Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) has sent a letter to the President and CEO of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) – Patricia de Stacy Harrison – regarding National Public Radio’s (NPR) recent alleged liberal bias that was reported by its former Business Editor, Uri Berliner.
NPR is a public radio station funded by CPB, which is a private nonprofit corporation funded by the federal government. CPB funds NPR through grants.
In the letter, Sen. Cruz stated that Berliner’s revelations have introduced people to NPR’s “deeply entrenched culture” of partisanship.
“I write today to express deep concern about National Public Radio’s (NPR) departure from its stated mission ‘to create a more informed public’ and to ‘distribute programming that meets the highest standards of public service in journalism.’ NPR markets itself as a longstanding beacon of independent journalism, which is a critical component in fostering an informed and engaged public,” said Sen. Cruz. “Yet recent developments reveal a deeply entrenched culture of political bias and partisanship that stands directly at odds with the purported mission of this taxpayer-funded media organization.”
The Texas continued, “Award-winning 25-year NPR employee, and former Business Editor, Uri Berliner’s April 9th essay in The Free Press—which NPR suspended him for publishing and ultimately led to his resignation—reveals a gradual, but marked, transformation at NPR from an open-minded media outlet to one almost entirely beholden to partisan journalism.”
Furthermore, Sen. Cruz added that NPR has consistently failed to acknowledge its mistakes and its bias and has purposely disregarded pertinent information in its reporting.
“Above all, NPR’s persistent refusal to acknowledge its myriad journalistic errors, much less correct them, reveals a deep-seated partisanship. It also eviscerates the foundational trust and integrity expected of a public broadcaster. Such pervasive political bias not only fails the audience NPR purportedly aims to serve, but it also actively misleads them by promoting narratives that lack merit. By focusing on specific stories that align with the liberal agenda and ignoring or downplaying significant, verifiable information, NPR steers public perception away from informed, balanced viewpoints, exacerbating the country’s polarization,” said Cruz.
The Texas senator has requested that the CPB President and CEO respond to his letter by May 9.
