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Tags: fcc | brendan carr | npr | pbs | letter

FCC Chair Carr Orders Probe of PBS, NPR Sponsors

By    |   Thursday, 30 January 2025 04:50 PM EST

Federal Communications Commission Chair Brendan Carr this week announced an inquiry into whether NPR and PBS violated government regulations with its use of sponsors, The New York Times reported.

Carr wrote a letter to the news networks on Wednesday announcing the investigation into whether NPR and PBS member stations violated regulations by airing information about financial sponsors, which Carr claimed could be considered "announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements."

He continued, "To the extent that these taxpayer dollars are being used to support a for-profit endeavor or an entity that is airing commercial advertisements, then that would further undermine any case for continuing to fund NPR and PBS with taxpayer dollars."

NPR President and CEO Katherine Maher denied that the new outlet's practice of underwriting sponsors is in violation of any government rules in a statement.

"We are confident any review of our programming and underwriting practices will confirm NPR's adherence to these rules," Maher said. "We have worked for decades with the FCC in support of noncommercial educational broadcasters who provide essential information, educational programming, and emergency alerts to local communities across the United States."

PBS said in a statement that it has worked "diligently to comply with the FCC's underwriting regulations" and is proud of its "noncommercial educational programming."

Eric Nuzum, a former NPR executive, told the Times that there is a crucial difference between a commercial and an underwriting sponsor.

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

He added that Carr's letter was "troubling," noting that it "tellingly goes far beyond underwriting and talks about his thoughts on whether public media should be funded at all and notes that this underwriting issue might be relevant to a broader legislative debate."

Theodore Bunker

Theodore Bunker, a Newsmax writer, has more than a decade covering news, media, and politics.

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Federal Communications Commission Chairman Brendan Carr this week announced an inquiry into whether NPR and PBS violated government regulations with its use of sponsors, The New York Times reports.
fcc, brendan carr, npr, pbs, letter
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2025-50-30
Thursday, 30 January 2025 04:50 PM
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