Should the Government Continue Funding NPR and PBS?

President Donald Trump has called on Congress to defund the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which supports NPR and PBS, alleging the outlets have a left-wing bias. The heads of NPR and PBS recently testified in front of the House Subcommittee on Delivering Government Efficiency, led by Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA).

For Context: While Democrats are much more likely than Republicans to support continued funding of the stations, a plurality of both groups aren't sure. Overall, 43% of Americans support continued funding, 24% oppose funding, and 33% aren't sure. 

Defending Funding: On the left, commentators point out that much of PBS' content, like Sesame Street, is purely educational. Another consideration is that NPR and PBS are sometimes the only free news channels available in rural areas. Not only do the stations provide “cultural and educational value,” but public radio “is the backbone of the emergency alert system that covers and protects the entire state of Maine. It provides storm and other alerts in regions that have no mobile coverage,” one writer noted. 

Opposing Funding: Those who oppose funding broadly fall into two categories. Many on the right agree with Trump that NPR and PBS “serve as contributors to the liberal media ecosystem that prioritizes Democratic Party narratives and toxic partisanship over factual coverage,” as one Washington Examiner (Lean Right) piece put it. Others argue that regardless of bias, the government should not fund public media. “If anything should be kept separate from government and politics, it’s the news and public affairs programming that informs Americans about government and its policies,” said David Boaz of the Cato Institute (Lean Right). 

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