop story and PBS’ reporting on a hand gesture that Elon Musk made at an Inauguration Day event.
Greene’s letter to NPR stated that the outlet’s decision not to report on the Hunter Biden laptop scandal in October 2020 was “ideologically” slanted.
She also called out the outlet after an April 2024 essay from former NPR editor Uri Berliner alleged systemic liberal bias across the company.
“Today, those who listen to NPR or read its coverage online find something different: the distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population,” he wrote in an essay for The Free Press.
Berliner was suspended and eventually left the company after the essay came out.
A view of the National Public Radio (NPR) headquarters on North Capitol Street February 22, 2023 in Washington, D.C.
In an April 10, 2024, interview on NewsNation’s “CUOMO,” Berliner addressed the backlash from his NPR colleagues who publicly disagreed with his assertions.
“I’m not surprised by the response that came from management and the same managers that I’ve been making a lot of these points about,” Berliner said last year. “I will say, I’ve had a lot of support from colleagues … many of them unexpected, who say they agree with me. Some of them say this confidentially.”
In her letter to Kerger, Greene called out PBS’ reporting of Musk, saying the outlet “implied that Mr. Elon Musk made a fascist salute while addressing an inaugural celebration hours after President Donald Trump was sworn into office. The characterization was clearly false,” she wrote.
Separate FCC investigation into PBS, NPR
Both public media companies are also facing a separate inquiry by the Federal Communications Commission under Trump’s new chair, Brendan Carr.
Carr is probing whether PBS and NPR violated government rules preventing commercial advertisements by listing off government sponsors on air.
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In a statement to The Hill, Maher said the outlet’s programming and underwriting messaging “complies with federal regulations, including the FCC guidelines on underwriting messages for noncommercial educational broadcasters, and Member stations are expected to be in compliance as well.”
A representative for PBS told The Hill that it “is proud of the noncommercial educational programming we provide to all Americans through our member stations.”
“We work diligently to comply with the FCC’s underwriting regulations and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that to the Commission,” they said.
