A publicly-funded media network known for a leftward bias recently came under criticism of Florida Senator Rick Scott. Earlier this week, Scott sent a letter to Laura Ross, Chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. The letter raised “concerns of declining public confidence in objective news reporting from National Public Radio (NPR) and called for Ross to take the necessary action to restore and maintain public trust in America’s public radio and television networks.
You can read Scott’s letter to Ross, below.
“Dear Chair Ross:
I write today with concern regarding the public confidence in objective news reporting from National Public Radio (NPR). Recently, disturbing allegations of bias in NPR’s reporting, stemming from leadership that has been accused of politicizing the editorial process and favoring liberal narratives, has created a crisis of confidence in public radio’s ability to provide objective, fact-based news to the American public. As the organization charged with funding NPR and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), I urge you to use your position as the chair of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to restore public trust in NPR and ensure objectivity in news operations funded by American taxpayers.
Like millions of our fellow Americans, I greatly appreciate the value that local NPR affiliates provide to our communities. As both Florida’s governor and my state’s U.S. senator, I have worked with local NPR affiliates to shed light on important issues facing families in my state. From covering local news, to providing life-saving guidance to Floridians during hurricanes, local NPR affiliates play a critical role in keeping families across the Sunshine State informed and safe.
Floridians must be reassured that the objective reporting we have come to expect and appreciate from local NPR affiliates, and the confidence that they have in these stations, will be maintained. The same is true for local PBS stations. Public broadcasting services funded by American taxpayers cannot be politicized.
Allowing the crisis of confidence currently brewing at the national leadership level of NPR to spread to local affiliates would represent a colossal failure and could destroy the credibility of local public radio and public broadcasting services.
Americans want their news to be objective and fact-based and all public broadcasting to be free from narratives that favor any side of the political spectrum. Any assertion that NPR or any other taxpayer-funded public broadcasting services have deviated from this standard must be addressed swiftly and transparently.
I hope that you will use the power of your position to take the necessary action to restore and maintain public trust in America’s public broadcasting services.”
