Public media is under attack.

Republican lawmakers, spearheaded by Georgia Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Greene, are pushing to eliminate federal funding for National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service. Last month, they summoned NPR and PBS executives to testify at a congressional hearing in response to Greene’s accusations that the networks turned into “radical left-wing echo chambers.” 

For many journalists, student reporters, communities that don’t have access to network news and for those who value public media, the hearing struck a nerve — and raised serious questions about the future of NPR and PBS.

“It is a period of mortal danger,” said Chris Bury, DePaul’s senior journalist in residence and a seasoned media professional. He pointed to coordinated efforts from both Congress and the Trump administration, including a Federal Communications Commission investigation and NPR’s eviction from its Pentagon office. 

“There’s no question that public broadcasting has a target on its back,” Bury said. 

Student journalists like Riley Moulton, a reporter for Radio DePaul, are also troubled by the attack on public media.

Moulton, who recently applied for an internship with PBS, said the possibility of losing those opportunities is discouraging. She hopes to work in public or local radio after graduation, rather than a large corporate network. 

“If funding gets cut, opportunities like that are just going to disappear,” Moulton said.

Jose Gonzalez, 45, works in distribution in the Chicago area and has been an avid NPR listener for more than two decades — he considers it a reliable source that would be hard to replace.

“I’d try to find other sources,” Gonzalez said, “but it wouldn’t be the same.”

The loss of federal funding wouldn’t just affect professional and aspiring journalists or those who rely on these broadcasts for news and education — it could leave entire communities in the dark. 

As natural disasters grow stronger and more frequent, the signal from public radio becomes more than just a broadcast. In remote areas that commercial news outlets don’t reach, local NPR and PBS affiliates often serve as the only reliable source of information. 

Ed Ulman, CEO and President of Alaska Public Media, shared concern during the March hearing.

“In many parts of Alaska and communities throughout the country, public media is often the only locally operated, locally controlled broadcasting service,” Ulman said. “We are more than nice to have. We are essential.”

Beyond emergency alerts, public broadcasting also plays a vital role in education. During the hearing, Paula Kerger, the CEO of PBS, told the story of a man who approached her and shared that he depends on PBS because he doesn’t live near a preschool.

“My children have learned to read watching PBS shows, and the shows we watch on PBS are our connection to the rest of America,” he told her.

According to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), over 70% of CPB’s funding goes directly to local stations, not to NPR or PBS themselves. 

A 2022 University of Pennsylvania study found that, compared with other countries, the United States’ contribution to public media is “quite literally off the chart for how little it allocates.” In 2024, federal appropriation for CBP was $525 million. That amounts to about 0.0078% of federal spending. 

“They’re the ones who are going to talk about the school board elections and the water quality and the things that are really happening in people’s everyday lives,” Bury, the journalism professor, said.

Despite the hearing’s focus on alleged partisan bias, he claims that politics also makes up a very small percentage of the content.

“There’s this misguided notion that there’s some kind of left-wing propaganda coming out of public broadcasting,” Bury said, pointing to shows like “Nova,” “Frontline” and Ken Burns documentaries as examples of fact-based programming that serves a broad audience. “It’s simply not true.”

But critics think otherwise. 

“What we have today is a circular, undemocratic relationship: Democrats unanimously vote for more and more money for public media, and in exchange, public media heavily tip the scales in their favor,” said Mike Gonzalez, a senior fellow at The Heritage Foundation. “It’s a nice arrangement for them, but it must end.” 

Sites like Media Bias/Fact Check exist to help readers evaluate the political leanings and factual reliability of news organizations. 

According to the site, NPR is rated as left-center biased (-2.8) with a high level of factual reporting and credibility, noting that while its story selection may lean slightly left, its reporting is consistently well-sourced and accurate. 

In contrast to the criticism of NPR, Fox News — a trusted source for many in the Republican party — has been praised by figures like President Donald Trump, who once called Fox & Friends “the most honest morning show.” 

Media Bias/Fact Check rates Fox News as right biased (+6.7) with mixed factual reporting and low credibility citing “conspiracy theories, pseudoscience, propaganda, poor sources, numerous failed fact checks,” concluding that it is a “questionable source.” 

Gonzalez said that while NPR should be held to a higher standard of transparency and balance due to its public funding, a slight liberal or conservative slant is much less important than whether the reporting is fact-based and responsible. 

“The critics need to spend more time listening and watching — then they would understand the value that public broadcasting stations provide to all kinds of communities across the United States,” Bury said.

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