Do Democrats, the liberal media like NPR, and taxpayer-funded media have the right to take political liberties with the news? On NewsNation’s On Balance program, host Leland Vittert took up the question with liberal strategist Kaivan Shroff and the answer was an eye-opening “no.”
Vittert began the debate by teeing up White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre’s comments defending NPR’s “independence” and asked Shroff whether it was “a good thing for the White House press secretary to be weighing in on what news organizations the White House deems hard hitting and worth.”
Shroff praised Jean-Pierre’s comments and said that “comparing our publicly funded journalism to state media from Russia and China is incredibly inappropriate.” He then argued that NPR has “local affiliates” providing local news when other local stations are “dying” and otherwise leaving a news “vacuum.”
Vittert then took issue with Shroff’s word games and asked how he could say that “something that is funded by the federal government is independent even though they are dependent on a certain party that it to be in power to fund them.” Shroff stumbled and couldn’t answer the question.
Vittert then pointed out that Republicans have tried repeatedly over the years to defund NPR, which Shroff was seemingly unaware of. Vittert asked Shroff if he would support a government-funded outlet that’d lean right to counteract NPR, to which Shroff responded, “I just don’t see the point in equating what — what you’re talking about with what we’re talking about when we say China propaganda media outlets.”
It’s outrageous that the liberal media, like NPR, and those who receive taxpayer money believe they’re above criticism and can take political liberties with the news. Instead of providing unbiased, quality journalism, they’re more concerned with pushing their own political agenda.
It’s time for the government to stop funding outlets that push their own political bias, as it undermines the public’s trust in the media. All news outlets should be held to the same standards, regardless of whether or not they’re funded by the government.
The truth is, no one should ever be allowed to get away with taking political liberties with the news. We can’t allow NPR and other taxpayer-funded media to become propaganda machines for the left. We deserve better.