Since the late 1960s, public broadcasting has been funded by individuals, foundations, corporate grants — and by enormous sums from U.S. taxpayers. Given this government funding, citizens should expect public broadcasting’s news coverage to be scrupulously neutral, since Republicans, Democrats and independents are all helping to foot the bill.

Yet an exhaustive Media Research Center study of PBS’s flagship newscast, NewsHour, found coverage of the first months of the new 118th Congress has been heavily slanted against Republicans.

By a five-to-one margin, NewsHour promoted controversies involving congressional Republicans over those involving Democrats.