FAQS about WPM State and Federal Funding; WPM Issues
Wyoming Public Media often receives questions from listeners about proposals to reduce or eliminate funding for public broadcasting at both the state and federal levels. This section provides context and updates on these issues, including activity in Congress and the Wyoming Legislature, statements and interviews from NPR, PBS, and CPB leadership, comments from the administration and state and federal lawmakers, and reporting from other news organizations.
This page also addresses questions about WPM day-to-day operations.
Updated as questions/issues come in.
This is just the start of the Legislative process. Lawmakers will continue working on the state budget during the budget session starting on Feb. 9, with opportunities for public comment.
WYOMING LEGISLATIVE ACTIVITY QUESTIONS
What is the best way to contact legislators?
Listeners usually write to their specific representatives.
Some listeners send an email (or copy) to the Leadership of both chambers.
Often listeners send a copy of their letter to the UW Trustees who hold the license for WPM.
List of representatives LINK
List of senators LINK
House Leadership
Chip.Neiman@wyoleg.gov Speaker
Scott.Heiner@wyoleg.gov Majority Floor Leader
Jeremy.Haroldson@wyoleg.gov Speaker Pro Tempore
Ocean.Andrew@wyoleg.gov Majority Whip
Mike.Yin@wyoleg.gov Minority Floor Leader
Karlee.Provenza@wyoleg.gov Minority Whip
Trey.Sherwood@wyoleg.gov Minority Caucus Chairman
Senate Leadership
Bo.Biteman@wyoleg.gov President of the Senate
Tara.Nethercott@wyoleg.gov Majority Floor Leader
Tim.Salazar@wyoleg.gov Vice President
Mike.Gierau@wyoleg.gov Senate Minority Floor Leader
Chris.Rothfuss@wyoleg.gov Minority Whip.
The budget released yesterday (2/10/26) did not provide funding for Wyoming Public Media. What can the public do to reinstate funds?
Legislators are still in the process of refining the budget. Public radio listeners have the opportunity to contact their elected representatives and express their thoughts about this decision before the 2nd reading of the budget February 17, and the 3rd reading of the budget February 19. A short message explaining how listeners use the WPM service is helpful to legislators.
List of representatives LINK
List of senators LINK
TRANSCRIPT LINK (from JAC voting session)
Here is a summation of how the $800K per year budget cut will affect WPM. This cut eliminates 8 key positions:
- Wyoming Sounds. We can't produce a 24/7 channel with no producer.
- The signal may be eliminated in your area. With engineering staff cut in half, we may not be able to service all transmitters and will need to make choices.
- Local news will be cut deeply, with two senior reporters gone. This will cut down on newscasts and affect programs like Open Spaces.
- Our emergency alerting will be impacted, as will the alerts the public receives.
- Public Service announcements as well as activities like Giving Tuesday will need to be curtailed or eliminated.
- The license itself may be at risk, with staff responsible for compliance no longer employed, the network may be out of compliance with FCC.
- We may need to cut some national programs like This American Life, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, BBC News.
Listener question: Do you have to take programs from NPR or PBS?
Wyoming Public Media does not acquire programs from PBS. PBS is a television program provider. As all public radio stations, WPM acquires programming from a variety of sources, including NPR. Like most public radio stations nationally, we select the programs that audiences favor. Nationally, and in Wyoming, public radio audiences rate NPR programs at the top of their listener preferences, and expect WPM to carry NPR signature programs like Morning Edition and All Things Considered. In short, program selection is an audience-driven decision.
How much of the WPM schedule is taken up by NPR news programs?
The combined weekly broadcast time of WPM's 4 channels is ~672 hours, of which 86 hours originate from NPR. That’s 13% of the schedule. The rest is cultural programming, local news and information, BBC programs, entertainment programs, and classical and jazz music from national syndicators, and public service programming. That 13% is the irritant at the root of some legislative discontent about WPM. (TRANSCRIPT LINK)
The main channel (Wyoming Public Radio) has the highest number of NPR program hours (57 out of 168). This is because the Morning Edition and All Things Considered, and Here and Now newsmagazines air on the main channel.
