(Luis Cornelio, Headline USA) Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chair Brendan Carr wasted no time, launching an investigation into PBS and NPR’s potential violations of federal law by airing commercials.
Carr, who assumed the FCC chairmanship on Jan. 20, fired off a blunt letter to the heads of NPR and PBS, both taxpayer-funded outlets, announcing the investigation. He warned the unlawful commercials could prompt lawmakers to cut funding for the organizations.
“I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials,” Carr wrote in the Jan. 29 letter addressed to NPR’s Katherine Maher and PBS’s Paula Kerger.
He added, “In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”
JUST IN: FCC Chairman Brendan Carr has announced an official investigation of PBS and NPR.
“I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials. In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting…
— toddstarnes (@toddstarnes) January 30, 2025
While the FCC does not have direct oversight of PBS and NPR, it governs the licensing and content standards for approximately 1,500 stations affiliated with both networks. PBS and NPR are non-profit organizations and not broadcast stations.
Carr emphasized PBS and NPR must stay “true to their important missions and refrain from operating as noncommercial in name only.”
He added, “That is why, as noted above, I have asked the FCC’s Enforcement Bureau, with assistance from the FCC’s Media Bureau, to initiate an investigation into the underwriting announcements and related policies of NPR, PBS, and their broadcast member stations.”
Carr also informed both outlets that members of Congress had been notified of the upcoming investigation. Lawmakers are currently considering whether to halt funding for both stations—long criticized for their leftist bias.
“For my own part, I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967,” Carr noted.
In a response published on NPR’s website, Maher vaguely defended NPR, asserting that it has complied with federal regulations and FCC guidelines.
“We are confident any review of our programming and underwriting practices will confirm NPR’s adherence to these rules,” she claimed. “We have worked for decades with the FCC in support of noncommercial educational broadcasters who provide essential information, educational programming, and emergency alerts to local communities across the United States.”
Carr has consistently criticized NPR for its biased coverage and has called on Congress to defund it.
“They should be serving the needs of their community. You are not supposed to be running ads. They are pushing viewers towards preferred politics. Congress should not fund them,” he said in an interview with podcast host Benny Johnson.
🚨FCC Chair Brendan Carr Threatens to DEFUND NPR and Corporate media for biased coverage:
"They should be serving the needs of their community. You are not supposed to be running ads. They are pushing viewers towards preferred politics. Congress should not fund them." pic.twitter.com/LGfVbmPKGx
— Benny Johnson (@bennyjohnson) January 27, 2025
