NPR’s new President and CEO Katherine Maher has declined an invitation by House Republicans to provide testimony on the outlet’s alleged liberal bias.
The request follows last month’s op-ed by former Senior Business Editor Uri Berliner which alleged the outlet had lost its core audience after overwhelmingly assuming a progressive liberal bias in their reporting in recent years.
In a Monday statement released by the outlet, NPR noted Maher was already scheduled to attend a meeting on Wednesday May 8, the same day Maher was invited to testify before the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee.
“NPR welcomes opportunities to discuss the critical role of public media in delivering fact-based, non-partisan news and reporting to the American public, including with Members of Congress,” the outlet wrote. “NPR respects the Committee and its request and has offered to testify on a date in the near future that works for the Committee and Maher. NPR has a previously scheduled and publicly posted all-day meeting of its Board of Directors on that date, Maher’s first such meeting since she joined NPR just six weeks ago.”
The statement noted their meetings were scheduled a year in advance.
“This meeting will be Maher’s first opportunity to review and consult with the Board on the challenges and opportunities facing the organization, including a strategy to lead NPR forward in fulfilling its public service mission to serve all of America,” they continued. “Maher is therefore unable to attend this week’s hearing and has communicated that to the committee and proposed alternate dates.”
In lieu of attending Congress’ hearing, Maher will provide a written testimony, per the statement.
Washington Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Virginia Rep. H. Morgan Griffith, and Ohio Rep. Bob Lotta invited Maher to testify before Congress late last month, expressing concern over allegations of progressive liberal bias in Berliner’s op-ed.
“The Committee has concerns about the direction in which NPR may be headed under past and present leadership. As a taxpayer funded, public radio organization, NPR should focus on fair and objective news reporting that both considers and reflects the views of the larger U.S. population and not just a niche audience,” the letter read. “As the nation’s leading public radio network with a weekly audience of 42 million listeners, it is unsettling to note that ‘[a]n open-minded spirit no longer exists within NPR’ and that the news station is promoting strident left-wing views to the exclusion of alternative viewpoints.”
“The Committee is therefore concerned that your personal views and opinions on matters of public interest heavily influence your decision making at NPR and may cloud objective reporting of the news at NPR,” the letter continued.
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