As the fight over taxpayer funding of NPR goes on an examination of political donations by boardmembers and officers and trustees of the NPR Foundation reveal a heavy liberal tilt according to U.S. News:

Since 2004, members of the boards of NPR and the NPR Foundation, the public broadcaster’s fundraising arm, have contributed nearly $2.2 million to federal candidates, parties, and PACs, of which $1.95 million, or 89 percent, has gone to Democratic candidates and liberal-leaning political action committees. [See where members of Congress get their campaign contributions.]

Officers and trustees of the NPR Foundation, which has no control over the organization’s programming, have given substantially to national political campaigns in recent years. According to data from the Center for Responsive Politics, this group’s members (as listed on NPR’s most recent available annual report, from fiscal year 2008) have given almost $2.1 million to political campaigns in the last eight years. Fully 89 percent of this giving was to Democrats and progressive organizations. These figures include all federal contributions since the 2004 election cycle, the first in which “soft money” contributions were banned. “Soft money” refers to money given to a party for non-campaign activities, which until being banned in 2002 were unlimited and largely unregulated.

A majority of contributions from members of NPR’s Board of Directors have likewise gone to Democrats. This board comprises 10 NPR station managers, the NPR president, the NPR Foundation president, and five prominent members of the public, selected by the board and confirmed by member stations. Political contributions by these station managers have been virtually nonexistent, and there are also no recorded political contributions from either Ron Schiller or Vivian Schiller. Of the five public board members, however, giving has been far more Democratic than Republican, with nearly 95 percent of the group’s $106,000 in contributions going to Democrats or progressive committees. Three of these members have given exclusively to Democrats since the start of 2003, though in amounts less than $5,000 each. One member, Carol Cartwright, has given $4,100 to Republicans and $700 to Democrats. But the biggest giver, John A. Herrmann, Jr., has given $82,500 to candidates and committees since 2003, 98 percent of it to Democrats. [See editorial cartoons about the Democratic Party.]

NPR tried to distance itself from the donation report by saying that the foundation is primarily responsible for fundraising and that the board members aren’t involved in day to day operations so that neither group has any impact on news coverage.

But NPR is being a bit disingenuous here since involvement in day to day operations doesn’t mean that the board or the foundation can’t or doesn’t exert influence on how the news is reported.

It would be better for all involved if NPR would just come clean and admit they have a liberal bias.  There is a market for this type of news as MSNBC has proven to a certain degree but taxpayers don’t need to subsidize it.

As former NPR executive Ron Schiller said, NPR will be fine without government money and they would be free from the political whims of politicians which at this time are firmly against them in a GOP Congress.

Let the free market determine whether or not NPR’s future and stop them from sucking any more money from the government teat.

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About the author

Don Irvine
Don Irvine is Chairman of Accuracy in Media. He is active on Facebook and Twitter. You can follow him @donirvine to read his latest thoughts.

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1 Comment for Surprise! NPR Board Gives Heavily to Democrats

Wildbird

Not at all surpised since the leftist NPR is nothing more then a leftists propeganda machine for the demacRATS