Let's hear what real Nazis thought of the "free press."
In the Third Reich, "contributing by word, news report, or picture to the intellectual content of
newspapers or political periodicals" is a "public profession"; the "contributors are called
editors."33 Admission to the vocation of editor is granted through membership in the National
Association of the German Press, which is a corporate body of public law; registration must be
denied "if the Minister of Popular Enlightenment and Propaganda objects." Moreover, "no one
may be an editor" unless he (a) is a German citizen; has (b) not lost his civic rights and the
qualification to hold public office; 34 (c) is of Aryan descent and not married to a person of
non-Aryan descent; (d) has reached the age of 21; (e) is competent; (f) has had professional
training; (g) possesses the qualifications required for intellectually influencing public
opinion.
Editors are under the obligation to withhold from publication everything which:
1. Confuses selfish with common interest in a manner misleading to the public;
2. Can weaken the strength of the German people nationally or internationally, the German
nation's will toward unity, German defensive capacity, German culture or German business, or
may hurt the religious feelings of others;
3. Is offensive to the honor and dignity of a German;
4. Illegally injures the honor or the wellbeing of another person, hurts his reputation, or makes
him ridiculous or contemptible;
5. Is for other reasons indecent.85
We believe that with the Editor Act we have laid the foundations for the creation of the
freest newspaper profession on earth. The contention that we have linked the journalist too
closely to the state, does therefore not correspond to the facts.37
Marx, F. M. (1935). Propaganda and dictatorship. Annals of the American Academy of Political and Social Sciences, 179, 211-218.
Now let me introduce you to Ken Tomlinson.
From October 2003 to September 2005, Kenneth Tomlinson served as chairman of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting (“CPB”).1 On November 3, 2005, Mr. Tomlinson resigned
from the CPB Board of Directors, one day after CPB’s inspector general released a report critical
of Mr. Tomlinson’s leadership as chairman and alleging that he violated agency procedures,
federal laws, and the Director’s Code of Ethics.2
• Mr. Tomlinson used “political tests” as a major criteria to recruit a president and
chief executive officer for CPB, in violation of statutory prohibitions against the
use of such tests;
• The inspector general’s investigation also revealed that Mr. Tomlinson had hired a
consultant service and set up secret content studies of certain programs without proper board
authorization and communication of his plans to the public broadcasting community.6 In
addition, Mr. Tomlinson hired a consultant to examine the objectivity and balance of the
program “NOW with Bill Moyers,” in order to show that the program was not balanced.7
When PBS, in response, took steps to balance its schedule by adding “Tucker Carlson:
Unfiltered,” and “The Journal Editorial Report,” Mr. Tomlinson declined to have the
consultant evaluate those programs and decided not to have the consultant produce a final
report because, according to Mr. Tomlinson, the results would have been damaging to
public broadcasting.8 The report further revealed that Mr. Tomlinson’s involvement in selecting
and intervening on behalf of The Wall Street Journal to win a CPB contract for the weekly
program, “The Journal Editorial Report,” exceeded his role as chairman.9 As part of those efforts,
Mr. Tomlinson told senior staff not to interfere with his deal to bring the show to PBS.10 Finally,
in emails to CPB staff, Mr. Tomlinson told them to threaten to withhold funds from PBS if PBS
did not balance its programming.11
The report also examined Mr. Tomlinson’s involvement in the recruitment process for a
new CPB president.12 The inspector general concluded that Mr. Tomlinson was strongly
motivated by political ideology when filling the position.13
1 Corporation for Public Broadcasting, Office of the Inspector General, Review of
Alleged Actions Violating The Public Broadcasting Act of 1967, as Amended, Report No.
EPB503-602, p. 2 (Nov.15, 2005) . (Exhibit 1)
2 Id. at I-ii; Paul Farhi, Kenneth Tomlinson Quits Public Broadcasting Board, The
Washington Post, November 4, 2005. (Exhibit 2)
6 CPB IG Report, p. 7.
7 Id., p. 8.
8 Id.
9 CPB IG Report, pp. 11-12.
10 Id., p. 12.
11 Id.
12 Id., p. 13.
13 CPB IG Report, p. 19.
Tomlinson Cited For Abuses at Broadcast Board
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/29/AR2006082901492_pf.htmlThe report, released yesterday, marks the second time in less than a year that an internal
investigation has found evidence of rules violations by Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the
Broadcasting Board of Governors. In November, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting
inspector general found that Tomlinson had made improper hires, had tried to tamper with PBS's
TV programming and appeared to show political favoritism in selecting CPB's president while he
was chairman, Tomlinson resigned his CPB post that same month.
~snip~
The investigation also found that Tomlinson -- a former Reader's Digest editor and
longtime Republican ally of White House political adviser Karl Rove -- helped hire a friend
as a BBG contractor without the knowledge of other board or staff members. The friend -- whose
name was withheld from a public summary of the investigation but whom Tomlinson identified
as retired VOA employee Les Daniels -- received nearly $245,000 for unspecified services over a
two-year period. Tomlinson signed the invoices for these payments even though there was no
documentation that the work had been completed, investigators said.
~snip~
The State Department said it turned its report over to the Department of Justice, which has
declined to bring criminal charges against Tomlinson. The allegation involving the contractor,
however, is pending in DOJ's civil division.
~snip~
A White House spokeswoman, Emily Lawrimore, said Bush continues to support
Tomlinson's pending renomination as BBG chairman. She had no further comment.
Broadcast Chief Misused Office, Inquiry Reports
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30broadcast.html?_r=1&pagewanted=printMr. Tomlinson’s position at the broadcasting board makes him one of the administration’s
top officials overseeing public diplomacy and puts him in charge of the Voice of America
and Radio Free Europe.
The State Department report noted his use of his office to oversee a stable of thoroughbreds but
did not mention one specific way in which his professional responsibilities and personal interests
appear to have intersected. The horses, according to track records, include Karzai, as in
Hamid Karzai, and Massoud, from the late Ahmed Shah Massoud) references to Afghan
leaders who have fought against the Taliban and the Russians, as well as Panjshair, the
valley that was the base used by forces to overthrow the Taliban.
~snip~
Investigators who seized Mr. Tomlinson’s e-mail, telephone and office records found that he had
improperly and extensively used his office at the broadcasting board for nongovernmental work,
including work for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the horse racing and breeding
ventures. The material seized included racing forms and evidence that he used the office to buy
and sell thoroughbreds.
Mr. Tomlinson owns Sandy Bayou Stables near Middleburg, Va., Records show that most of
the horses have not been in the money, although Massoud appears to have been quite
successful, earning purses of more than $140,000 over the last two years.
CPB Memos Indicate Level of Monitoring
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4724317Current and former staffers at CPB say NOW With Bill Moyers repeatedly angered Tomlinson,
who believed Moyers was unfair to President Bush.
NOW blended aggressive, point-of-view reporting with Moyers' populist, liberal commentary.
For example, Moyers assailed Condoleezza Rice during a show in November 2004:
"So we are to have a new Secretary of State who dreadfully misjudged the terrorist threat leading
up to 9/11 — and then misled America and the world about the case for invading Iraq."
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