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No Rove influence seen in US public TV boss hiring Tue Dec 13, 6:43 PM ET WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's inspector general found no evidence in correspondence that White House adviser Karl Rove or other White House officials tried to influence the hiring of the group's new leader, according to a letter released on Tuesday. CPB Inspector General Kenneth Konz denied a request by three watchdog groups to release documents and e-mails related to a report that found former CPB Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson was motivated by politics when he hired a new president and chief executive...

THE CORPORATION for Public Broadcasting is supposed to act as a two-layered heat shield -- both to prevent political interference with public broadcasting and to ensure balance and objectivity in publicly funded programs. A report from the corporation's inspector general illustrates that former CPB chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson repeatedly -- and dangerously -- departed from the first goal in pursuit of the second. Mr. Tomlinson was ousted from the board after it received the inspector general's report, but his departure isn't all that's needed: The report should serve as a wake-up call for the corporation to reform itself. Mr. Tomlinson...

The former chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting appeared to have been motivated by politics in recruiting a new board president, the corporation's inspectors reported on Tuesday. Their report into the activities of Kenneth Tomlinson said "cryptic" e-mails between Tomlinson and the White House indicated by their timing and subject matter that Tomlinson "was strongly motivated by political considerations in filling the president/CEO position." A former co-chair of the Republican National Committee, Patricia Harrison, was named to the post. The report also found that Tomlinson, a conservative who resigned from the board earlier this month, erred when he failed...

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...

Kenneth Tomlinson, the head of the federal agency that oversees most government broadcasts to foreign countries, including the Voice of America and Radio Free Europe, is the subject of an inquiry into accusations of misuse of federal money and the use of phantom or unqualified employees, the NY TIMES is set to report on Page Ones Saturday. "People involved in the inquiry said that investigators had interviewed a number of officials at the agency and that, if the accusations were substantiated, they could involve criminal violations," the paper claims. Developing...

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Directors said Thursday that embattled former board chairman Ken Tomlinson has resigned. The board has been reviewing a CPB Inspector General's report--called for by a pair of congressmen--on Tomlinson's relationship with the board stemming from Tomlinson's attempts to add more conservative programming. The board said in a statement: "[F]ormer chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson has resigned from the CPB board. The board does not believe that Mr. Tomlinson acted maliciously or with any intent to harm CPB or public broadcasting, and the board recognizes that Mr. Tomlinson strongly disputes the findings in the soon-to-be-released...

What do these people have in common?: George H.W. Bush, George W. Bush, William J. Casey, Dick Cheney, Tom Delay, Raymond Donovan, William Frist, Lewis Libby, Robert McFarlane, Oliver North, John M. Poindexter, Karl Rove, Kenneth Tomlinson, Caspar Weinberger. Answer: they are all conservative Republicans who have been accused by the liberal press and/or prosecuted for criminal acts under pressures brought by liberal politicians. All of them have been persecuted by the threat of legal action or by actual indictments for political reasons. None have been found guilty although some have had to go through the expense of an appeal...

As the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting prepared to announce his successor as chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson defended his tenure on Thursday, saying he had no regrets in trying "aggressively" to balance what he said was overly liberal programming in public television and radio. Board members, who plan to meet Monday in Washington, said this week that the leading candidate to become the corporation's next chairwoman was Cheryl F. Halpern, a Republican fund-raiser and former chairwoman of the Republican Jewish Coalition. SNIP Mr. Tomlinson has come under heavy criticism from Senate Democrats, who say he has injected politics...

Ken Tomlinson, Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Chairman on C-SPAN's Q&A, 8 & 11 PM ET

It's time to set the record straight about Kenneth Tomlinson and his role at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). Ken is under fire for having hired a consultant to assess the political slant of the television and radio stations that receive public funds from CPB. He found that some news shows on PBS & NPR have a liberal tilt, and expressed that opinion and commentary should at least be clarified so that it is not confused with facts. He further enraged supporters of the public broadcasting status quo by endorsing Patricia Harrison, a former co-chair of the Republican National...

