Letters to the Editor: Good for NPR for fighting back against Trump’s funding cuts

To the editor: I’m thrilled National Public Radio has legally challenged the Trump administration’s misguided executive order targeting its appropriately sourced federal funds and relationships with local stations (“NPR and public radio stations sue Trump White House over funding cuts,” May 27). I’ve grown accustomed to the measured objectivity and factual analysis of the reporting through daily programs like “All Things Considered” and “Morning Edition.”

We financially support NPR’s frequent funding drives not only because its revenues significantly rely on voluntary contributions from listeners, but also due to its prize-winning journalism that opens our eyes to hard-hitting domestic and international news analysis. The president’s bizarre claims that NPR fails to provide “fair, accurate or unbiased” programming can be summarily rejected by those who actually listen to the variety of viewpoints included. NPR routinely covers important events like it did with the president’s speech to a joint session of Congress in March and even rare audio of Supreme Court oral arguments about the birthright citizenship case, followed by riveting independent coverage.

Cutting this funding is more than just a violation of free speech. America should refrain from emulating autocratic leaders in other societies that deliberately silence views they do not like.

Anthony Arnaud, Laguna Niguel