Several Senate Republicans are urging National Public Radio (NPR) CEO Katherine Maher to begin a “course correction” following recent allegations by senior NPR editor Uri Berliner, that the news radio broadcaster’s credibility has been undercut by political bias and slanted coverage.
Mr. Berliner first went public with his criticism of NPR’s political slant in an essay he wrote for The Free Press on April 9. In his essay, Mr. Berliner—a 25-year employee of NPR, then working as a senior business editor for the radio broadcaster—described a shift away from an “open-minded spirit” in NPR’s radio and online coverage to one that caters the “distilled worldview of a very small segment of the U.S. population,” namely the progressive political left.
In a letter organized by Sen. Kevin Cramer (R-N.D.), multiple Republican senators reiterated the claims raised by Mr. Berliner and called for the radio broadcaster and online news publication to address the allegations and change its internal culture.
“If NPR’s goal was to become an echo chamber, mission accomplished. But as a publicly funded entity, you are responsible for providing impartial coverage that accurately informs all Americans, regardless of political affiliation,” the letter to Ms. Maher states. “This objective is decidedly difficult when nearly 100 percent of employees in Washington, DC congregate on one side of the political aisle.”
The letter argues that while Mr. Berliner has identified concerns of bias in NPR’s national coverage, NPR’s local radio broadcast affiliates are still widely trusted by the American public.
“We urge you to start a course correction to address these issues,” the letter reads. “If NPR does not want to devolve into a one-sided opinion outlet, it should take a page from its local affiliates and embrace a culture of intellectual diversity and focus on balanced reporting.”
Sens. John Barrasso (R-Wyo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Roger Marshall (R-Kan.), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), and Eric Shmitt (R-Mo.) signed onto the letter to Ms. Maher.
NTD News reached out to NPR for comment on the letter from the Republican senators but did not receive a response by press time.
Blackburn Reviving Calls to Defund NPR
NPR has for years faced scrutiny and criticism from Republican lawmakers.
In 2011, Ms. Blackburn—then a member of the U.S. House of Representatives—advanced legislation to bar U.S. taxpayer funding support for NPR.
NPR derives a small percentage of its funding from direct federal grants, but receives other taxpayer support indirectly through programming support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB); a publicly funded non-profit established under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 that supports public radio broadcasting. CPB has provided direct funding to NPR and has provided funding to other local radio broadcasters that carry NPR content.
Ms. Blackburn has revived her calls to pull federal funding from NPR following this latest controversy with Mr. Berliner.
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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