Will the Wyoming Sounds 24-hour service be affected?
Very likely. The legislative cut includes the position that produces and operates this channel.
Why does the University of Wyoming hold a public radio license to begin with?
Many universities hold public radio and/or television licenses as part of their extended educational outreach into the communities they serve. Public radio is an effective way to reach the public and provide information, knowledge, cultural content, entertainment, public service, etc., in a format accessible to people. To many individuals, its a distance learning opportunity. As a land-grant university, part of UW's mission is to extend education into Wyoming. Public radio fits this mission. As part of the requirement to hold a Non-Commercial Educational license, the university agrees to allow the network to "serve the public" rather than institutional needs.
Question for listener: I live in another state. Will my voice carry weight with Wyoming's legislators?
Yes. Part of WPM's mission is to create programming (largely podcasts) that "sell" the Wyoming culture nationally and globally. Listeners from outside Wyoming are a testament to this mission. Some listeners also enjoy staying in touch with their home state.
Question from several listeners: What can the public do to convince the legislature not to cut WPM's funds?
As always, the public can communicate its thinking with its respective legislators to give them an idea of how their constituents use the services WPM provides.
List of representatives LINK
List of senators LINK
TRANSCRIPT LINK (from JAC voting session)
If the legislature cuts the funding, how will this impact me as a listener?
The legislative cut will be $800K a year that WPM gets from the university. It funds 8 key positions. If these positions are cut, it will affect:
- Wyoming Sounds. We can't produce a 24/7 channel with no producer.
- The signal may be eliminated in your area. With engineering staff cut in half, we won't be able to service transmitters and will need to make choices.
- Local news will be cut deeply, with two senior reporters gone. This will cut down on newscasts and affect programs like Open Spaces.
- Our emergency alerting will be impacted, as will the alerts the public receives.
- Public Service announcements as well as activities like Giving Tuesday will need to be curtailed or eliminated.
- The license itself may be at risk, with staff responsible for compliance no longer employed, the network may be out of compliance with FCC.
- We may need to cut some national programs like This American Life, Wait Wait Don't Tell Me, BBC News.
Listener comment: I like the stories on the Modern West podcasts. Will they stay once funding is gone?
Highly unlikely. One of the positions the legislative cut affects is a senior producer who leads the podcast program.
Comment from Cheyenne listener: Don't forget that many people listen to WPM for the music. Will this be affected by state defunding?
Yes, the Wyoming Sounds channel will be affected because state defunding cuts the programmer/producer position that operates the channel. Wyoming Sounds is a strong platform for Wyoming bands and artists. Classical Wyoming and Jazz Wyoming would also be under consideration for cuts. The Metropolitan Opera would not be heard on radio in Wyoming if the Classical Wyoming channel is cut.
Some legislators expressed the opinion that without federal and state support, WPM can go free and sell advertising. Is this possible?
Not quite. WPM operates under a Non-Commercial Educational (NCE) license. It is required to comply with non-commercial operating guidelines that differ significantly from those governing commercial broadcasters. For example, WPM can not sell "advertisements ." It can air underwriting messages with strict FCC-mandated language restrictions that are not as extensive as commercial advertisements. As another example, public broadcasters were prohibited from partaking of the $4.5 billion radio/TV ad sales revenue in the 2024 election. This is because public broadcasters are prohibited from running political ads. In short, WPM’s non‑commercial status defines the network's funding model, its on‑air sound, and the regulatory boundaries within which it must operate. These rules ensure that WPM remains focused on education, public service, and community‑centered programming rather than commercial revenue.
Why did the Joint Appropriation Committee cut professional positions, when their main complaint seemed to be NPR programming which they compared to Pravda?
The Joint Appropriations Committee may not have known the specifics of what they were cutting. NPR programming costs can't be cut by the legislature because national program costs are paid by public donations rather than state funds. In its cut, the committee voted to eliminate eight professional positions funded directly by the University of Wyoming's block grant. Wyoming Public Media has not been able to identify any clear connection between the committee’s stated intent and the action it ultimately took which cuts jobs but leaves NPR programming intact.
