NPR and PBS heads face sharp questioning about federal funding during House hearing

Amna Nawaz:

On Capitol Hill today, the heads of America's public media networks, PBS and NPR, faced sharp questioning by a House Oversight subcommittee about allegations of bias and why their work justifies continued federal support.

Geoff Bennett:

That support also helps to fund programs like the "News Hour."

President Trump, Elon Musk, and many in the Republican Party have argued those funds should be completely cut.

William Brangham has our report.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA):

NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical left-wing echo chambers for a narrow audience.

William Brangham:

Today's hearing was organized by subcommittee chair Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene, Republican of Georgia.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene:

PBS News is not just left-leaning, but it is — actively uses taxpayer funds to push some of the most radical left positions, like featuring a drag queen on the show "Let's Learn."

William Brangham:

Greene and her fellow congressional Republicans accused PBS and NPR of having a liberal bias.

Rep. James Comer(R-KY):

I don't even recognize the station anymore.

Rep. Michael Cloud (R-TX):

All things are considered, yet their history of political bias has shown that there are a number of things they have not considered.

William Brangham:

The bulk of the criticism fell on NPR CEO Katherine Maher, who acknowledged shortcomings in some of NPR's past coverage.

Katherine Maher, CEO, NPR:

We were mistaken in failing to cover the Hunter Biden laptop story more aggressively and sooner.

William Brangham:

She also expressed regret about old comments made in 2018 before she worked at NPR, where she called President Trump racist.

Katherine Maher:

I would not tweet them again today. They represented a time where I was reflecting on something that I believed that the president had said, rather than who he is. I don't presume that anyone is a racist.

William Brangham:

But Maher also defended the work of NPR, calling their journalism and varied programs an essential part of a democratic society.

Katherine Maher:

It correlates with higher rates of civic engagement, greater civic cohesion and economic advantages, such as better municipal bond ratings. Recent independent polling found that more than 60 percent of all Americans and more than half of Republicans trust public broadcasting to deliver fact-based news.

Paula Kerger, CEO, Public Broadcasting Service:

There's nothing more American than PBS.

William Brangham:

PBS CEO Paula Kerger extolled the virtues of her network's extensive commercial-free programming for children.

Paula Kerger:

Our educational programming is backed by scores of research studies showing that our programs like "Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood" and "Super Why!" help kids develop essential skills like reading, math, and problem-solving.

William Brangham:

Kerger was pressed on the accusation Representative Greene had made that PBS was promoting sexualized content towards kids.

Rep. William Timmons (R-SC):

Do you think that it was inappropriate to put the drag queen on the kids' show? Do you think that was a mistake?

Paula Kerger:

The drag queen was actually not on any of our kids' shows. The image that Chairman Taylor Greene showed was from a project that our New York City station did with the New York City Department of Education.

Rep. William Timmons:

What time of day did it air?

Paula Kerger:

It did not air. It was a digital project.

Rep. Pat Fallon (R-TX):

Propaganda wing of the Democratic Party.

William Brangham:

The "PBS News Hour" was criticized as well. Representative Pat Fallon, Republican of Texas, cited a conservative media watchdog group that says it analyzed the "News Hour"'s coverage of the 2024 presidential conventions.

Rep. Pat Fallon:

Seventy-two percent of the coverage of the GOP convention was negative; 88 percent of the coverage of Democratic Convention was positive.

Rep. Robert Garcia (D-CA):

A large majority of Americans say they trust PBS. And that's exactly why extremists are trying to tear it down.

William Brangham:

Democrats, like Representative Greg Casar of Texas, came to public media's defense, arguing that if cutting the federal budget is the imperative, there were far bigger targets.

Rep. Greg Casar (D-TX):

Private insurers and Medicare Advantage overcharged taxpayers $83 billion just last year. That could pay for public broadcasting 160 times over.

William Brangham:

Congress sends money to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, or CPB, which disburses the funds throughout the public media system. For 2025, Congress appropriated $535 million to CPB. That's less than 1/100th of a percent out of the total federal budget. It costs, per American, a little over $1.50 a year.

While some Republicans argued that funding might have made sense once upon a time, the advent of the Internet makes public media irrelevant.

Rep. William Timmons:

Technology has changed everything. We are not living in 1967. There are various options for people to get news and to get disinformation or information, whatever you want to get.

William Brangham:

But Ed Ulman, who's the president and CEO of Alaska Public Media, testified today that, in many rural parts of his state, public media was still a critical resource and needed financial support.

Ed Ulman, President and CEO, Alaska Public Media: Our system leverages this crucial seed money seven times over in highly efficient public-private partnerships. Reducing or eliminating federal funding would be devastating.

William Brangham:

Other Republicans, like Representative James Comer of Kentucky, argued that their criticisms of public media were solely because taxpayers were helping fund it.

Rep. James Comer:

A media entity like MSNBC or Huffington Post that, in my opinion, consistently spews disinformation, they can do that. They're a private company. But NPR gets federal funds.

William Brangham:

But Representative Ro Khanna, Democrat of California, justified that support by citing the example of PBS' "Sesame Street," which in recent years had a funding deal to also air on HBO Max, but that deal wasn't renewed.

Rep. Ro Khanna (D-CA):

The reason they canceled it is because it wasn't making a profit. See, because when you try to do "Daniel Tiger" or "Sesame Street" and you try to do what Mister Rogers was talking about, helping the emotional and social development of kids, it's not easy. You have got to hire people who are child psychologists.

You have to hire people who are educationalists. A lot goes into this. And HBO said, you know what? It's not making money.

Rep. Brandon Gill (R-TX):

I will spend all of my time doing everything I can to ensure you guys never get another dollar of taxpayer funding. This is complete garbage.

William Brangham:

It's unclear exactly when federal funding for public broadcasting will face a vote, but the next deadline for Congress to pass a government funding bill is September 30.

Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene:

The subcommittee stands adjourned.

William Brangham:

For the "PBS News Hour," I'm William Brangham.