National Public Radio and the Politicians Who Fund it
The folks who run the taxpayer-subsidized National Public Radio (NPR) continue to deny their hard-left slant, and the same goes for the politicians who reward it with money from taxpayers.
On Tuesday, FOX News reported that NPR suspended editor Uri Berliner…without pay.
As Milt Harris wrote in RVIVR last week, Berlinger “accused the government-funded news outlet of displaying blatant bias during Donald Trump’s presidency.”
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Among Berlinger’s other claims:
• NPR intentionally ignored the Hunter Biden laptop story.
• NPR made excuses for Anthony Fauci during the COVID-19 pandemic and downplayed reports that the virus had leaked from a laboratory.
• NPR subjected reporters to unconscious bias training sessions.
“An open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR, and now, predictably, we don’t have an audience that reflects America,” Berlinger wrote.
“That wouldn’t be a problem for an openly polemical news outlet serving a niche audience. But for NPR, which purports to consider all things, it’s devastating both for its journalism and its business model.”
So we know that NPR is bent. What about the elected officials who continue to fund that outlet?
Two years ago, for RVIVR, I contacted the leaders of the U.S. House and the U.S. Senate appropriations committees, who give NPR its funding.
To them, I posed two simple questions:
• Should objectivity and respect for all points of view in America, especially those held by nearly half the country, not be the journalistic standard for NPR?
• Should the appropriations committees withhold taxpayer money until and unless NPR takes a more objective approach to reporting the news?
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Communications staff for then-House Committee on Appropriations Chair Rosa DeLauro (D-CT-03) and Ranking Member Kay Granger (R-Texas-12) didn’t bother to respond.
As for the U.S. Senate Committee on Appropriations, staff for then and now-retired Vice Chair Richard Shelby (R-Ala.) also did not respond.
David Carle, spokesman for the former (and now retired) Chair Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.), however, did reply, although he wasn’t particularly helpful.
“I’ve never heard of your ‘news’ organization before,” Carle said, via email.
“Who are you and your organization?”
When directed to the RVIVR website, Carle responded back with the following:
“Yep . . . I could have guessed,” Carle wrote without elaborating.
When asked if he would cooperate for this story, Carle chose not to respond.
There is new leadership on both appropriations committees. I think it’s time I reach out to the new blood and get their take on things.
Also two years ago, RVIVR also reached out to NPR’s media relations team. They also chose not to respond.
Expect a follow-up to this story later this month.
Special thanks to Warhammer’s Wife proofreading this story before publication to make certain there were no misspellings, grammatical errors or other embarrassing mistakes and/or typos. Follow Warhammer on Twitter @Real_Warhammer. Also follow Warhammer on TruthSocial at @Real_Warhammer
