WASHINGTON—Following President Donald J. Trump’s executive order requiring the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) to cease any taxpayer funding for the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR), Heritage Foundation experts released the following statements on the significance of the move and how it will improve the media landscape. 

Mike Gonzalez, the Angeles T. Arredondo E Pluribus Unum senior fellow at Heritage, stated: 

“The executive order requiring the CPB to cease funding for NPR and PBS is due to their blatant bias, which is demonstrable and well-documented. Since they were created more than half a century ago, NPR and PBS have ignored repeated complaints about their bias from every conservative president since LBJ.  

“Congress now has to do its job and correct this wrong.” 

Lindsey Burke, PhD, the director of Heritage’s Center for Education Policy, also commented on the executive order:  

“American taxpayers should not be forced to fund the leftist monoculture that emanates from NPR and PBS. These entities are free to operate as they wish, with their uniform and uninterrogated viewpoint, but must do so on their own dime.

“Hardworking Americans, who have diverse viewpoints, should not be forced to pay for content that they don’t support. This is another smart move by the Trump Administration to reclaim cultural institutions and protect American taxpayers.” 

The Heritage Foundation has called for ending federal funding of public broadcasting for more than a decade. In April, Heritage praised the Trump administration’s proposal calling on Congress to eliminate funding for public broadcasting.