Poll: Growing Number of Americans Oppose Taxpayer Subsidies for National Public Radio

A Rasmussen Reports poll finds that an increasing number of American voters don’t want their taxes to subsidize National Public Radio (NPR).

The poll found that 31 percent of likely voters are in agreement with President Donald Trump, who called for NPR to be defunded in his latest budget. That compares to 39 percent who want subsidies to continue and almost a third of voters — or 30 percent — who are undecided on the matter.

“Most voters tune in to National Public Radio during the course of a month, but far fewer think taxpayers should continue to subsidize it,” Rasmussen Reports reported on its poll.

The poll continues to be what appears to be a trend, with the number of Americans who oppose ending subsidies sliding from 58 percent in 2017 to 39 percent in this latest poll.

Poll respondents’ answers are tied to their approval of the president:

Among voters who strongly approve of the job Trump is doing, 58 percent favor discontinuing NPR’s taxpayer subsidy. Only nine percent (9 percent) of those who strongly disapprove of the president’s job performance agree.

Thirty-seven percent (37 percent) of all voters say the news on NPR is generally liberal, while 28 percent consider it unbiased. Just 10 percent think it’s generally conservative. Twenty-four percent (24 percent) are not sure.

Although NPR promotes itself as an unbiased news organization, it is decidedly leftwing and is supported by many leftist corporate donors, including Amazon, Ben & Jerry’s, CNN, Turner Broadcasting, and the Union of Concerned Scientists, as well as many other corporations, including Fox Broadcasting.

In the same poll, Rasmussen Reports reported that one year ago, 54 percent of voters said: “they didn’t trust the political news they were getting.”

“Sixty percent (60 percent) of those who Strongly Approve of how Trump is doing his job think the news on NPR is generally liberal, a view held by only 16 percent of those who Strongly Disapprove,” Rasmussen Reports reported.

“Democrats are more likely to listen to NPR than Republicans and unaffiliated voters and are much less supportive of cutting federal subsidies to the media organization,” Rasmussen Reports reported.

According to Open Secrets, NPR spent more than $600,000 on lobbying in 2017.

According to WFYI public radio station in Indianapolis, the annual funding for the NPR umbrella group, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, has been level for several years at $445 million.

The survey of 1,000 likely voters took place on March 19-20, 2019. The margin of error is plus or minus three percentage points, with a 95 percent level of confidence.

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