Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) Chairwoman Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) called for the heads of NPR and PBS to testify on allegations of “partisan coverage.”
Both PBS and NPR receive taxpayer funds.
“NPR and PBS have repeatedly undermined public trust by ignoring stories that were damaging to the Biden Administration, dismissing genuine calls for balanced reporting, and pushing partisan coverage,” a press release on the matter says. “As stewards of tax dollars, NPR and PBS have an obligation to provide objective and accurate coverage that serves all Americans.”
Greene wrote in a letter to NPR that the subcommittee is “planning a hearing on federally funded radio and television, including its systemically biased content.” She noted the hearing is “an opportunity for you to explain to Congress and the American people why federal funds should be used for public radio—particularly the sort of content produced by NPR.”
Writing to PBS, Greene said the network’s bias “betrays the principles of objective reporting and undermines public trust. As an organization that receives federal funds channeled through its member stations, PBS should provide reporting that serves the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups.”
Greene pointed to PBS suggesting that Elon Musk “made a fascist salute” during the celebration of President Donald Trump’s inauguration as an example of bias.
In a statement on X, Greene said of the upcoming hearing, “I look forward to bringing the president of each of these so-called ‘media’ outlets before my brand-new DOGE Subcommittee to explain to me — and to the American people — why they deserve to continue receiving public funding.”
PBS said in a statement to media outlets that it earned bipartisan support in Congress from “decades of noncommercial and nonpartisan work in local communities: providing all Americans with content they trust; offering a broad range of stories and programs that help citizens understand our past and shape our future; and helping children and families open up worlds of possibilities through educational programming. We appreciate the opportunity to present to the committee how now, more than ever, the service PBS provides matters for our nation.”
NPR similarly said that it has “collaborated with local nonprofit public media organizations to fill critical needs for news and information in America’s communities. We constantly strive to hold ourselves to the highest standards of journalism, as evidenced by our publicly available standards and ethics guidelines, the presence of a Public Editor – a position relinquished by all other major news organizations – that allows the public to inquire directly about NPR’s journalism, and strong editorial processes that provide oversight of the entire newsgathering process, including a final review of the nearly 2,000 pieces of journalism aired or published by our newsroom every month.”