Was the Joint Appropriations Committee aware that the funding it was cutting supported 8 staff positions?
Members of the Joint Appropriations Committee did not raise this question during the hearing, nor did they ask WPM anything beyond inquiries related specifically to its budget. The JAC did not ask about the full WPM services over 4 channels which are 87% non-NPR.
One of the legislators seemed to say that state money should not be used on what public radio says, and they want to cut it as a result.
State funding is not used for programming or content heard on Wyoming Public Media. The University of Wyoming block grant is not used for program acquisition; instead, it supports eight professional staff positions whose work is essential to maintaining FCC compliance. Without these positions, WPM’s broadcast license—held by the UW Board of Trustees—could be placed at risk.
All programming costs, including the content listeners hear and the editorial decisions that shape “what public radio says,” are funded entirely through donor contributions and grants. These are voluntary, individual choices made by listeners and supporters, who determine what they want to hear on their public radio network. Programming decisions are not determined or directed by legislation. This borders on free speech issues and falls under the purview of the First Amendment.
During the JAC discussions, WPM was compared to Pravda. What is the similarity?
This comparison needs additional explanation from the legislator who made it. TRANSCRIPT LINK Beyond the fact that both are media outlets, the similarities end quickly. Pravda functions today as a network affiliated with the Russian Communist Party, while Wyoming Public Media is an American public broadcasting service that operates with editorial independence and serves the people of Wyoming. It is not associated with political parties.
One JAC member said that Wyoming should follow Trump's lead in defunding. What is the similarity?
As per the transcript of the hearing TRANSCRIPT LINK, a member made this comment:
"It's no secret that at the federal level, a similar thing has been done up there with the Trump administration in taking public funds away, uh, from so-called public media.They have removed the funds here within the state, and uh, we are following suit."
President Trump made the following comment prior to federal defunding:
"It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions [sic] Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
(PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together. Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Wyoming PBS asked the legislature for $10 million. Why didn't WPM ask for more money?
WPM did not ask for additional funding other than what was allocated to it for many years through the block grant to its licensee UW. WyPBS asked for its base funds, replacement of lost federal funds, and infrastucture needs. The two organizations operate separately of each other.
WyPBS is licensed to Central Wyoming College and operates under its own management. While both organizations collaborate on broadcast sites across the state, WPM and WyPBS are separately licensed organizations with different operational needs. Television is significantly more expensive to run than radio, and WyPBS experienced a larger reduction in its federal appropriation.
WPM, on the other hand, determined that it could absorb its federal funding loss through careful budgeting and by turning to listeners for additional support. That approach worked, and WPM did not need to burden the state with its federal losses.
It looks like legislators expect WPM to operate like a commercial radio station and raise all its money from the public. Can WPM do this?
WPM would need to raise an additional $800,000 each year to replace the direct funding it currently receives from the University of Wyoming. Given Wyoming’s population of roughly 580,000, generating that level of new annual revenue—absent extraordinary donations or unusual circumstances—would be extremely difficult. By comparison, a state like Colorado, with a population of about 5.8 million, could absorb an $800,000 increase in fundraising far more easily simply because it has a much larger donor base. Wyoming does not have that scale to draw from.
As to operating as a commercial station, WPM can't. WPM is licensed by the FCC as a Non-Commercial Educational (NCE) network.
The Joint Appropriation Committee voted to cut WPM's funding from the State. How much money was WPM asking for from the State to make up for lost federal funds?
Federal and state funding are entirely separate revenue streams. WPM absorbed its recent federal funding reduction through internal reorganization, operating cuts, and increased support from donors who stepped in to help close the gap.
WPM did not request any state funding in this biennium. Despite that, the Joint Appropriations Committee voted to eliminate the annual support WPM receives through the University of Wyoming—approximately $800,000 per year. This amount has been stable for many years and pays for eight professional positions responsible for FCC compliance and licensing requirements. The 2026 session marked the first time WPM was specifically targeted for a reduction within the UW block grant.
