Taxpayers Subsidize Government Propaganda

From the Daily Policy Digest
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its subsidiary National Public Radio have much to answer for, says Richard Rahn of the Discovery Institute.

Rahn complains that NPR’s broadcast agenda is unashamedly left- wing and taxpayers — the vast majority of whom are conservative by nature — are being forced to pay NPR’s bills. In addition to its government subsidy, NPR receives private contributions which are tax deductible.

Some examples of its biases:

– It took NPR more than a year to apologize — and then only under great pressure — for falsely suggesting a conservative Christian group was behind the anthrax attacks.

– Its economic reporting is often characterized by intemperate and unsupported attacks on business people and advocates of limited government.

– NPR’s Nina Totenberg recently referred to the Bush- sponsored tax cuts as “really stupid,” and senior commentator Daniel Schorr continues week-after-week to propose Keynesian economic nostrums.

– News items concerning government misspending are routinely ignored, while illustrations of how the rights of taxpayers are being trampled are not to be found.

NPR isn’t the only government-subsidized media outlet featuring left-wing propaganda, says Rahn. Britain’s BBC has become extremely hostile to the Conservative Party, as well as the more moderate segments of the Labor Party, listeners report. NPR should be privatized, says Rahn.

Source: Richard Rahn (Discovery Institute), “Perils of State- Owned News Outlets,” Washington Times, June 5, 2003.