FCC Chief Orders Investigation of Illegality at NPR and PBS and Casts Doubt on Their Reason to Exist

Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr has put the Public Broadcasting System and National Public Radio on notice that he has ordered an investigation into those outlets for violating federal law by airing paid advertisements. In a two-page letter, Chairman Carr informed 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 underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”

The issue is underwriting announcements of NPR and PBS programming by for-profit entities.

NPR and PBS have for decades aired sponsorships under rules set forth by the government. While public broadcasters are restricted by law from accepting traditional commercials, the F.C.C. has become more permissive over the years about what public stations are allowed to air. The F.C.C.’s evolving stance on the issue has gradually allowed public radio stations to become less dependent on government funding.

Eric Nuzum, a former NPR executive and co-founder of the audio consulting and production company Magnificent Noise, said that sponsorships and underwriting differ sharply from advertising on commercial TV and radio in several respects.

“The difference is, in a commercial, the sponsor can say anything they want — it’s their time,” Mr. Nuzum said. “In an underwriting situation, the station provides an acknowledgment of who’s providing the funding, along with basic information about the underwriter.”

As Carr says in his letter, it is one thing to credit underwriters, but you cross the line into advertisement when they “promote the contributor’s products, services, or businesses, and they may not contain comparative or qualitative descriptions, price information, calls to action, or inducements to buy, sell, rent, or lease.”

Carr didn’t stop at informing the outlets of his investigation; he called into question their existence, “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.”

NPR CEO has made statements that call into question her suitability for any leadership or management function. She has justified the 2020 riots, saying it was “hard to be mad” about the theft and destruction. 

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As big a deal as Carr’s directed investigation and opinion of PBS’s and NPR’s futures, NPR, in particular, faces a more daunting foe, Elon Musk Calls NPR CEO ‘One of the Worst Human Beings in America,’ Announces Campaign for 1st Amendment – RedState. As DOGE ramps up and swings into action, we may finally see the twin dinosaurs of state-supported broadcasting finally turned into fossil fuel.

READ THE LETTER

FCC Letter to NPR and PBS by streiff on Scribd

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