Tigarto / stock.adobe.com
NPR’s claims that it needs to retain public funding to continue providing indispensable services to rural Americans are myths that can be disproven with facts, a recent report from the Republican Study Committee argues.
In the report, which CatholicVote obtained, the committee addresses several claims made by NPR and PBS after President Donald Trump’s rescissions package cut $1.1 billion in public media funding. As CatholicVote previously reported, media executives, including Katherine Maher, the president and CEO of NPR, said the cuts would leave many in “news deserts.” According to the report, NPR also argues that slashing its weather reports and emergency alerts will disadvantage rural Americans.
However, the committee points out that farmers and those who live in rural areas generally have access to technology and talk radio for news and weather coverage. According to the Pew Research Center, 96% of Americans report regularly using the internet.
NPR also claims its operation of the Integrated Public Alert & Warning System (IPAWS) and role in promoting emergency alerts justifies federal funding, but the committee notes that funding for IPAWS is not part of NPR’s funding cuts.
The committee also says that NPR is not unique in providing Americans with emergency alerts, claiming that 98% of Americans own cellphones that can receive such alerts. Additionally, media watchdog NewsBusters reported July 14 that Texas Public Radio, another outlet that is making the case for receiving taxpayer funds based on its emergency alerts, issued warnings about the Guadalupe River floods well after the National Weather Service began notifying the public about the flooding risks.
“At least three flood alerts were issued between Thursday’s 11:03 a.m. (TPR’s lobbying plea) and 8:05 p.m., when Texas Public Radio posted its first Facebook announcement of the flash flood warning,” NewsBusters reported. The lobbying plea referred to a Facebook post made that morning that claimed that the outlet “delivers what others don’t,” including “emergency alerts that keep our community safe.”
According to NewsBusters, Media Research Center’s Vice President for Free Speech Dan Schneider stated, “NPR has hired million dollar lobbyists to try and convince Congress to keep funneling billion dollar earmarks their way. But the deadly Texas flooding has exposed one of NPR’s main talking points to be a lie.”
The committee report also argues that NPR’s claims that it provides high quality, unbiased, local coverage are false. A Media Research Center study found that 95% of local NPR stations’ programming is from flagship stations in large cities, while only 5% of the program is given to local news. Additionally, the committee claims that NPR’s coverage has been shown to refuse to cover stories that go against far-left ideology, such as ignoring the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. According to the report, the outlet also tends to favor Hamas in its coverage and does not cover different views on climate change.
