We Won’t Miss Government Media

At NPR and PBS, bias has long been the biggest problem. Let 1,000 podcasts bloom

By Andy Kessler. Excerpts:

"A year ago, NPR had 87 Democrats and zero Republicans on its editorial staff in Washington, according to a senior editor there."

"Answering claims of bias, NPR CEO Katherine Maher recently told CNN, “please show me a story that concerns you.” Within hours, Sen. John Kennedy (R., La.) gave many examples on the Senate floor, including the claim that interstate highways are racist. Twitter users found boatloads more—including a managing editor saying, “we don’t want to waste the listeners’ ” time on Hunter Biden’s laptop. Ms. Maher has famously said, “Truth might be a distraction that’s getting in the way of finding common ground and getting things done.” All things considered, that’s a $1.1 billion mistake."

[An NPR host said to Mr. Kessler] "“I hate that you and Silicon Valley techno-capitalists purposely destroy careers with technology. What you’re doing is awful.”"

"do we need PBS in an era of YouTube and streaming, even for “intellectual” programming?"

"Freedom of the press should mean freedom from government control that comes via funding. Spectrum license renewal still overhangs over-the-air TV network owners. The Fairness Doctrine, adopted in 1949, forced media to run opposing views. Its repeal in 1987 allowed media to pick sides and flourish, from Rush Limbaugh to MSNBC."