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Please note!
This fact brief was originally published as an experiment to test the concepts behind fact briefs.
Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of useful information in fact briefs like this one, not all of them reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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FACT BRIEF

Does NPR receive less than 1% of its funding directly from the federal government?

By Allegra Taylor
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YES

"On average, less than 1% of NPR's annual operating budget comes in the form of grants from CPB and federal agencies and departments," reports NPR on a webpage about its finances last updated March 16, 2023.

While this is true of direct government funding, NPR indirectly benefits from government funding provided to affiliated stations, which pay a fee to license NPR programming. NPR said in fiscal year 2020, public radio stations received 8% of their revenues from "federal appropriation via CPB." Thirty-one percent of NPR's revenues between fiscal years 2018-22 came from "member" station fees.

The federal government funds public broadcasting through the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, a private, nonprofit corporation created by Congress in 1967 "to ensure universal access to non-commercial, high-quality content and telecommunications services." In fiscal year 2022, 89% of its $465.5 million budget went to "station and programming grants."

Media Bias/Fact Check gives NPR a "high credibility" rating with "high" factual reporting and a "left-center" bias.

Updated 4/18/23 to reflect the most up-to-date information.

This fact brief is responsive to conversations such as this one.
Sources
NPR Public Radio Finances (archived)
CPB About CPB
CPB FY 2022 Operating Budget
Media Bias/Fact Check NPR (National Public Radio)
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Gigafact
Between 2020 and 2022, under close editorial supervision, Gigafact contracted a group of freelance writers and editors to test the concepts for fact briefs and provide inputs to our software development process. We call this effort Gigafact Foundry. Over the course of these two years, Gigafact Foundry writers published over 1500 fact briefs in response to claims they found online. Their important work forms the basis of Gigafact formats and editorial guidelines, and is available to the public on Gigafact.org. Readers should be aware that while there is still a lot of relevant information to be found, not all fact briefs produced by Gigafact Foundry reflect Gigafact's current methods and standards for fact briefs. If you come across any that you feel are out of date and need to be looked at with fresh eyes, don't hesitate to contact us at support@gigafact.org.
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About fact briefs published on Gigafact
Fact briefs are short, credibly sourced summaries that offer “yes/no” answers in response to claims found online. They rely on publicly available, often primary source data and documents. Fact briefs are created by contributors to Gigafact —a nonprofit project looking to expand participation in fact-checking and protect the democratic process. See all fact briefs here.