Political Communication
We compare accuracy and bias on PBS and NPR against the big three networks (NBC, ABC, CBS) and the three dominant cable outlets (CNN, Fox, MSNBC) across a variety of objective economic measures and coverage of the last seven Presidential elections. We find that PBS and NPR are, on balance, not unique in terms of accuracy or bias.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), the federal funding agency for public broadcasting in the US, was dissolved in January 2026. Calls to abolish the CPB were often rooted in allegations of inaccuracy and liberal bias, not just during the Trump administration but since the 1970s. There has, however, been no systematic effort to test these assertions. Has PBS’s or NPR’s public affairs coverage been inaccurate or biased? We analyze decades of transcripts from The PBS NewsHour and NPR’s All Things Considered, alongside parallel coverage from all major US commercial broadcasters (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC). We examine the accuracy of coverage of economic issues and public spending. We also consider balance in both the volume and sentiment of coverage of presidential candidates. By our measures, there are few signs of unique inaccuracies or partisan biases in national CPB-funded news coverage. Results highlight the value of clearly defined measures of media accuracy and bias, and also raise questions about expectations for publicly funded media.
Keywords: media accuracy, media bias, public broadcasting, PBS, NPR
American Political Science Association 2026.