NPR, PBS leaders to test

The sub -committee in the House of Representatives in the United States contacted that he was the head of the executives of the country’s largest public broadcasters to Capitol Hill to testify on Wednesday, taking into account the elimination of federal funding that their institutions receive.

Catherine Maher – in some ways to be a study in contradictions: Kirger, 68, worked in its ranks on WNET General TV in New York City before becoming the longest service in PBS history.

Maher, 41, was an executive position of technology who seized NPR one year ago this week in what was her first function in the press, although she does not play a direct role in the network newsroom. I was almost immediately soaked in the uproar around it An article criticizing the network By veteran NPR editor and Subsequent dissection One of its previous progressive political beliefs was published on the Internet before joining the network.

However, the fate of Kerger and maher are linked together, as they seek to maintain old -party support on Capitol Hill to finance public broadcasters throughout the country. President Trump has repeatedly attacked the two networks.

“This may be an ideal storm,” Kerger said in an interview. “For this reason, this moment is the difference. It seems as if this is the time when we really need to escalate and clarify the issue of as much as possible.”

It seems that the hearing, titled “Anti -United States Air Waves: Accounting NPR and PBS presidents”, is more ranked to score points of finding the facts. It will be led by Representative Margori Taylor Green, R-GA. The sub -committee was named after the Trump Advisor initiative, Elon Musk, who transports the budget. She accused the two networks of deep liberal bias.

“I want to hear why NPR and PBS believe that they should again get one cent of the American taxpayer,” Green said in a statement before the hearing. “These partisan media stations dropped the ball on the laptop from Hunter Biden, and the Covid-19 assets that were played down, and failed to correctly report the Russian collusion trick. Now, it’s time to publicly explain the executives of them this biased coverage.”

The efforts to reduce funding to NPR have a strong supporter in Musk, which also owns the social networking site X, previously known as Twitter. In 2023, NPR stopped publishing on xAfter Musk defined the network for the first time as “state”, which is the same mark granted to advertising sites in China and Russia, then “the government is funded.” NPR considers that exaggeration in excessive excessive and not returning to the platform.

The heads of public media refer to the public service

In separate interviews, Kerger’s Kerger and NPR of NPR says they are proud of the coverage provided by their networks – and the service provided by public media on a larger scale throughout the country.

PBS, for example, now has a new series called “Carl The Collection” with a focus on a Widdled raccoon with autism. Kerger cites an example in which the network offers the masses of wide ranges of interests and challenges, as well as fulfilling its educational mission.

In addition to providing news coverage, such as through NPR Morning edition and All the things that have been considered And “PBS News Hour”, NPR and PBS c A vital component of the emergency broadcast system. NPR Small office parties The advantage of both ambitious and known stars – a feeling with young and old listeners. The stations via the two networks offer offers to preserve distinct music and cultural Traditions in regions throughout the country. Its news coverage remains free forever (although some network podcasts offer additional episodes for paid members).

“We are thinking about the matter as our local station, but we are in fact one of the largest networks … in the nation,” Maher of NPR said in an interview.

The ecosystem of the general radio is sprawling and decentralized. The network said that the NPR stations collectively reach 43 million listeners every week. Its programs are distributed by 246 members of the members working to operate more than 1,000 stations throughout the country, which together includes about 3000 local journalists.

In addition to Maher and Kirger, the head of the public media in Alaska, Ed Oman, is scheduled to witness on Wednesday at the request of the Democrats by the sub -committee. One of the fourth team members, Michael Gonzales From the Heritage Foundation, it is a critic of the general media.

How to fund public broadcasters

Congress allocates money to the Public Broadcasting Corporation: $ 535 million in the current fiscal year. According to the design, three quarters of the money spent on the public media of the television are allocated, and a quarter of the radio. In total, local stations receive much more than national networks.

NPR receives most of the annual operating budget of approximately $ 300 million from institutional subscription sites (about 36 %) and plant programming fees (about 30 %). About 1 % It comes directly from federal sources. Given that the NPR members stations attract about 8 to 10 % of their CPB revenues, it can be said that NPR is approaching 3 % of its budget from federal funds indirectly, across the stations. In contrast, PBS receives 16 % of its CPB money.

Public media entities most dependent on federal financing tend to be in rural areas or depression areas. They may draw up to 50 % of their federal dollars revenues.

“For them, the decrease in federal financing – or more importantly, eliminates federal financing – will be an existential crisis,” said Kerger of a television program.

“The work we do and report that we reach the national discourse,” Maher said. “And you don’t want to disappear. You want to make sure that the service we provide remains a strong and vital thing for the country.”

“It is easy to feel that the public media has always been there, and therefore will always be there,” Maher said in an interview. “In fact, from the constant question about our listeners and our readers to know that their support and confirmation of our value makes the issue to Congress that this is the correct use of taxpayers.”

“The public media is great in this country.”

Lack of confidence in conservatives for a long time

But the public media has also been subjected to political fire. Senator John Kennedy, R. La.

Brendan Car, Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee, Brendan Car, indicated that he supports their goal. It also started NPR and PBS inquiriesWith the initial focus on a handful of major stations, on the pretext that subscription points are companies that violate federal laws and policies because they are closely similar to commercial advertisements.

Both networks said that they accurately followed the directives of the organizers over decades to remain well in the law. These sites cannot, for example, make an invitation to work, such as informing their fans by buying car policies or insurance.

This week includes separate lawsuits in Washington, DC, and Manhattan to prevent the Trump administration from dismantling international broadcasters, Federal Free Radio in Europe/Freedom Radio and America’s voice. (On Tuesday, a federal judge issued a temporary restriction order that freezes any other action against Radio Europe/Radio Freedom.) The Associated Press seeks to reverse

Trump, the White House, prohibits it from some events because it refuses to correspond to the president’s decree to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America. The Chairman of the Federal Communications Committee (FCC) began investigations into every radio network, keeping Fox, whose controller, Robert Murdoch, is an ally of the president.

Gonzales wrote from the Heritage Foundation in the group planning project 2025 for the Trump Administration, which predicted a lot of his agenda. The public broadcasters were attacked as left -wing, and wrote, “Stopping public financing is a good policy and a good policy.”

Gonzales said that others can pay the price of its programs: “The membership model that CPB uses, in addition to financing from the companies and institutions that he also receives, will allow these broadcasters to continue to prosper.” (Carr’s Carr challenges the legitimacy of those revenues for companies through subscription – PINCER on the financial affairs of the system.)

Gonzales cited consisting in conservative writer George Will, who wrote in 2017, “If” Sesame Street “is put up for the auction, the danger would be to trample by the stampede of potential shows. “In fact,” Sesame Street, “added on HBO now, which shows its potential as money.”

This line lands differently now. Late last year, HBO dropped the deal for the new episodes with the Sesame Workshop, which led to a much smaller license arrangement for the rear rings. Sesame Street recently Discipline is about 20 % Among its employees as a result. None of the other signs or broadcaster has advanced forward to pay the price of his new offers.

in The last columnHe will argue at the end of CPB financing: “CPB is similar to human appendix: archaeological, without a goal and vulnerable to unhealthy rings.”

Disclosure: This story was reported and written by NPR Media David Folkenflik and edited by Emily Copy Deputy Empire and Management of Editors Jerry Holmes, Viki and Tuna James. Under the NPR protocol to report himself, no NPR official or CEO of the news was reviewed this story before it publicly published.