The hearing comes after Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, the committee chair, accused NPR and PBS of biased reporting.
The subcommittee has titled the hearing, “Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable.”
The U.S. Committee on Oversight said CEOs of both nonprofits will be asked why the outlets should continue to receive federal funding.
Rocky Mountain PBS said according to a 2019 survey from the Pew Research Center, 87% of respondents who identified NPR as their main source of political news identified as Democrats.
In a podcast released Tuesday, NPR CEO Katherine Maher said she wanted to rebuff the idea that public radio is anti-American.
She said, “For starters, we are a uniquely American model. We are a public-private partnership. For every single federal dollar we get, local stations raise an additional seven.”
PBS has reported a more conservative audience in the past with data from 2016 showing 46% of PBS viewers identified as conservative with 31% moderate and 23% liberal.
PBS, NPR and their local stations, including KPCW, are funded in part by a $535 million appropriation provided by Congress through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, in addition to substantial foundation, corporate and viewer donation support.
Rocky Mountain PBS reports Republican administrations have been trying to end federal support for public media since the late 1960s.
The hearing is Wednesday at 8 a.m. MT and will be streamed live.