Did the Joint Appropriations Committee also eliminate base funding for Wyoming PBS and other public broadcasting organizations?
No. The Committee preserved WyPBS's base funding of $3 million. It did not grant an additional $7 million WyPBS requested to cover their federal funding loss as well as equipment needs,
There are no other public broadcasting or news organizations that requested funding from the state in 2026, to our knowledge.
==========================================================
FEDERAL FUNDING DEFUNDING QUESTIONS
State of funding, updated 12.31.2025.
Thanks to listeners, we bridged 2026 and are closing in on 2027. Read the entries below about our strategy. We are focusing heavily on attracting new members to build our base for the future.
State of our funding, updated 10.7.2025: “How is WPM riding out the federal funding loss?” we’re asked.
We hoped for the best, planned for the worst and kept the radio on. And we had many, many loyal friends!
The first Trump administration alerted us to President Trump’s position on public radio, and we prepared for reduced funding immediately after the November 2024 elections. Our goal was to preserve as much of the listener experience as possible for as long as possible. For many listeners, public radio isn’t just equipment – it’s part of their family.
To address the $400+ annual reduction in federal funding, we streamlined our operation without compromising quality or risking WPM’s future. We began with hiring freezes in areas that could still operate effectively at a lower level. Part-time employees leaving through attrition were not replaced; their workloads were redistributed. Hiring was limited to positions that were designated and securely funded for multiple years or were critical to the operation. These included engineers responsible for maintaining the statewide network and positions mandated by the FCC for compliance. Direct budget reductions totaled just over $70.
Our cost-conscious staff cut expenses in daily operations. Travel was limited to essential activities like site maintenance or funded initiatives, such as the Coffee & Conversations statewide meetings our news department enjoys for engaging the public on Wyoming issues. Training programs/conferences, essential in all broadcasting fields, were attended remotely. And yes, some comforts were sacrificed, like repainting a dull office or buying a stylish office rug. Furniture was replaced from the UWyo Surplus Facility— not exactly elegant, but functional! This effort resulted in a savings of nearly $30K.
WPM qualified for a one-time “rural stations” fee reduction, saving $70K. NPR implemented a fee reduction program right after the rescission was approved by Congress. Tribal and rural stations received the largest fee cuts. Wyoming is entirely rural. Sometimes, being small pays off!
Statewide signal improvements were paused. During the November elections, we were in the process of improving FCC-awarded sites in Wyoming. We completed or enhanced sites serving Alta, Alpine, Pinedale, Dubois, Sheridan, and just managed to finish Kemmerer before the deadline. Gillette’s main channel upgrade and the new Wyoming Sounds channel didn’t start. They’re still in play, though, but only if approximately $200K in full funding is secured (and that amount is increasing daily with inflation!).
And then came the incredible support – donors!
We began informing our audiences early about the potential for a federal defunding catastrophe through messaging online and on-air. Listeners were able to keep up with the political process and contact legislators. Financially, they responded enthusiastically with small, medium, and large donations. We hosted three highly successful fundraising events – the spring drive, the fiscal year-end drive in June, and WyoGives. We also introduced the Old Bill’s Fun Run for the first time. Anticipated revenue gain -- $250K.
These basic budgeting decisions will help manage the first year of federal funding loss and lay the groundwork for future reductions. It is expected that the federal cuts will be permanent. Public Broadcasting was not included in the Continuing Resolution process in Congress.
We’re excited, humbled, and thrilled to know that together, we can support public radio in Wyoming. But we’re also cautious in our outlook. After all, after 60 years of federal support, the unthinkable happened – the nation lost federal backing for local public broadcasting. NPR and PBS, the entities politicians wanted to eliminate, are relatively unaffected and fortunately continue to serve the nation. We’re also aware of the fact that Wyoming has a low population compared to other states. This limits the donor pool.
So, what's next?
