NPR Funding Drives: Stronger than ever in Wake of Wingnut Attacks
I also urge you to pledge since NPR often brings stories you just won’t see anywhere else where buzz and sensationalism is more important than actual news impact.
If you’ve listened to Wyoming Public Radio recently, you’ve heard pleas for support as part of the organization’s regular on-air spring membership fund drive. You also heard that listener support is more important than ever due to a mostly GOP-led movement to cut federal funding for National Public Radio through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Proponents of the cut say it’s part of fiscal belt-tightening to address the nation’s staggering debt. But much of the dialogue is also centered on whether National Public Radio is guided by a left-wing bias. Recent dust-ups over the firing of NPR correspondent Juan Williams and an undercover video by right-wing activist James O’Keefe have highlighted criticism of NPR as too left-leaning.
Public radio proponents say those concerns were apparent in the partisan split on a House vote in March to defund NPR. Wyoming Public Media general manager Jon Schwartz said he believes the real motive to defund is driven more by ideology than economics.
“This House bill that passed is, in an ironic way, is helpful in that it made clear this is a partisan attack on public radio alone,” Schwartz told WyoFile in a recent interview.
Indeed, there is a rally to support public radio in Wyoming. WPR wrapped up its spring membership drive Friday morning after 61 hours on air, and raised $295,000.