According to Brendan Carr, the organizations "could be violating federal law by airing commercials."
Brendan Carr has ordered the Federal Communications Commission to investigate NPR and PBS. This is one of his first significant actions since he became chairman of the agency. In a letter that was first reported by The New York Times, Carr alerted both organizations of the investigation.
Carr states in the letter that the public media corporations may not be following the guidelines set by the FCC regarding noncommercial educational broadcast stations (NCEs). He comments, "I am worried that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be breaking federal law by showing commercials." “In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”
NCEs are not allowed to show the same types of ads that are usually shown on other radio and television stations, according to FCC standards. However, as Carr points out, sponsors are allowed to "receive on-air acknowledgements."
Both NPR and PBS stated that they follow FCC regulations in their respective comments. According to NPR CEO Katherine Maher, "NPR programming and underwriting messaging complies with federal regulations, including the FCC guidelines on underwriting messages for noncommercial educational broadcasters." "We are confident that any review of our programming and underwriting practices will confirm that NPR is following these rules." For decades, we have collaborated with the FCC to help noncommercial educational broadcasters that deliver important information, instructional programming, and emergency warnings to local communities around the United States.
According to a representative of PBS, the organization "is proud of the noncommercial educational programming we provide to all Americans through our member stations," and "we work diligently to comply with the FCC's underwriting regulations and welcome the opportunity to demonstrate that to the Commission."
President Donald Trump, who appointed Carr FCC as chair last year, has openly expressed his dislike for PBS and NPR. He threatened to cut their funding during his first year in office and again during his campaign last year. Similarly, Elon Musk, who is a close associate of Trump and the head of DOGE, has also considered the possibility of cutting financing for public media.
