NPR, PBS Raked In Millions More Taxpayer Dollars Than They Indicated On Returns, Report Shows

National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) both received significantly more taxpayer funding in Fiscal Year 2023 than they had indicated on their tax returns, according to an OpenTheBooks report published Thursday.

On a tax return for the fiscal year ending in September 2023, NPR reported that it received just $40,000 from American taxpayers, which came from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CBP), a nonprofit organization that invests in public broadcasting, according to OpenTheBooks’ analysis. That amount made up just 0.04% of the $98.57 million in grants NPR received from “all parties” during that period, according to the report.

Meanwhile, at the end of fiscal year 2023, NPR had $388.5 million in total assets, OpenTheBooks’ report found.

Moreover, PBS’ tax return showed it received $22.74 million from the government, according to OpenTheBooks’ analysis. OpenTheBooks found that at the end of fiscal year 2023, PBS had $641.23 million in total assets, an increase of $52 million from the year prior.

PBS CEO Paula Kerger earns $1,055,135 in salary and $113,526 in “other compensation,” while three other PBS employees make over $500,000, according to OpenTheBooks. Meanwhile, NPR spent $5.18 million on payroll for its officers and key employees, according to the report.

In March, both Kerger and NPR CEO and President Katherine Maher testified alongside other witnesses at a House Subcommittee on Delivering on Government Efficiency (DOGE) hearing over concerns of alleged biased coverage and taxpayer funding of the organizations. The DOGE Subcommittee wrote in a press release published after the hearing that “Republican members concluded these media entities should not continue to be funded by the broad taxpaying public.”

Some Republicans have accused NPR and PBS of having biased media coverage. In March, President Donald Trump notably said that he would “love” to defund and take taxpayer dollars away from both organizations, citing “unfair” news coverage.

In February, Republican Utah Sen. Mike Lee introduced the Defund Government Sponsored Propaganda Act, which seeks to halt federal taxpayer funding of PBS and NPR, “in light of longstanding concerns about their fairness and bias.”

A Pew Research Center study published in 2024 found that 77% of Americans said they believe news outlets tend to favor one side when reporting on political and social issues, while just 22% of respondents said they think news organizations deal fairly with all sides.

NPR and PBS did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.