NPR CEO Katherine Maher was asked to respond to the implication that NPR’s news coverage was biased, as alleged in President Donald Trump’s executive order slashing taxpayer funding, during an interview on CBS on Sunday.
“The language in there says government funding of news media and this environment is outdated and unnecessary, corrosive to the appearance of independence, and Americans have the right to expect if their tax dollars fund public broadcasting, that it’s fair, accurate, unbiased and nonpartisan. How do you respond to the implication that your news coverage is not?” CBS “Face the Nation” host Margaret Brennan asked.
Trump signed an executive order to slash taxpayer funds to PBS and NPR on Thursday, two media outlets the White House accused of spreading “radical woke propaganda.”
“Well, first of all, I think it’s important to note that I’m the CEO, and we have an independent editor-in-chief who oversees the newsroom, and so I don’t make editorial decisions, and that I think is just always an important point to make, but I think our newsroom would really take issue with that. We have been on air for more than 50 years. We’ve been covering news as it occurs across the nation, in local communities, overseas, we have an extraordinary Washington desk and our people report straight down the line,” Maher responded.
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Maher argued that NPR reporters report straight down the line with a requirement to serve the entire public.
“That is the point of public broadcasting, as we bring people together in those conversations and, so, we have had a whole host of conservative voices on air of late. We’ve been making requests of the Trump Administration to have their officials on air. We would like to see more people accept those invitations. It’s hard for us to be able to say we can speak for everyone when folks won’t join us,” she added.
The White House did not immediately return a request for comment.
NPR notably dismissed the Hunter Biden laptop story in 2020, calling the story a “distraction” and a waste of time. Maher acknowledged during a grilling on Capitol Hill that NPR should have covered the story more aggressively.
Brennan also asked Maher how she would interpret specific editorial criticisms about NPR from the White House. Brennan said, “The White House faults your editors for avoiding the term biological sex when discussing transgender issues. They apparently want you to use the term pro-life and faulted your use of the term ‘anti-abortion rights’ to refer to activists.”
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“I interpret it as trying to create a narrative around our editorial independence,” Maher responded. “I think that is an affront to the First Amendment. We have an independent newsroom, and we will always have an independent newsroom.”
Brennan pressed Maher and PBS CEO Paula Kerger on whether they were pursuing lawsuits in response to Trump’s executive order.
“We’re looking at whatever options are available to us. I think it’s a little preliminary for us to speak to the specific strategies that we might take,” Maher said.
Kerger responded, “We’re obviously looking, and I would just say, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a funding mechanism, but they don’t oversee PBS or NPR. We’re independent organizations.”
The order instructs the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and other federal agencies “to cease federal funding for NPR and PBS.” It further requires that they work to root out indirect sources of public financing for the news organizations.
Fox News’ Bradford Betz contributed to this report.