We raise funds year-round. You’ll see us online, on-air, and through various activities and giving projects that help generate both immediate and future funding.
There’s a strong focus on new members. Many listeners enjoy public radio but were not motivated to give—until now—when “rage” over defunding and threats to First Amendment rights entered the picture.
We grow our partnerships with other organizations. These organizations produce content that reduces costs in our news department.
The internship program continues to grow, providing support to core activities.
We continue to pursue foundations and other grant opportunities for specific projects.
How can you help?
Continue your overwhelming financial support. In its protection of First Amendment rights, public radio is a precious commodity these days.
Encourage others to give, whether through a $5/ 5/month sustaining membership, by funding a project they’re passionate about, or through a planned gift that secures WPM’s future.
Remind our legislators of the value of public radio in Wyoming. They may not agree with the content, but they can certainly appreciate the services public radio provides to communities.
Be sure to thank UW administrators for their support of WPM! Both direct and in-kind support provide strategic support to our operation.
And… never, never, give up! We won’t.
What is WPM's plan for keeping the operation functioning after the rescission? (earlier version)
WPM anticipated an uphill battle in the administration and Congress and started planning immediately following the November 2024 elections. An organizational year-end review identified areas that could still function effectively with reductions.
WPM hoped for the best, and planned for the worst case scenario. Several steps were implemented and/or are in the process of implementation. The objective is to keep services as close to current level as possible. Listeners and users should not feel much of a difference in service.
With CPB federal funding gone, WPM is planning for a $400+ reduction in its annual operating budget.
- Staff hiring freeze except in critical positions.
- Budget cuts in some operational areas.
- Sharing resources with regional networks thus eliminating costs. Outsourcing services at lower cost where applicable.
- Freeze on the Gillette build-out for a Wyoming Sounds channel. Will pursue this only if there is private or grant funding available. Signal improvement from Muddy Gap to Lander and in the Kaycee area were put on hold in November and subsequently dropped.
Generating revenue to meet the 400K shortfalls. (We are closing in on the first year $400K in missing revenue.)
- We had 3 successful fundraising events – spring fund drive, year end fund drive, and WyoGives. Each event met and surpassed goal with some “rage” donations included.
- This year we’re participating in Old Bill’s Fun Run for the first time.
- We will approach UW, our licensee, for assistance as warranted.
- Like other stations, we have entered into a full-time fundraising mode on a variety of platforms. This mimics other national non-profits that fundraise all year, all the time.
- We’re concentrating heavily on new members while the “rage” over defunding is still fresh. But we need to be careful not to cannibalize our ongoing donor activity, or exhaust our listeners.
Did President Trump discourage congressional Republicans from voting against rescission for public broadcasting?
President Trump shared his thinking with congressional Republicans prior to the rescission votes in the Senate and the House in 2025.
"It is very important that all Republicans adhere to my Recissions [sic] Bill and, in particular, DEFUND THE CORPORATION FOR PUBLIC BROADCASTING
(PBS and NPR), which is worse than CNN & MSDNC put together. Any Republican that votes to allow this monstrosity to continue broadcasting will not have my support or Endorsement. Thank you for your attention to this matter!"
Now that CPB is closing shop, what will WPM need to add to its operating requirements?
These are the major supports that will pass on to stations:
*Cost-effective collective negotiation and payment of music licensing fees.
*Support for the public media interconnection system that connects all local stations and is essential for the transmission of emergency alerts and warnings over public broadcasting infrastructure.
*Management of systemwide operating procedures that align with FCC regulations and apply to public broadcasters. General Managers had access to training and professional consultation in matters affecting station license, programming, technical operation.
*Training opportunities for staff in areas of programming, news/journalism, technology.
*Grants in specific areas of news and programming. For example, WPM's State Government reporters are funded by CPB; WPM's participation in the Mountain West News Bureau is funded partially by CPB.
Local stations will now have to pay for these costs out of their individual station budgets, which have already taken a dramatic hit from the elimination of federal funding. In many cases, the transfer of these newly unfunded costs will simply be too high for local stations to bear.
