Jul 18, 2025 - News

Ernst accuses public broadcasting of "partisan propaganda"

Jason Clayworth

Sen. Joni Ernst at U.S. Senate podium with a poster on international development showing $203,000 for Ukrainian fashion, $148,000 for a pickle maker in Ukraine, and $20 million for Sesame Workshop in Iraq. — U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) during a floor debate on July 15 where she supported cuts to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. Screen grab: C-SPAN

"Too often these programs are partisan propaganda."

— U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) during a Senate floor debate last week that resulted in $1.1 billion in cuts for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Context: Ernst referenced an essay written last year by Uri Berliner, a senior business editor at NPR, who said it has always had a liberal bent.

Berliner researched voter registration and found 87 registered Democrats and zero Republicans in editorial positions at its D.C. newsroom.

The other side: NPR's chief news executive, Edith Chapin, strongly rejected the assessment in a staff memo, the news organization reported last year.

Berliner resigned shortly after.

State of play: Iowa's all-Republican congressional representatives supported the cut.

Zoom in: Iowa PBS anticipates losing about $3.5 million in the next two months, the most significant cut in the station's 55-year history.

Iowa Public Radio will lose around $1 million.

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Ernst accuses public broadcasting of "partisan propaganda"

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