The House Energy and Commerce Committee's Oversight Subcommittee is holding a hearing on Wednesday morning to address the political tilt of taxpayer-subsidized National Public Radio. NewsBusters Executive Editor Tim Graham is one of the experts who will testify.
Members of the MRC-led Free Speech Alliance sent a letter to committee chair Cathy McMorris Rodgers (R-Wash.) applauding the hearing and insisting taxpayers "should not be compelled to pay for a politicized media outlet whose primary objective is to undermine American ideas and ideals."
The letter argues PBS and NPR have made a mockery of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which mandates “objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.” Therefore, "NPR must not be rewarded for its unlawful behavior and anti-American objectives."
Signatories include MRC founder and president Brent Bozell, Young America’s Foundation President Governor Scott Walker, American Values President Gary Bauer, and American Principles Project President Terry Schilling.
The letter is below:
Dear Chair McMorris Rodgers,
We applaud your decision to investigate National Public Radio (NPR). Its politicized leadership and programming have once again been brought into the spotlight, but its history of biased reporting is legendary. It long ago abandoned even the appearance of abiding by its statutory mandates in favor of pursuing a leftwing agenda.
Taxpayers should not be compelled to pay for a politicized media outlet whose primary objective is to undermine American ideas and ideals, including our First Amendment free-speech rights as well as the economic system that creates the wealth that NPR feeds off of.
It is critical that this hearing expose NPR’s unlawful conduct and how its leadership and reporters have used its resources to pursue political outcomes.
For its entire existence, NPR and its sister organization, the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), have made a mockery of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, which mandates “objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.” NPR must not be rewarded for its unlawful behavior and anti-American objectives. Many argue that no media outlet should be subsidized with US tax dollars, but NPR has certainly lost the moral authority to demand our continued support.
We encourage you to thoroughly investigate how NPR uses its talent and resources in contravention of the law. The Committee should determine the following:
- With thousands of alternative media outlets now available to the public, has NPR outlived its usefulness?
- Are NPR’s hiring practices designed to prevent diversity of viewpoints in its programming?
- Has NPR used its power, reach and resources to interfere in elections, including the 2020 and 2024 presidential elections?
- Half of Americans are conservative or lean right in their political views; how does NPR attempt, if at all, to address the interests of this swath of Americans?
In 1967, Congress determined that funding NPR and PBS, both entities under the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), was necessary since there were only three broadcasters on television and only a small number of news-oriented radio stations across the country. Today, the internet has allowed countless alternative news sources to flourish. There are tens of thousands of online media sites and countless podcasts where the public access news daily.
Black-and-white televisions have been replaced with 5G technology and most radio stations now have apps to compete with audio streaming services. Why should taxpayers continue to finance PBS and NPR now that there’s CNN, MSNBC, Fox News, Spotify, Pandora, Sirius XM, iHeart Radio, Amazon Prime, Apple Music, and countless others?
Thank you for holding this important hearing. We look forward to learning how the Committee intends to reform NPR and the role taxpayers play in funding its operations.
Sincerely,
L. Brent Bozell III
Founder and President
Media Research Center
J. Christian Adams
President and General Counsel
Public Interest Legal Foundation
Saulius “Saul” Anuzis
President
The American Association of Senior Citizens
Brent Baker
Vice President for Research and Publications
Media Research Center
Gary L. Bauer
President
American Values
Ryan Bomberger
CoFounder & Chief Creative Officer
Radiance Foundation
David N. Bossie
President
Citizens United
Floyd Brown
Founder
The Western Journal
The Honorable T. Kenneth Cribb, Jr.
Assistant to the President for Domestic Affairs
President Ronald Reagan
Kenneth T. Cuccinelli II
Elaine Donnelly
President
Center for Military Readiness
Steven Ertelt
Editor
LifeNews.com
Kevin Freeman
Founder
NSIC Institute
Mark J. Fitzgibbons
President of Corporate Affairs
American Target Advertising
Lady Brigitte Gabriel
Founder & Chairman
ACT For America
Paul Gessing
President
Rio Grande Foundation
Tim Graham
Executive Editor
NewsBusters
Mike Gonzalez
Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum Senior Fellow, Kathryn and Shelby Cullom Davis Institute for National Security and Foreign Policy
The Heritage Foundation
Mike Hill
Former Member
Florida State House
Phil Kerpen
President
American Commitment
Kelly M. Kullberg
General Secretary
American Association of Evangelicals
Jim Lakely
Vice President & Director of Communications
The Heartland Institute
George Landrith
President
Frontiers of Freedom
John Pierce
Chairman
National Constitutional Law Union
Richard Manning
President
Americans for Limited Government
Josh Manning
Deputy Managing Editor
The Western Journal
Mr. Edward Martin
President
Phyllis Schlafly Eagles
James L. Martin
Founder/Chairman
60 Plus Association
Christie-Lee McNally
President
Raven Strategies
Cleta Mitchell, Esq.
Founder
Election Integrity Network
C. Preston Noell III
President
Tradition, Family, Property, Inc
The Honorable George K Rasley Jr
Managing Editor
ConservativeHQ.com
Khadine L. Ritter, Esq.
Chairman
Eagle Forum of Ohio
Craig Shirley
Chairman and CEO
Shirley & McVicker Public Affairs
Terry Schilling
President
American Principles Project
Cameron Sholty
Executive Director
Heartland Impact
Dan Schneider
Vice President for Free Speech
Media Research Center
Jon Schweppe
Policy Director
American Principles Project
Sharon Slater
President
Family Watch International
Sean Spicer
Host
The Sean Spicer Show
James Taylor
President
The Heartland Institute
Tim Throckmorton
President
Lifepointe Ministries
Kristen A. Ullman
President
Eagle Forum
Governor Scott Walker
President
Young America’s Foundation
Gavin Mario Wax
President
New York Young Republican Club
Deborah Weiss, Esq.,
President,
Vigilance, Inc
Tim Wildmon
President
American Family Association