With CPB gone, can stations take advantage of commercial radio practices and start making money the way commercial stations do?
Broadcasting regulations for public radio stations are set by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), which issues Non‑Commercial Educational (NCE) licenses to station owners. These licenses require stations to follow non‑commercial operating guidelines that differ significantly from those governing commercial broadcasters. The FCC has not signaled any changes to these requirements.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) does not issue broadcast licenses. Its role is to manage the federal funds appropriated by Congress and distribute them to eligible stations. CPB also supports stations in meeting FCC requirements and oversees the associated compliance reporting.
What will happen to stations that operate mostly on CPB federal appropriations?
Immediate assistance will come from NPR's fee reduction program being implemented to help stations transition. For the long term, small stations with low membership revenues are encouraged to consider merging functions with larger stations with stronger infrastructures and resources.
What are the most critical losses now that CPB is phasing out?
The most critical areas are national services that stations can't provide for themselves in a cost-effective manner. These include, infrastructure capability (connecting all our 46 sites), music and streaming rights (making Wyoming Sounds, Classical Wyoming, Jazz Wyoming possible, providing fiscal oversight for FCC-related activities that require annual review. These services are networked with all other public radio stations, so the national interconnectivity is hard to replace.
Oversight and management of journalism and educational grants will be missed. CPB coordinated the system's educational activities, creating opportunities for learning and expanding national reporting. CPB provided the training ground for young public broadcasters entering the system. This oversight will need to be picked up elsewhere.
What process does the Senate have to deal with the rescission?
President Trump's rescission request has a 45-day clock from the day he submitted it. The Senate has 4 basic options:
1) adopt the cuts as presented in the request
2) amend the proposed cuts
3) reject them
4) do nothing. This in effect is a rejection of the proposal.
There is some confusion about the Big Beautiful Bill and the rescission. Are they related?
The "Big Beautiful Bill," at nearly 900 pages, is a collection of tax breaks, spending cuts and other Republican priorities, including new money for national defense and deportations. A $4.5 trillion tax breaks and spending cuts bill, it was passed Thursday July 3, 2025. overcoming multiple setbacks and was signed into law by the president. Public broadcasting was not a part of this process.
The "rescission" package that Trump sent to Congress allows Congress to cancel funds it previously appropriated but had not yet spent. The president can withhold these funds, but only with Congress’ approval. The two-year forward funding that was previously appropriated for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to distribute to stations falls into this category. In this case, Trump had signed this appropriation in March 2025. So in effect, he’s taking back what he has already given. Hence the “claw back” term is applied to this type of activity.
At the time of this update, the rescission for public broadcasting was passed by the House, and is now before the Senate. Should the Senate make any changes to the rescission, it needs to go back to the House for passage. Both Chambers have to pass the rescission request by July 18. If they fail to pass, the money goes back into the budget and the president doesn’t have the opportunity to spend it or revive the rescission request.
In 1967 Congress authorized the CPB to use tax dollars to subsidize public television and public radio stations in America. With the emergence of other media sources, this is no longer necessary.
One of the intents of the Public Broadcasting Act was to provide free access to high-quality television and radio broadcasts to all Americans. A majority of current media sources are available through paid cable or satellite fees and user IT and broadband service paid plans. A sizable number of print publications are available on a subscription basis. Online print media is readily available, but increasingly restricted by a paywall. Public radio and television content remains free of charge.
A second core intent of the Public Broadcasting Act was to provide educational material to the nation and particularly to consumers who couldn’t afford to get it elsewhere. Public broadcasting content is created to educate through a variety of programs for radio, television, and now through digital productions. This content intends to educate and inform, and not necessarily follow the commercial model of generating eyeballs and ears for ratings which translate into advertising revenue. In the educational area, public television’s decades-long programming history in the area of children’s programming leads the way.
A third core intent of the Public Broadcasting Act was to address Americans living in rural areas who had no other access to media. Many parts of the nation do not have a strong business justification for commercial service providers to invest in the areas. Public broadcasting, through its subsidies from Congress, is able to create a model that works and reaches listeners/viewers in America’s “media deserts.”
