MAGA House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer was mocked online after he thought "editorial standards" referred to opinion pieces while ranting about supposed "disinformation" coming from National Public Radio (NPR).
On Wednesday, NPR CEO Katherine Maher appeared before a House subcommittee on government efficiency to defend public broadcasting from GOP lawmakers' accusation of political bias in a hearing titled "Anti-American Airwaves: Holding the Heads of NPR and PBS Accountable."
Maher, who discussed the role of federal funding in delivering "unbiased nonpartisan, fact-based reporting," was put in the hot seat when Comer asked her if she wanted to dispute the allegation of NPR being news propaganda.
She replied:
"One of the first things I did in coming in in May was to beef up our editorial standards."
The House Oversight Chair from Kentucky, who blocked investigations into Donald Trump after assuming office in 2023, interrupted the non-profit exec, asking:
"Why is NPR even doing editorials?"
Recognizing Comer's apparent confusion about the difference between "editorials" and "editorial standards," Maher explained, "I don't mean editorial in terms of opinion editorial..."
Comer interjected again and blustered, "If you're a federally funded entity that's supposed to provide the news, can you not provide the news?"
Maintaining her cool amidst Comer's relentless grousing, Maher clarified, "I mean editorial standards for our journalism was to beef up our editorial practices."
She further conveyed that editorial standards entailed "bringing in more editors to make sure that we have more points of view reflected in every story."
You can watch the exchange here.
"Editorials" in journalism refers to opinion articles written by publication writers, as opposed to Op-eds, which are written by members of the community who are not newspaper employees.
The term "Editorial standards, or practices" essentially refers to the guidelines editors must follow to ensure content is clear, concise, and most important, accurate.
Comer was dismissive of Maher's respectful response. "I've lost confidence in public radio," he said. Before yielding his time, he added that he doesn't believe NPR was deserving of even "a penny of federal funds."
Social media users face-palmed watching Comer's display.
The word "embarrassing" came up a lot in the comments to the shared video.
Maher's polite demeanor throughout Comer's grumbling did not go unnoticed.
You can watch a longer video of the hearing in the clip below.
- YouTubeyoutu.be
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