NPR (AP-sourced)
U.S. center-left
Background
NPR was created under the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and began broadcasting its flagship program All Things Considered in 1971. Through the 1970s, the federal government provided more than half of NPR's operating funds via the Corporation for Public Broadcasting; a near-bankruptcy in 1983 prompted a restructuring in which CPB shifted most federal money to local member stations, which then pay programming fees to NPR. By the 2020s, direct federal support accounted for less than 2% of NPR's own budget. Independent bias assessments, including AllSides' 2022 and 2025 blind surveys, rate NPR's online news as 'Lean Left,' meaning its coverage moderately reflects liberal viewpoints, though it does not engage in overt advocacy. In April 2024, NPR senior business editor Uri Berliner published a widely read op-ed arguing the outlet had lost the trust of a broad audience through Trump-era coverage that he said shifted from tough reporting into oppositional framing. Following Trump's second inauguration, the White House issued an executive order in May 2025 titled 'Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media,' directing an end to federal funding for NPR and PBS. Congress subsequently rescinded $1.1 billion in CPB appropriations on a party-line vote, and the CPB announced it would begin winding down. NPR and several affiliate stations filed suit, and a federal court ruled in March 2026 that the funding cut was unconstitutional retaliation against protected speech, issuing an injunction blocking permanent termination of the funding.
Sources
- National Public Radio (NPR) – State Media Monitor
- NPR – Wikipedia
- Public Radio Finances – NPR
- A brief history of NPR funding – NPR
- NPR News Media Bias – AllSides
- Ending Taxpayer Subsidization of Biased Media – The White House
- Congress rolls back $9 billion in public media funding – NPR
- NPR, public radio stations sue Trump White House over funding ban – NPR
- NPR Board of Directors – NPR
- How is NPR funded? – Britannica
Profile compiled 2026-07-18; refreshed when ownership, funding, or the administration changes.