DOGE Puts NPR And PBS Funding Under Microscope.

With renewed efforts to end government funding of public radio and television, NPR looks forward to making its case to Congress. It will have that opportunity in the coming weeks as the Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) has asked the heads of both NPR and PBS to appear before it. The focus is likely to be less on the financial and more on the political issues at hand. However, DOGE says it is looking into the “systemically biased news coverage” of the two public media outlets.

“As an organization that receives federal funds, both directly and indirectly through its member stations, NPR’s reporting should serve the entire public, not just a narrow slice of like-minded individuals and ideological interest groups,” Subcommittee Chair Majorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) writes in a letter to NPR President Katherine Maher. “This hearing is an opportunity for you to explain to Congress and the American people why federal funds should be used for public radio — particularly the sort of content produced by NPR,” Greene says.

Elon Musk, who is running the DOGE efforts for the White House, calls the hearing an “excellent action” in a social media post.

Some lawmakers believe NPR has ignored calls to air more balanced reporting, suggesting the network ignoring stories that were damaging to the Biden administration. Greene, in her letter, points to the network’s lack of coverage of stories about the former President’s son, Hunter Biden, and his laptop contents. It brought criticism from within NPR’s ranks, most notably in an article penned by former business editor Uri Berliner in 2024.

The request to PBS President Paula Kerger strikes a similar tone, accusing the public television network of “blatantly ideological and partisan coverage.” Greene points to PBS coverage surrounding a gesture that Elon Musk made during the inauguration that the network noted some viewed as strikingly similar to a fascist salute. “This sort of bias betrays the principles of objective reporting and undermines public trust,” she said.

DOGE will hold its hearing in March, during which NPR says it will be an opportunity to put its strong editorial review process on display. “We welcome the opportunity to discuss the critical role of public media in delivering impartial, fact-based news and reporting to the American public,” NPR says in a statement. The network also points out that it continues to have a public editor, a position cut in most other major news organizations, that is focused on holding NPR to the highest standards of journalism and ethics.

PBS says it continues to have bipartisan support in Congress and across America. The network says it has done that by “providing all Americans with content they trust” and by “offering a broad range of stories and programs that help citizens understand our past and shape our future.”

The real focus isn’t news coverage but how much federal dollars go to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and, ultimately, local public radio and television stations. Republicans hope to end that support, which totals roughly $535 million per year.

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr — who has come out against government funding for NPR and PBS — has also launched an investigation aiming for their locally generated funding. Carr has asked the Enforcement Bureau to open an investigation into whether NPR and PBS stations are violating the terms of their authorizations to operate as noncommercial educational stations by running underwriting announcements on behalf of for-profit entities. Carr says the FCC will review the underwriting practices and related policies of the two networks and their broadcast member stations.

Democrats on the Commission have called it a sham investigation designed to intimidate public media and silence any coverage critical of the Trump administration.