One More Reason Defunding Is Justified: Public Broadcasting Paid Protection Money to Journalism Outfit

It still feels unreal, after generations of squabbling and debating the issue, but it has been finalized that the federal funding of public broadcasting is now cut off. National Public Radio (NPR) and the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) are going to endure, albeit in altered fashion, with many questions remaining regarding the local stations and affiliates facing funding challenges. But now coming to light is a component of the oversight entity to these outlets, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB).

At the Media Research Center, they discovered a deeply curious payout that the CPB had been making, one that calls into question the allegiances that organization developed, and carries with it the suspicion of making protection payments. Joseph Vasquez has uncovered that the CPB had been paying well over half a million dollars to the Poynter Institute for Media Studies. This is the outfit that backs the aggressively left-leaning Politifact, and is known as a beneficiary of George Soros funding.

Vasquez has found that in 2023, the CPB made donations to Poynter in the sum of just under $600,000. Unlike PBS and NPR, which have budgets built on a variety of income streams like private donations and corporate grants, along with roughly a third coming in the form of grants and licensing from network affiliates, the CPB operates entirely on the money delivered from Washington. This means that the entity was fostering this relationship with Poynter using taxpayer dollars.

Poynter also developed, years back, its list of “unreliable news websites,” which was composed of right-of-center outlets, including RedState and Townhall. The outfit ended up pulling this list down after it was shown to be both biased and flawed in its use of measurements. It has been apparent for some time that an anti-conservative bias exists with these public broadcasters and Poynter (especially through its Politifact platform). But what is seen is that this is more than just groups with common leftist goals; genuine partnering has taken place, and beneficial back-slapping is seen.

The “PBS News Hour,” a consistently slanted news program, has a union with Politifact that it features on its site. Additionally, Vasquez also notes that other operational relationships with Poynter were developed for stations to broaden their digital presence and expand subscriber bases. We also saw that Politifact and PBS joined up for the 2024 election. (Irony abounds as the esteemed Judy Woodruff was caught in a massive dose of misinformation during the Democratic National Convention.)

As a result of this partnering, both PBS and NPR evade the caustic measurement of Politifact. Neither outlet is subjected to a single fact-check on the site. So while Politifact is known for its aggressive approach towards Republicans and right-of-center news outlets, these two outlets can tout their alleged, straight down the middle reporting without risk of being corrected by the biggest name in that game.

This paid-for arrangement, revealed by Vasquez, trends close to what has been seen and tolerated for years with Planned Parenthood. That organization has long been a prominent donor of Democratic Party candidates, generating an incestuous money scam; the Dems facilitated tax dollars to PPFA, they in turn donated to sympathetic candidates who benefited from tax dollars to win office. In similar fashion, we have the Corporation for Public Broadcasting teaming with anti-conservative media to favor one party, using the very tax dollars they had been granted.

Since the funding was pulled last week, PBS has taken a decidedly oppositional tack than what had been heard for years. On Monday, the “PBS News Hour” declared that they were not going anywhere, quite the departure from the hysteria heard this year alone. Then something remarkable was seen. After all of this time resisting the calls from those suggesting that these public news outlets could survive with their audience support, news came that both PBS and NPR were awash in record donations.

scoop: donations to NPR and PBS stations have exploded, with donors across the country giving in unprecedented numbers since Congress cut federal funding https://t.co/FbfzTTfBqF
— Ben Mullin (@BenMullin) July 24, 2025

This is what most of the opponents to public funding of these outlets had been saying; go do your own thing broadcast-wise, just don’t do it on our dime. Just a word of caution to those sending in checks in order to obtain a cherished tote bag – understand what it is this entity is spending your money on after they cash your check.

Editor's Note: The mainstream media continues to deflect, gaslight, spin, and lie about President Trump, his administration, and conservatives.

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