WP: Kenneth Tomlinson Quits Public Broadcasting Board (another scandal?)

[DeepModem Mom]

Kenneth Tomlinson Quits Public Broadcasting Board
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 4, 2005; Page C01


Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who sparked controversy by asserting that programs carried by public broadcasters have a liberal bias, resigned yesterday from the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting a day after the agency's inspector general delivered a report apparently critical of his leadership.

Tomlinson, a staunch conservative who was CPB's chairman until September, brought unprecedented attention to his agency by publicly criticizing the alleged political favoritism of news programs, primarily those carried by the Public Broadcasting Service. CPB wields great influence over public radio and TV stations through its distribution of about $400 million in federal funding each year.

Despite Tomlinson's high-profile campaign, it was his behind-the-scenes moves that apparently contributed to his departure.

The CPB's inspector general has been investigating Tomlinson's practice of using agency money to hire consultants and lobbyists without notifying the agency's board. Tomlinson last year hired a little-known Indiana consultant to study the political leanings of guests on such programs as "Now With Bill Moyers" and "The Diane Rehm Show" on National Public Radio. He also hired lobbyists to defeat legislation that would have changed how CPB's board is structured.

The inspector, Kenneth Konz, also had been looking into whether Tomlinson violated agency procedures in his recruiting of former Republican National Committee co-chairman Patricia de Stacy Harrison to be CPB's chief executive, and into possible WHITE HOUSE INFLUENCE in the hiring of two in-house ombudsmen to critique news programs on NPR and PBS....


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/03/AR2005110302235.html

[0007]

1. This is wonderful news! I hope Bill Moyers will come back

from retirement and bring Phil Donahue with him.

[Stinky The Clown]

13. I'd guess Aaron Brown's available too.

PBS suits his style. And vice versa.

[nosmokes]

2. so long dipstick. don't let the door hit ya in the ass on

the way out...

[Lindsay]

3. Poor guy. He was just doing what he was put there to do -

conduct a witch hunt for any trace of evil liberals.

:sarcasm:

[UTUSN]

4. Well Alrighty, Then n/t

[Bozita]

5. Hey, it's somebody else's fault -- GWB certainly appointed him

These people never fail to amaze me.

from the WaPo article:

In announcing Tomlinson's departure yesterday, the CPB added a curious addendum: "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 Inspector General's report. The board expresses its disappointment in the performance of former key staff whose responsibility it was to advise the board and its members."

[Daphne08]

6. Leave my PBS alone, you right-wing nutjobs! n/t

[shanti]

28. too late

they've already damaged pbs content (imo) so much that i don't care to watch it anymore, and it used to be one of my favorite stations. the documentaries even seem to have a right wing/fundie/fascist slant. it's very subtle, but if you're looking, you can spot it.

[Mend]

7. This message was brought to you by the letter "A':

for "asswipe" and the number 69 for "blow me".

[DoYouEverWonder]

8. At least there is a glimmer of hope for PBS

maybe that's why Cokie Roberts sounds like a normal human again?

[Tesha]

10. No, they'll just appoint another Bush-licker. (NT)

[supernova]

9. Ding Dong! The wicked witch is dead!

I'm glad they got rid of that guy.

Now if we could just restore full funding to CPB and PBS.

[annabanana]

11. well that was quick!

I guess he was an asshole!

"" "" " " " " " "

[Ilsa]

31. Wow. That is some Buh Bye dance number you've got there!

I thought I'd try a quick copy, but it appears that I'd have to copy each letter. Too rich for my blood, but I sure like watching it on your post!

[gademocrat7]

12. Finally

There must be a position for him at faux news.

[centristo]

18. good point...I would bet the farm

that he ends up AT LEAST as a commentator on Fox News within a year.

[sendero]

14. Well, well, well...

... I noticed that NPR news took a sharp turn to the stupid not long after this asshole came on board.

I still listen from time to time, they've gotten a little better than they were in 2002/2003, but they are nowhere near their former glory.

Maybe things will improve now.

[geckosfeet]

15. Thank the powers that be that this conservative plant has left. But

I fear that he has done some damage. NPR has been noticeably watered down over the last few years.

In the interest of "balance" they have provided a platform for the conservative fringe and the religious fundies. Don't these fools own enough telecom businesses? They have to come and take over the flagship middle of the road media conglomerate?

