BROADCAST BIAS: NPR, PBS bosses defend outlandish spin, ABC, NBC, CBS have a crazy reaction

On Wednesday, the House DOGE subcommittee held a proceeding to clasp "public" broadcasting accountable for not serving the full nationalist that helps wage their bills. Under a barrage of Republican questions, NPR CEO Katherine Maher admitted it was a "mistake" for NPR to disregard the Hunter Biden laptop story, expressed regret astir vicious anti-Trump tweets earlier she came to NPR, and agreed it wouid beryllium disturbing if reports were existent that determination were nary Republicans successful NPR newsroom.

How overmuch sum did this rock’em-sock’em proceeding person connected ABC, CBS, and NBC? Nothing. Zero. Not connected the evening news. Not connected the greeting programs the time after.

It’s not similar the broadcast networks weren’t covering hearings. They each led their newscasts with "Signalgate," the Trump medication discussing a subject onslaught connected the Houthis connected the backstage encrypted app Signal, but letting successful leftist writer Jeffrey Goldberg, exertion of The Atlantic. Goldberg is the big of the play PBS amusement "Washington Week with the Atlantic."

NPR, PBS HONCHOS FACE TENSE GRILLING BY GOP LAWMAKERS OVER BIASED COVERAGE, TAXPAYER FUNDING

Both ABC’s "World News Tonight" and the "NBC Nightly News" ran footage of CIA Director John Ratcliffe and Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard being grilled by Democrats successful a House proceeding astir however this breach happened. "Bombshell text" was the hype from NBC anchor Lester Holt’s opening of the broadcast.

President and CEO of National Public Radio Katherine Maher (L) and President and CEO of Public Broadcasting Service Paula Kerger are sworn successful earlier a House Oversight and Government Reform Committee proceeding astatine the U.S. Capitol connected March 26, 2025, successful Washington, DC. (Andrew Harnik/Getty Images)

On the "CBS Evening News," newsman Ed O’Keefe was gunning for resignations: "Well, present astatine the White House tonight, officials cannot regularisation retired that idiosyncratic mightiness suffer their occupation implicit each of this." He interviewed Goldberg and erstwhile Obama Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel to play up the scandal.

O’Keefe ended by noting the bipartisan telephone from the Senate Armed Services Committee for a afloat investigation: "Roger Wicker, the Republican president from Mississippi, called it a palmy onslaught connected the Houthis but ‘a shame this information question is distracting the nationalist from the occurrence of that mission.’"

It’s a "shame," each right. The networks volition ever downplay immoderate Trump occurrence and play up immoderate Trump mistake.

So let’s research the quality from the PBS-NPR proceeding they didn’t privation to report:

1. NPR CEO Katharine Maher made a precise belated admittance to GOP questions astir their harsh dismissal of the Hunter Biden laptop communicative arsenic a "pure distraction" close earlier the 2020 election: "Our existent editorial enactment thinks that was a mistake, arsenic bash I." This was breaking news, due to the fact that nary 1 heard them admit that earlier now, erstwhile their payer currency is connected the line.

2. Maher confessed that she would not nonstop the aforesaid chaotic tweets she enactment retired calling Trump a "deranged racist sociopath" and saying America was "addicted to achromatic supremacy." She called looting "counterproductive," but it’s "hard to beryllium mad" astir spot crimes. She claimed she has "evolved" from these views. But these blistery takes neatly lucifer NPR’s wokeness. They astir apt helped her get the gig.

3. Both President and CEO of PBS Paula Kerger and Maher proclaimed against each the grounds that PBS and NPR quality programs are nonpartisan and unbiased. Texas Republican Rep. Pat Fallon cited NewsBusters studies, similar 1 that recovered the "News Hour" utilized 162 labels of "far-right" extremism and lone six uses of ‘far left" terms. Another 1 recovered PBS sum of the 2024 enactment conventions was dramatically biased – the Republican confab drew 72 percent antagonistic coverage, portion the Democrat lawsuit drew 88 percent affirmative coverage. Kerger professed she had nary thought astir these studies. So overmuch for preparing for the hearing.

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4. Several Republicans cited the exposure of NPR elder exertion Uri Berliner, who recovered successful probe connected the D.C. elector registrations of NPR newsroom employees that determination were 87 Democrats and zero Republicans. Maher replied that would beryllium disturbing if it were true, but successful a twelvemonth connected the job, there’s nary motion that they've hired immoderate Republicans who could impact the regular leftist strength of the NPR "news." Berliner was not a Republican, and helium was forced out.

Maher confessed that she would not nonstop the aforesaid chaotic tweets she enactment retired calling Trump a "deranged racist sociopath" and saying America was "addicted to achromatic supremacy." 

5. Four Republicans noted Berliner’s uncovering that Democrat Rep. Adam Schiff was interviewed 25 times connected NPR during the Russian-collusion fake quality [I’d adhd present that Wolfson and Rutz recovered 32, but that’s your call.] Rep. Fallon noted that and asked Maher however galore times the Republican president of the Oversight Committee, Rep. James Comer, had been interviewed astir his Biden impeachment probe. Maher didn’t know. Fallon told her it was zero. There’s a akin deficiency of attraction to Comer from the web Sunday shows.

Hearing bias has been a changeless grounds successful broadcast-news bias going backmost 50 years. They went wall-to-wall for the Democrats connected Watergate, Iran-Contra, Anita Hill, and the highly one-sided House January 6 Committee. Hearings chaired by Republicans are buried arsenic worthless partisan exercises. 

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PBS and NPR felt compelled to screen this DOGE hearing, but that doesn’t mean they liked it. NPR media newsman David Folkenflik lamented it this way: "The hearing, entitled ‘Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable,’ appears arranged much to people points than to find facts."

The broadcast quality networks are easy accused of being much funny successful scoring points than uncovering facts. They typically skip each the facts that ruin their "storytelling" – particularly facts astir however they skew the news.

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