NW Kentucky News

The Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) held a hearing titled "Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the heads of NPR and PBS Accountable," focusing on the use of taxpayer funds by National Public Radio (NPR) and Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). The session scrutinized these organizations for allegedly biased news coverage, which some committee members argued caters to a narrow audience.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Marjorie Taylor Greene opened with concerns about declining audiences for public radio and television. She stated, “NPR and PBS have increasingly become radical, Left-wing echo chambers for a narrow audience of mostly wealthy, white, urban liberals and progressives.”

Michael Gonzalez from the Heritage Foundation testified that NPR and PBS exhibit bias against conservative views. He remarked, "[NPR, PBS and the other state broadcasters] have shown scorn for conservative views on a consistent basis."

Chairwoman Greene also called for defunding these organizations. She concluded, “We will be calling for the complete and total defund and dismantling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.”

Oversight Chairman James Comer echoed similar sentiments regarding funding. He stated, “I’ve lost confidence in public radio. I don’t think, Madam Chair, they should get a penny.”

During the hearing, Greene challenged NPR CEO Katherine Maher’s past statements. Greene accused Maher of having an anti-free speech stance: “Miss Maher... Your federal funding is also paid for by... 77 million Americans who voted for President Trump.”

Comer criticized NPR's reporting on several issues including COVID-19 origins and Hunter Biden's investigation. He expressed concern over misinformation: “If people in Alaska... all they know is what these headlines say... [These headlines] were wrong about COVID-19… Wrong Russian Collusion…”

Rep. Brandon Gill questioned Maher about previous NPR content he deemed inappropriate for taxpayer funding. Rep. William Timmons highlighted the national debt as part of his rationale to review government spending on media entities like NPR and PBS.

Timmons emphasized financial scrutiny across all programs due to a $36 trillion debt: "We are scouring all government spending... We cannot continue down this path financially."

The hearing underscored ongoing debates about media bias and taxpayer-funded broadcasting.