NPR goes to great lengths to tell people that it isn't state-run media. But NPR itself was created by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, whose Board of Directors is appointed by the president and are confirmed by the Senate. And while NPR receives only about 1 percent of its direct funding from the CPB (i.e. -- the Federal government), its member stations (whose dues account for a much more substantial portion of NPR's funding) receive more substantial amounts of funding from CPB (i.e. -- the Federal government) and state governments.
I always find the whole "1 percent" point dishonest. When your member stations pay you dues and THEY can be receiving 10 or 15 percent of their funding from government, it's the same as you receiving that funding.
That's why it isn't as simple as "get out of the government money business altogether." For one, they only exist because of the CPB (the government). And even if you broke it off from the CPB, its member stations need the CPB (Federal goverment) money, as well as state funding many of them are subsidized by. Some of the larger stations, like in New York, D.C., San Francisco would be able to operate independently, but in more rural places the government funding is the only thing keeping those stations on the air.
The rest. ... is you doing a narrative again. They actually are probably a lot less "left leaning" than many media organizations because the CPB is pressured by the politicians (who come in all stripes) who sit over it to be "balanced" and prove it with regular reports. The narrative is particularly funny, because there was one point when Bush the second was president where they were being accused of being too "conservative," to which they responded that they were actually just seeking balance.
Also, that's a pretty sweeping statement about what the journalists who work at NPR care about.