The growing controversy over the Bush administration’s attempts to alter the perceived liberal bias in PBS programming has led one media insider to urge: Consider pulling the plug on the network. In his Media Matters column in the Los Angeles Times, David Shaw asks, "Do we really want or need PBS anymore?" Shaw points out that when PBS’s parent, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was created in 1967, television was largely dominated by three commercial networks, while today we live in a "500-channel universe." "But politics, not the availability of more alternatives, is the primary reason to question the continued...

When I think about the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, I can't help but think of Pravda, the official newspaper and mouthpiece of the Communist Party back in the days of the Soviet Union. Now, don't get me wrong. It really isn't any of the similarities in their ideological bent that connects them in my mind. Rather, it is the concept underlying both, the idea that the government ought to be in the news business, the documentary business, or even the entertainment business. When government is involved in producing or subsidizing news coverage or political and historical documentaries — even entertainment...

Kenneth Tomlinson, a Republican who chairs. Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) in the U.S. that controls both the Public Broadcasting System (PBS) and National Public Radio (NPR) caused quite a stir when he hired a consultant to monitor the television network for balance. Tomlinson, not unlike many others, feels that the public broadcaster has tilted too far to the left. The New York Times reported that the consultant is monitoring Now with Bill Moyers (that is now without Bill Moyers) and counting how many of the show’s guests are anti-Bush, anti-business and anti-Tom Delay. Any action to provide better balance...

Unable to leave well enough alone, Democrats are ganging up on Kenneth Tomlinson, the Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. According to the Washington Post, ranking Democratic Congressmen on the Energy and Commerce and Appropriation committees are calling for a probe of Tomlinson's modest effort to bring philosophical balance to PBS. This harassment of Tomlinson may backfire on the liberals. It invites scrutiny not so much of Tomlinson -- that he complained about Bill Moyers and promoted two tame conservative-oriented shows (one with Tucker Carlson, the other with the Wall Street Journal editorial board) will strike most Americans...

Guests on Tony's show today include:Senator George Allen who will join Tony for analysis on the John Bolton nomination.PBS chief Kenneth Tomlinsonwill be on hand to defend his allegations that PBS is biased against conservatives. With everything going on about Bolton, judicial nominations, and now Harry Reid and CBS, I’m sure Tony will have something featured on them as well. You can find out more information about the line-up, stream Tony's show, find local radio stations as well as other fun stuff off his website. CLICK HERE and follow the "Listen Live" link to stream the show which runs from...

Thursday, May 12, 2005 5:12 p.m. EDT Dems Furious Over GOP Boss at PBS The Corporation for Public Broadcasting will begin an internal review of political monitoring of PBS programming in response to Democratic complaints, the CPB's inspector general said Thursday. Reps. David Obey and John Dingell have asked for the review into several actions by CPB board chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, a Republican, including the hiring of a consultant to review the guests on the show "Now With Bill Moyers." The New York Times reported last week that the consultant kept track of "anti-Bush," "anti-business" and "anti-Tom DeLay" guests...

A New York Times editorial writer phoned to follow up on that paper's recent Page One article that charged I was "aggressively pressing public television" to reflect the political balance and diversity required by law. At one point she expressed concern the "Wall Street Journal Editorial Report" — a public television program launched in part to balance the advocacy journalism of Bill Moyers' "NOW" — would soon dominate airwaves in major markets. I explained there was no chance of that.

The leaning tower of PBS *Liberals see a conservative bent and vice versa. Meanwhile, station officials are getting nervous. By Matea Gold, Times Staff Writer SAN FRANCISCO — Public television officials are increasingly fearful that PBS is reemerging as a political football after a series of efforts by Republicans to promote more conservative perspectives on the taxpayer-supported network. Station managers and programmers gathered here for two public broadcasting conferences last week expressed growing alarm about recent actions by officials of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the private nonprofit agency charged with distributing federal funds to public broadcasters. Kenneth Tomlinson, the...

developing story...

his article is by Stephen Labaton, Lorne Manly and Elizabeth Jensen.WASHINGTON, May 1 - The Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is aggressively pressing public television to correct what he and other conservatives consider liberal bias, prompting some public broadcasting leaders - including the chief executive of PBS - to object that his actions pose a threat to editorial independence.Without the knowledge of his board, the chairman, Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, contracted last year with an outside consultant to keep track of the guests' political leanings on one program, "Now With Bill Moyers."In late March, on the recommendation of...