It seems like conservatives are not satisfied with live and let live - they must dominate.

Resistance is futile.

[shanti]

29. thank you!

someone else who sees pbs how it really is now! i keep mentioning this, but nobody seems to see it.

[geckosfeet]

32. Yes - they have drifted far from their roots- and I don't like it. n/t

[froshty1960]

16. Woo-hoo!

Monday morning as I woke up, I was treated to a "Special Broadcast" of *'s nomination of Scalito to the Supreme Court with lots of speculation and commentary, especially condescending, pedantic opinions from Cokie Roberts about how this was a defeat for the Dems and a win for *, blah, blah, blah. Perhaps now that Tomlinson's gone, we can wake up to "Special Coverage" of the Libby trial instead.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

17. never in my dreams. This is GREAT!

I wonder what the inspector found. Fraud? Probably. His no-bid contracts to "investigate" NPR and Frontline might be what tipped the whole apple cart over.

Maybe my PBS and NPR can return to its former glory.

Just in time, given the latest rightwing attack on K-R corporation.

[Festivito]

19. Did AAR hurt local fundraising this year?

I noticed that my local NPR affiliate failed to make some of its program by program money targets. The last several years, including bad economy Bush years, they did.

I used to listen to NPR all the time. Now, it's just when Diane Rhem is on, or some AAR pundit that I don't care for as much.

Maybe AAR made NPR less lucrative and Tomlinson cuts his losses.

[progressoid]

20. Bwaaa ha ha ha ha ha ha!

[NashVegas]

21. I Wouldn't Get Excited Just Yet

Despite his departure, the CPB remains firmly controlled by conservatives. Tomlinson's successor as chairman, Cheryl F. Halpern, is a longtime contributor to Republicans, including President Bush and Sen. Trent Lott (Miss.). Its vice chairman, Gay Hart Gaines, another Republican contributor, was a founder and former chairman of GOPAC, a powerful GOP fundraising group.

Tomlinson, a former editor of Reader's Digest, remains chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, a federal agency unrelated to CPB that oversees the government's international broadcasting services, including Voice of America, Radio Free Europe and the Arabic-language Radio Sawa.

[donkeyotay]

24. It's just like al-qaeda's number two man

there's plenty more where that came from. The pool of cronyism and corruption is deep.

[Stephanie]

22. Did you hear the report on NPR this morning?

He was monitoring the programs to see how many liberal vs. conservative guests were on. He was reporting back to the WH.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4989287

Media
Tomlinson Resigns from CPB Board

Listen to this story... by David Folkenflik

Morning Edition, November 4, 2005 · Kenneth Tomlinson resigns from the board of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. The former CPB chairman's departure from the board comes amid an investigation of allegations that Tomlinson applied undue political pressure on public radio and television.

[Tracer]

23. Tomlinson quits public broadcasting board

http://www.boston.com/ae/media/articles/2005/11/04/tomlinson_quits_public_broadcasting_board/


<snip>
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Kenneth Tomlinson, the former board chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting accused by critics of trying to politicize public television and radio, has resigned from the board, it said on Thursday.

Tomlinson, a Republican, quit shortly before CPB Inspector General Kenneth Konz was to publish a report after investigating his activities, including paying outside researchers to check public programing for liberal bias.

Critics, including broadcasters and congressional Democrats, accused Tomlinson of trying to advance his own conservative agenda in public broadcasting, which is supposed to be non-partisan.

-------------------

Spending "more time with your family", eh Ken?

[Miss Chybil]

25. These people are like roaches!

They're everywhere and hard to get rid of. Disgusting! Disgusting!

[wicket]

26. Given a choice between having roaches...

...and having to deal with these people, I'd take the roaches any day! ;)

[Miss Chybil]

33. Me, too! As bad as roaches are I don't think they can kill you. nt

[katty]

27. Great news

[natrat]

30. aarogant pieces of shit think they're above the law

[Fluffdaddy]

34. Now lets get PBS/NPR back to greatness

[jsamuel]

35. Tomlinson Resigns from CPB Board Ahead of Inquiry (called Hagel 'liberal')

Tomlinson Resigns from CPB Board Ahead of Inquiry

by David Folkenflik

All Things Considered, November 3, 2005 · Kenneth Tomlinson, who stepped down as chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting earlier this year, is now leaving the CPB board altogether. The resignation comes ahead of the results of an internal inquiry into Tomlinson's allegedly politically motivated moves at the CPB. Critics have accused Tomlinson of overstepping his authority and political meddling in public television and radio.


