PBS political non-sense: Ex-Broadcasting Chairman Broke law?
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In a move that makes absolutely no sense, and seems just as illegal, if not more so, than the moves that the former PBS Chairman has been accused of making, the former Corporation for Public Broadcasting Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, himself a Republican is being accused of breaking the law that forbids political partisanship by PBS.
How was Tomlinson supposedly breaking the law? By calling in outside monitors to "audit" whether or not PBS' broadcasts and content could be considered biased to the liberal side, and by seeking to withhold funding from PBS unless the taxpayer-supported network brought in more conservative voices to balance its programming which has long has at least the appearance of being "liberal" biased.
See if you can follow this circular logic: In trying to perform his job, and live up to the law that requires that PBS have no bias, apparently Tomlinson broke the law because he was trying to verify that PBS was or wasn't biased so he could correct the problem if one existed, and where it seemed to exist he was trying to rebalance the programming which is just what the law requires.
What kind of screwed up law is this?!?! Oh, never mind, it's one that protects PBS' liberal bias while denying that any bias even exists.
Tomlinson also took heat because he hired another Republican to help run PBS, despite numerous objections by liberal partisans.
Yup, break out the ropes, it's time to lynch that conservative!
Anyway, original news materials (snippet there of) follows. Please see original (headline is linked) for complete story.
Report: Ex-Broadcasting Chairman Broke Law
By JENNIFER C. KERR
The Associated Press (in The Washington Post)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005; 6:27 PM
WASHINGTON -- The former chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting broke federal law by interfering with PBS programming and appearing to use political tests in recruiting the corporation's new president, internal investigators said Tuesday.
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, a Republican, also sought to withhold funding from PBS unless the taxpayer-supported network brought in more conservative voices to balance its programming, said the report by CPB inspector general Kenneth A. Konz.
Tomlinson was chairman of the corporation until September and resigned as a board member earlier this month after Konz privately shared his findings with the board. The report was released Tuesday.
The corporation -- which funnels hundreds of millions of federal dollars to National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Service and noncommercial radio and television stations -- was created by Congress in the late 1960s to shield public broadcasting from political influence.
Specifically, the report said Tomlinson violated the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and ethical standards by dealing directly with one of the creators of the conservative-leaning "Journal Editorial Report," hosted by the editor of The Wall Street Journal editorial page.
In internal e-mails, Tomlinson told CPB staff to threaten to withhold funds from PBS "if they didn't balance their programming," the report said.
There was evidence, the report said, to suggest that "political tests" or qualifications were used as a major factor in the hiring of new CPB President Patricia S. Harrison, in violation of federal rules. Harrison, who was backed by Tomlinson, is a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
The report also faulted Tomlinson for hiring a consultant to review program content on PBS shows such as "Now With Bill Moyers." The IG said Tomlinson didn't obtain the proper authorization from the board for the consultant's $20,000 contract. The consultant kept track of whether guests on the shows were "anti or pro-Bush," and "anti or pro-Tom DeLay."
There are no criminal penalties associated with the laws the report said Tomlinson broke, the IG's office said. The board could have incurred disciplinary action if Tomlinson were still a board member.
Tomlinson did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. He has defended his actions as an effort to bring political balance to public affairs programming and maintained no wrongdoing.
... more at linked article
How was Tomlinson supposedly breaking the law? By calling in outside monitors to "audit" whether or not PBS' broadcasts and content could be considered biased to the liberal side, and by seeking to withhold funding from PBS unless the taxpayer-supported network brought in more conservative voices to balance its programming which has long has at least the appearance of being "liberal" biased.
See if you can follow this circular logic: In trying to perform his job, and live up to the law that requires that PBS have no bias, apparently Tomlinson broke the law because he was trying to verify that PBS was or wasn't biased so he could correct the problem if one existed, and where it seemed to exist he was trying to rebalance the programming which is just what the law requires.
What kind of screwed up law is this?!?! Oh, never mind, it's one that protects PBS' liberal bias while denying that any bias even exists.
Tomlinson also took heat because he hired another Republican to help run PBS, despite numerous objections by liberal partisans.
Yup, break out the ropes, it's time to lynch that conservative!
Anyway, original news materials (snippet there of) follows. Please see original (headline is linked) for complete story.
Report: Ex-Broadcasting Chairman Broke Law
By JENNIFER C. KERR
The Associated Press (in The Washington Post)
Tuesday, November 15, 2005; 6:27 PM
WASHINGTON -- The former chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting broke federal law by interfering with PBS programming and appearing to use political tests in recruiting the corporation's new president, internal investigators said Tuesday.
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, a Republican, also sought to withhold funding from PBS unless the taxpayer-supported network brought in more conservative voices to balance its programming, said the report by CPB inspector general Kenneth A. Konz.
Tomlinson was chairman of the corporation until September and resigned as a board member earlier this month after Konz privately shared his findings with the board. The report was released Tuesday.
The corporation -- which funnels hundreds of millions of federal dollars to National Public Radio, the Public Broadcasting Service and noncommercial radio and television stations -- was created by Congress in the late 1960s to shield public broadcasting from political influence.
Specifically, the report said Tomlinson violated the Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 and ethical standards by dealing directly with one of the creators of the conservative-leaning "Journal Editorial Report," hosted by the editor of The Wall Street Journal editorial page.
In internal e-mails, Tomlinson told CPB staff to threaten to withhold funds from PBS "if they didn't balance their programming," the report said.
There was evidence, the report said, to suggest that "political tests" or qualifications were used as a major factor in the hiring of new CPB President Patricia S. Harrison, in violation of federal rules. Harrison, who was backed by Tomlinson, is a former co-chair of the Republican National Committee.
The report also faulted Tomlinson for hiring a consultant to review program content on PBS shows such as "Now With Bill Moyers." The IG said Tomlinson didn't obtain the proper authorization from the board for the consultant's $20,000 contract. The consultant kept track of whether guests on the shows were "anti or pro-Bush," and "anti or pro-Tom DeLay."
There are no criminal penalties associated with the laws the report said Tomlinson broke, the IG's office said. The board could have incurred disciplinary action if Tomlinson were still a board member.
Tomlinson did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday. He has defended his actions as an effort to bring political balance to public affairs programming and maintained no wrongdoing.
... more at linked article
