Rocked by a controversy over its left-wing bias, taxpayer-funded National Public Radio doubled down.
It forced out the whistleblower who exposed how far left the network had drifted in recent years and has so far stood by its new CEO, who recently claimed that the First Amendment was an actual impediment to rooting out alleged “disinformation,” which is often liberal shorthand for information they disagree with.
Yet Sen. Rick Scott is willing to give NPR another chance as conservatives call for axing the network’s taxpayer funding.
Read: Colorado Dem Rep Loses It Over Colleagues ‘Attacking’ NPR CEO For Being No-Show At Hearing
Last week, the Florida Republican sent a letter to Laura Ross, chairwoman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which oversees NPR, urging her to change course and restore trust in the network that reaches 46 million Americans each week.
“Recently, disturbing allegations of bias in NPR’s reporting, stemming from leadership that has been accused of politicizing the editorial process and favoring liberal narratives, has created a crisis of confidence in public radio’s ability to provide objective, fact-based news to the American public,” Scott wrote.
“I urge you to use your position as the chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to restore public trust in NPR and ensure objectivity in news operations funded by American taxpayers.”
Scott said he greatly appreciates the value local NPR affiliates provide to our their communities. He also noted that as both governor and a senator from Florida, he had worked with local NPR affiliates “to shed light on important issues facing families in my state.”
Read: NPR’s Old CEO Was Accused Of ‘Racism’ For Asking Employees For ‘Civility’: REPORT
“From covering local news, to providing life-saving guidance to Floridians during hurricanes, local NPR affiliates play a critical role in keeping families across the Sunshine State informed and safe,” SCott wrote.
Yet, he added, “Floridians must be reassured that the objective reporting we have come to expect and appreciate from local NPR affiliates, and the confidence that they have in these stations, will be maintained. The same is true for local PBS stations.”
“Public broadcasting services funded by American taxpayers cannot be politicized. Allowing the crisis of confidence currently brewing at the national leadership level of NPR to spread to local affiliates would represent a colossal failure and could destroy the credibility of local public radio and public broadcasting services,” Scott said.
“Americans want their news to be objective and fact-based and all public broadcasting to be free from narratives that favor any side of the political spectrum. Any assertion that NPR or any other taxpayer-funded public broadcasting services have deviated from this standard must be addressed swiftly and transparently.”
“I hope that you will use the power of your position to take the necessary action to restore and maintain public trust in America’s public broadcasting services,” Scott concluded.
Read: NPR Punishes Journalist Who Spoke Out About Network’s Leftist Bias Against Trump
As the Tampa Free Press reported last month, NPR editor Uri Berliner, a senior business editor for NPR, was suspended and later resigned from the network after 25 years after he publicly chastised NPR for its liberal, anti-Trump bias.
Berliner had written a long essay noting, in part, that in 2011 the network found that 26% of NPR listeners identified as conservative, 23% were in the middle, and 37% were liberal.
By 2023, only 11% were conservatives, 21% were moderates, and a whopping 67% described themselves as very or somewhat liberal.
Berliner attributed that to the anti-Trump bias of NPR’s senior leadership. He had reported that in 2021, his own research uncovered that NPR had 87 registered Democrats working in editorial positions and zero Republicans.
Last week, NPR CEO Kathleen Maher ditched a hearing sought by the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, citing a scheduling conflict. The committee wanted information about Berliner’s allegations.
Maher herself has remained on the job even as conservative journalist Christopher Rufo has uncovered her own personal bias against Republicans.
Read: Trump Rips Into NPR, Calls For End To Taxpayer Funding
Rufo last month wrote about scrolling through more than 29,000 of Maher’s posts on X and found that she had supported left-wing Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren, Hillary Clinton and Joe Biden.
She also labeled former President Donald Trump a “deranged racist sociopath.”
Maher’s feed was filled with left-wing buzzwords and complaints about conservatives, including bristling over an Instagram ad that promoted maternity products.
“On every topic, Maher adopts the fashionable language of left-wing academic theory and uses it as social currency, even when her efforts veer into self-parody,” Rufo wrote.
“She never explains, never provides new interpretation—she just repeats the phrases, in search of affirmation and, when the time is right, a promotion.”
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