Posted on 11/04/2005 9:22:12 PM PST by Indy Pendance
A prominent U.S. conservative who had criticized PBS and National Public Radio for "liberal bias," has resigned from the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.
Kenneth Tomlinson, a Republican who was board chairman until September, left after an investigative report on his tenure.
The investigation was begun in May after Democratic congressmen asked the corporation to look into reports that Tomlinson used questionable tactics to exert political influence over public broadcasting.
The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) is an independent agency that is supposed to fund and monitor the PBS television network and National Public Radio.
Tomlinson had publicly criticized both networks for what he saw as "liberal bias." In an effort to prove his claims, he spent more than $14,000 US in taxpayers' money to monitor the political leanings of guests on shows such as Now With Bill Moyers and Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered on PBS.
The inspector also had been asked to examine Tomlinson's recruiting of former Republican National Committee co-chair Patricia de Stacy Harrison to be CPB's chief executive.
The CPB board discussed the inspector's findings for three days before announcing Tomlinson's resignation on Thursday.
"Both the board and Mr. Tomlinson believe it is in the best interests of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting that he no longer remain on the board," it said in an e-mail statement to reporters.
The report is not to be made public until mid-November, but the board said Tomlinson had disputed the inspectors' findings.
Tomlinson's departure is unlikely to stop right-wing criticism of public broadcasting or attempts by conservatives to cut funding for public broadcasting.
Tomlinson was scheduled to step down at the end of January 2006, so the resignation is only a few weeks early.
The CPB remains in conservative control. The new chairman Cheryl F. Halpern and vice chairman Gay Hart Gaines are both longtime Republicans.
Tomlinson, a former editor of Reader's Digest, remains chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a federal agency that oversees international broadcasting services, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the Arabic-language Radio Sawa.
Just stop funding these commies.
Soooooooo, what is the NAME of the Democrat Congresscritter??? The whole story is about the Congresscritter siccing the inspector on the Reublican Tomlinson, but it doesn't NAME THE CONGREECRITTER!!!!
Certainly nothing biased about Bill Moyers.
Muerte al CPB!
ANDERSON, KATHERINE
ALEXANDRIA, VA 22314
N/A/RETIRED
KERRY, JOHN F
VIA JOHN KERRY FOR PRESIDENT INC
03/08/2004 250.00 24991160267
Look her up. Thats all I am saying.
Obviously, this is a matter of supposed control versus who really is in control. If you try to reconcile this to reality, something goes horribly wrong.
I wouldn't want it in "control" of anyone, anyway. I want it to be placed in control of shareholders like every other broadcast group is.
I will kind of miss Tomlinson, though. Anyone who can make Bill Moyers squeal like a stuck pig has to have some worth. I still get a chuckle out of his little rant about the "Rot Wang" and how he was being unfairly attacked. Yep, those poor hitmen just aren't treated like they once were.
Gag! His replacement on the "NOW" show was introducing ol Jimmy Carter tonight! Ironic, so close to the November 4, 1980 election landslide for Ronauldus Magnus!!!
Where in the Constitution does it say, "Congress shall have the Power to levy Taxes upon the Citizens for the Purpose of disseminating seditious Propaganda through the Press"?
Either the documentarians can sell their product in the marketplace, or they can't. If so, good for them - the Discovery Channel networks are always looking for new content.
If not, they should look into other career options- like say, coming into the open as paid and acknowledged media cinsultants to the DNC.
F'em. Let the liberals have PBS. There are plenty of conservative outlets. It ain't worth the trouble.
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