Why should all Americans pay for services that are used by only a part of the population?
Public radio and television is accessed by close to 180 million Americans combined via traditional TV and radio sets alone. Each month, 16 million individuals view content on PBS apps and 53 million users through YouTube. NPR’s digital platforms alone reach an average of 37 million users per month.
Public radio and television are akin to public utilities and services that are operated by local, state, and federal governments. Not everyone uses the highway system, railroads, the electrical grid, FAA control systems for air travel, public schools, etc. yet tax dollars from all Americans are pooled to pay for these “common use” services. The Public Broadcasting Act deemed public broadcasting as a tool to provide education to all Americans regardless of location or circumstance. Not all are required to use it, but it's there for all to access.
NPR’s CEO made far-left statements about President Trump, Americans, and non-binary individuals that make her unfit to lead a publicly funded media entity.
Dating back to 2018, Katherine Maher, NPR CEO, made statements to this effect on her private Twitter account and in presentations that were perceived as hyper-progressive by some. In her congressional testimony on March 26, 2025, she stated that she regretted these statements.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PXbSeJ3avEg
Retraction of statements or positions is not unusual among public figures. Similar statements were made and later regretted or retracted by others in professional positions and government-related functions. Retractions are not an impediment to employment, appointment, or election.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/nu8yn6TwGgw
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3JEUGjyROw4
In 2023, NPR senior editor, Uri Berliner penned an article critical of NPR, stating that the NPR audience described itself as predominantly liberal, with only 31 percent citing themselves to be conservative or conservative-leaning. This demographic description has been interpreted to mean that NPR is biased.
NPR does not perform a litmus test on audience political persuasions and doesn’t control programming decisions by political segmentation. Media attracts the audiences that want to consume its content. This audience is made up of a variety of political persuasions.
Note: WPM agreed with some Berliner positions, disagreed with others, but questioned the method by which personnel issues were aired publicly instead of through management channels.
Mr. Berliner also noted that by his count, there were no Republicans working in editorial positions at NPR.
As per employment guidelines, NPR does not track voter registrations of employees. The methodology of Mr. Berliner’s information could benefit from further clarification.
Note: WPM does not ask for political affiliation in its employment process.
NPR did not want to cover the story about Hunter Biden’s laptop citing its truthfulness for the decision.
NPR refrained from full coverage of the story pending deeper verification.
In subsequent reporting, NPR came to the conclusion that it was a mistake not to have covered the story immediately and more fully. A public retraction was made.
Note: WPM was of the opinion that the story should have been followed up and expressed its concerns to NPR.
NPR lacks diversity of viewpoints in its newsroom.
This is an “in the eye of the beholder" issue that can't always be adjudicated. One listener’s perceived bias is another’s accurate statement.
Note: NPR addressed this issue in an internal review and made substantive changes to its reporting format and style. Listeners are encouraged to listen to their public radio station and make an assessment of what they hear.
Does NPR have a Journalistic code or procedures?
NPR has a Code of Ethics linked below.
https://www.npr.org/about-npr/688405012/independence
Note: WPM publishes the Journalistic Codes for all contributing news organizations that contribute to the on-air stories and information.
https://www.wyomingpublicmedia.org/regulatory-information
There have been upheavals in media overall, and also at NPR.
This is correct. Recent years have brought sharp turnarounds in media. The pandemic and new digital access options affected listening/viewing behavior. Social movements, including the #MeToo as well as the George Floyd killing in 2020 created tumult in newsrooms, witnessed by the departure of top editors in The New York Times, the Washington Post, among others. This was also fueled by a generational change in the ranks, with the infusion of young journalists with different core values of news coverage compared with their “Cronkite generation” counterparts.
NPR recognized these factors, as well as other factors brought up by the Berliner article, and made course corrections.
Note: WPM agreed with the new changes made by NPR. They more closely aligned with WPM editorial practices.