Listen here:
http://www.npr.org/dmg/dmg.php?prgCode=ATC&showDate=03-Nov-2005&segNum=17&mediaPref=WM&getUnderwriting=1

Web page here:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4989040
-----------

Looks like he is scared of being called on making the CPB "fair and balanced."

Tisk Tisk

"Among the problems are him calling Republican Senator Chuck Hagel 'liberal' for 'politically balancing' shows."

[AX10]

36. This is good news!

:kick:.

[madame defarge]

37. GREAT NEWS!!! Thanks! n/t

[gumby]

38. Nyuck, nyuck, nyuck.

Moe, Larry, cheese.

This IS the world of public broadcasting these days. And now a word from our sponsor presented by the Heritage Foundation......

[Chicago Democrat]

39. DEMOCRATIC VICTORY!

Yay!

[biscotti]

40. Wow

terrific!

[beltanefauve]

41. Thanks for sharing!

Now if only the rest of NPR could get a good housecleaning. Fear of losing their funding has freaked them out too far to the right, and that was before Tomlinson.

[Thaddeus]

42. Fantastic News!

This guy was a fascist.

Here's an article on the CPB takeover:

http://www.freepress.net/news/11734

[wookie294]

43. Yay !!!!!

Bill Moyers is the man (even though he's retired)!!!!

:kick:

[yorkiemommie1]

44. tell me, who are the people in your neighborhood?...

not Tomlinson any more!!!

[Wetzelbill]

45. yeah, these guys think Zell Miller is a liberal too

I suppose he counted Cal Thomas and Paul Gigot as liberals because they appeared on NOW with Bill Moyers.

[struggle4progress]

46. Broadcasting Ex-Chairman Is Removed From Board

By STEPHEN LABATON
Published: November 4, 2005
WASHINGTON, Nov. 3 - Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the former head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, was forced to step down as a member of its board on Thursday evening.

The move came after the board began reviewing a confidential report by the inspector general of the corporation into accusations about Mr. Tomlinson's use of corporation money to promote more conservative programming.

They included Mr. Tomlinson's decision to hire a researcher to monitor the political leanings of guests on the public policy program "Now" with Bill Moyers; his use of a White House official to set up an ombudsman's office to scrutinize programs for political balance; and secret payments approved by Mr. Tomlinson to two Republican lobbyists.

The move - and a statement by the corporation - strongly suggested that the inspector general discovered significant problems under Mr. Tomlinson, but officials at the corporation declined to discuss those findings. Board members who had copies of the report declined to discuss it, citing confidentiality agreements. <snip>

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/04/politics/04broadcast.html

[struggle4progress]

47. Free Press warns that the partisan crusade continues at the Corporation

for Public Broadcasting

<snip> “Unfortunately, Tomlinson is leaving behind a coterie of political cronies who seem intent on carrying out his partisan crusade. New Chairwoman Cheryl Halpern and President Patricia Harrison are loyal disciples who haven’t blanched at Tomlinson’s outrageous actions. Have they learned their lesson now?

“It’s time to clean house at CPB. We need to get the politics out and put the public back in public broadcasting.” <snip>

http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/1103-21.htm

[struggle4progress]

48. Broadcast Board Member Quits Ahead of Report

By Matea Gold
Times Staff Writer
November 4, 2005

NEW YORK — Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, whose controversial leadership of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's board of directors sparked an internal investigation into his tenure, resigned from the board Thursday in advance of the imminent release of the report, which is expected to contain criticism of his actions.

Tomlinson's abrupt departure — characterized in a statement as a mutual decision by him and the rest of the board — came after they met in a closed session for three days in an undisclosed location in the Washington area to review the findings of the corporation's inspector general, Kenneth A. Konz. <snip>

Konz does not plan to make his report public until mid-November. In a statement released Thursday evening, the eight-member board did not detail his findings, but suggested that the inspector general had concluded that at least some of Tomlinson's actions were inappropriate. <snip>

http://www.newsday.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-cpb4nov04,0,6848257.story?coll=ny-leadnationalnews-headlines