| Friend,
How’s your week going? Mine got off to a surprising start when I received an invitation to appear before the House Energy & Commerce Committee as part of its problematic investigation into NPR. I’ve spent almost 20 years at Free Press advocating for a flourishing public-media system in this country, and that’s exactly what I told the members of the committee this morning.
I welcome Congress’ interest in public media, but the partisan agenda for this hearing — defunding and discouraging entities like NPR — is clear. Instead, we should be discussing ways to strengthen our public-media system to bring in diverse voices that can truly represent and report on local communities — the very communities that commercial media giants so often overlook.
I did my best to defend the importance of noncommercial journalism, but it’s your voice that will seal the deal: Please add your name to our petition urging Congress to protect funding for public media.
With gratitude,
Craig and the rest of the Free Press Action team
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| Friend,
The House GOP is about to debut a new episode in its long-running war against NPR specifically and public media in general.
Under the direction of House Speaker Mike Johnson, the Energy & Commerce Committee is investigating NPR over drummed-up charges of “left-wing bias” — leveled by a disgruntled employee — and trying to summon the organization’s CEO for a hearing this coming week.1 Chairwoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers claims “NPR should focus on fair and objective news reporting that both considers and reflects the views of the larger U.S. population and not just a niche audience.” (Maybe it’s just me, but I personally wouldn’t describe 42 million weekly listeners as a “niche audience.”2)
This hearing comes on the heels of the House Freedom Caucus’ recent introduction of a battery of bad bills to defund NPR.3 Studies show that the health of a country’s democracy is directly connected to the strength of its public media.4More robust funding for public media could strengthen U.S. democracy, leading to lower levels of extremism and deeper public engagement in civic life.5
We’re demanding that Congress trust in the will of the people by protecting funding for public media. We’ve seen this story before, and frankly it’s getting quite old. Last summer, House Republicans attempted to torpedo the Corporation for Public Broadcasting during budget negotiations with the Biden administration6 — but with public opinion overwhelmingly in favor of NPR and our friends on Sesame Street, it’s not a surprise that this scheme failed. I suppose you could admire congressional Republicans’ persistence, because they keep coming up with new ways to rail against the most trusted media sources in the country.7
It goes without saying that there is more to public media than NPR, and the state of public media in the United States remains imperfect. Our nation’s public-media system is one of the most poorly funded in the world, below $2 per capita.8 By comparison, the United Kingdom spends more than $81 per person and France more than $75.
That’s all the more reason for our government to increase funding for promising, far-reaching journalism — not tear it down.
Please sign our petition today urging Congress to prioritize public media instead of using it as a partisan cudgel.
Thank you for all that you do,
Danny and the rest of the Free Press Action team
freepress.net
1. “ICYMI: House Republicans Summon NPR CEO for Hearing on 'Rampant' Bias Allegations,” House Energy & Commerce Committee, May 1, 2024 2. “NPR: Leading in Media,” National Public Media, 2024 3. “U.S. Rep. Scott Perry Wants to Defund Public Broadcasting,” The Pennsylvania Independent, April 23, 2024 4. “Funding Democracy: Public Media and Democratic Health in 33 Countries,” University of Pennsylvania, Dec. 13, 2021 5. “Do Countries with Better-Funded Public Media Also Have Healthier Democracies? Of Course They Do,” NiemanLab, Jan. 24, 2022 6. “House Subcommittee Proposes Zero Funding for Public Broadcasting,” TV Tech, July 14, 2023 7. “PBS and Member Stations Named ‘Most Trusted’ Media Organization for 19 Consecutive Years,” PBS, March 17, 2022 8. “Republicans Are Still Afraid of Big Bird,” Free Press, July 2023  |
