News/talk stations WBUR Boston and “LAist” KPCC Los Angeles are among 13 public radio stations receiving letters from the Federal Communications Commission asking them to compile materials detailing past on-air sponsorships — known as “underwriting” in public media — by March 31, as part of the Commission’s ongoing investigation of NPR and PBS.
While both WBUR and KPCC confirmed receipt of the FCC’s letter, other major public stations declined to comment, according to Bloomberg News. An FCC spokesperson also declined to comment.
The request is a next step in FCC Chairman Brendan Carr’s investigation into whether public TV and radio stations are airing advertisements in violation of federal guidelines. Public stations, which are partially funded by taxpayers, operate under strict rules about how they must disclose sponsorships or underwriters. Advertisers are not allowed to run commercials promoting or endorsing products and services on air, talk about price information, or make calls to action.
“I am concerned that NPR and PBS broadcasts could be violating federal law by airing commercials,” Carr wrote in a letter to the heads of NPR and PBS in January. “In particular, it is possible that NPR and PBS member stations are broadcasting underwriting announcements that cross the line into prohibited commercial advertisements.”
While the FCC does not directly regulate NPR or PBS, it does oversee the licenses of individual member stations to broadcast over public airwaves. In return for broadcast access, public media outlets promise not to run traditional commercials.
Carr was appointed by President Trump, who has publicly supported revoking federal funding for public media stations, which he believes are biased against him. “I do not see a reason why Congress should continue sending taxpayer dollars to NPR and PBS given the changes in the media marketplace since the passage of the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967,” Carr also said in the letter to NPR and PBS.
For their part, NPR’s and PBS’ leaders have said their organizations comply with all FCC rules and regulations, and that they are confident any investigation would reveal compliance.
On the station side, WBUR Chief Executive Margaret Low said in an email, “WBUR is highly attentive to FCC and NPR guidelines. Every spot we air, local or national, is reviewed to ensure that we’re adhering to those guidelines.” Low also said that FCC complaints tend to come directly from the public and are investigated based on objections to a particular announcement. When stations have been fined in the past, it has typically been after the agency found a station “knowingly or egregiously” violated the rules, she said.
In a statement, Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) called Carr’s letter to stations “a partisan stunt,” adding that “the FCC’s continued weaponization of its authority to investigate public broadcasters is reckless and unacceptable.”
According to reports, NPR receives close to 1%, and PBS 16%, of its annual funding from the federal government. Many member stations, particularly smaller rural stations, are more reliant on federal funds. On average, member stations get nearly 10% of their budgets from the congressionally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
