Political Fights

February 2, 2016 12:10 PM

I am looking for a chronology of political fights NPR has engaged in since 1967 where it and the CPB have had to defend congressional funding. I'm looking for incidents further back than the 2011 resignation of Vivian Schiller or the ascendance of conservatives leadership to the NPR board in 2008. Any help is appreciated.

The NPR ombudsman has been slow to respond to other queries so I am looking at other avenues first. I am in touch with the Broadcasting Public Media Archives at the University of Maryland. I've also sent emails to Greater Public and the American Archive of Public Broadcasting.

posted by CollectiveMind to Media & Arts (1 answer total)

Best answer: There was considerable public debate/controversy when the CPB was up for reauthorization in 1992. (See "The 1992 PBS Funding Debate: How Much Diversity Is America Willing to Pay For?") [PDF]

Reagan attempted to cut subsidies to the CPB in 1981. [PDF]

Nixon vetoed the 1972 reauthorization of the CPB, which had otherwise enjoyed the broad support of Congress. (Chicago Tribune article)

For more exhaustive reading, you may want to check out NPR: The Trials and Triumphs of National Public Radio by Michael P. McCauley.
posted by mykescipark at 7:48 PM on February 2, 2016 [1 favorite]