Daily Source Bias Check: Public Radio International (PRI)

These media sources have a slight to moderate liberal bias.  They often publish factual information that utilizes loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes) to favor liberal causes.  These sources are generally trustworthy for information, but may require further investigation. See all Left-Center sources.

• Overall, we rate Public Radio International (PRI) Left-Center Biased based on editorial positions and story selection that moderately favors the left. We also rate them Very-High for factual reporting due to excellent sourcing of information and a clean fact check record.

Detailed Report

Factual Reporting: VERY-HIGH
Country: USA
World Press Freedom Rank: USA 45/180

History

Founded in 1983, Public Radio International (PRI) is a Minneapolis-based American public radio organization, with locations in Boston, New York, London, and Beijing. PRI is a media content creator and also distributes programs from many sources, competing with National Public Radio, American Public Media, and the Public Radio Exchange to provide programming to public radio stations. According to their about page “Public Radio International (PRI) is an independent, non-profit multi-media organization that seeks to build knowledge and understanding of the world’s peoples, issues, and events through storytelling.” They further state “Programs produced by PRI are featured on almost 900 radio stations across the U.S.”

Read our profile on United States government and media.

Funded by / Ownership

Public Radio International is a nonprofit that is funded through donations, government grants, and advertising. The website lists their largest foundation supporters as the “John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, the Henry Luce Foundation, the Carnegie Corporation, and more.”

Analysis / Bias

In review, PRI distributes programming to public radio stations. Among its programs is the global news program “The World”, which PRI co-produces with the BBC and WGBH Boston. PRI stories mostly come from staff reporting from different locations around the world and is typically highly factual. Headlines and articles do not use loaded language such as this: What we know about the new, novel coronavirus: A timeline and this The US has renewed its support for Venezuela’s opposition. What does it mean? Both of these examples are strongly supported by Reuters, New York Times, and NPR.

Politically, PRI does not offer strong opinions in either direction, however, when reporting on the Trump administration there tends to be more negative stories by a slight margin. When it comes to climate change, PRI aligns with the consensus of science and the political left. In general, the news is reported factually and with some left-leaning bias in story selection. All stories are evidence-based.

Failed Fact Checks

• None in the Last 5 years

Overall, we rate Public Radio International (PRI) Left-Center Biased based on editorial positions and story selection that moderately favors the left. We also rate them Very-High for factual reporting due to excellent sourcing of information and a clean fact check record. (11/7/2016) Updated (D. Van Zandt 2/7/2020)

Source: https://www.pri.org/