Kenneth Tomlinson: (R) CPB Chair Confusing Liberalism with Journalism

[Moochy]

Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Biases
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/arts/television/02public.html
What programs might this jovial fellow be profiling today?

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."

This fine fellow was on the NPR radio show "On the Media". He was infuriating and smug, and generally wrongheaded. As you might expect a partisan hack to be. I have to give credit to Brooke Gladstone from the show for sticking up to him.

Definitely worth a listen !!
http://www.onthemedia.org/stream/ram.py?file=raotm/otm050605c.mp3

The thing I came away with, was that this guy thinks that the only way to get "balance" when faced with fact-based reporting like Now, is to create shows that are fully conservative mouthpieces, 100% opinion.

Isn't it interesting that even in his own mind, this Right-winger betrays his realpolitik understanding of the situation. To his side, to "Achieve balance" means that the marketplace of ideas must balance facts(left) against opinion(right). If this were not the case, then his side would seek to produce a "right-leaning" news show. (Oh wait that's the News Hour with Jim Lehrer.)

It's the ultimate consumerism... If I want to believe in creationism, I will surround myself in media the tells me that evolution is hooey. Oh and by the way, the media that tells me this is beamed via satellites that were put there because god willed it, not because of the hogwash of science.

Especially choice is his denial of talking with the President or Karl Rove about stacking the CPB board with right wingers.. To me it sounds more like a threat delivered as a denial.

[nashville_brook]

1. i heard this yesterday

on weekend as we are cleaning and gardening we keep radios on thruout the house. hubby was out on a patio doing something and i was in the kitchen and we both were like, did you HEAR that! first off -- great interview, bob garfield! secondly -- holy crap what a cheeto this guy is. total lightweight intellect and unapologetic bully. He had this Boss Hogg air about him -- like he's being schooled by garfield, and the best he can do is give excuses and non-answers in a rancher's matter-of-fact drawl.

they are nudging their way into public broadcasting B/C THEY CAN. he's pretty clear on that. i used to work with comunity arts programs as we went thru the purge int he 80s. it's the same thing only higher up the food chain. what agonized us then, hasn't changed: they are stealing our cultural identity. they are murdering our history.

garfield does a great job of pointing up the nature of journalism is being politicized. that journalism itself is "suspicon of authority...identification with the little guy -- it's not bias, it's journalism."

thomlinson comes back with "well you want to talk to 'your people' and we want to talk to ours." i'm paraphrasing. like YOUR audience might think this so-called "journalism" is ALL THAT, but OUR people prefer right wing claptrap and you are taking up wavelength. out of the way, LOSER.

garfield say, :isn't there a danger of creating a self fulfillling prophecy-- aren't you politicizing something by playing politics with it?" you know that old freedom of the press crutch that a free press keeps democracy healthy.

poppycock says boss hogg -- "look you're in financial trouble and we're just here to help you out by cutting your budget by 60 million."

we were dumbfunded. it was like we were listening to satire, but it wasn't.

[Moochy]

2. Great paraphrase! Dumbfounded is exactly right.

That's a great translsation/paraphrasing of what he said:

>i'm paraphrasing. like YOUR audience might think this so-
>called "journalism" is ALL THAT, but OUR people prefer right wing
>claptrap and you are taking up wavelength. out of the way, LOSER.

That show left me dumbfounded as well. Good to hear at least one other DU'er heard it.

If you all out there haven't heard this short 5 min interview you really should. (mp3 link in post 1)
This guy is the spearhead of the right's effort to monopolize public discourse at all levels.

Didn't you think that his denial of the question regarding whether he met with Karl Rove about stacking the CPB board with Republicans? It seemed a veiled threat against so-called liberals within NPR...A threat couched as a denial, seems about right for Karl Rove.

BTW This guy ran Voice of America Radio during the 80's, according to his CPB website bio.


On edit spelling oops!

[nashville_brook]

10. i heard that! garfield called it out too!

he also pirouetted thru the question -- no, HE didn't talk to Rove -- but Rove's people brought the issue to him. that's the lowest form of obfuscation. it's like saying, "NAa, ahhh."

[Heidi]

3. Gratutious rescue post. (nt)

[ewagner]

5. And another kick

This is important.....

although I'm not sure CPB is salvageable, I think it's terrible that the right wing thinks they have to own it too.....

[Moochy]

7. CPB unsalvageable.. probably right

CPB is probably unsalvageable, you are right there.

The right wing think tanks, have been all over NPR and PBS's news departments from as long as I've been a listener, which was the mid 1980's. Heritage Foundation, American Enterprise Institute, Kato Institute they all seem to be on the slew of npr radio and talk shows, and PBS's news and opinions shows.

KQED in SF, both it's TV and Radio outlets have pushed the envelope in terms of giving airtime to corporate paid underwriters.
Now a good portion of the evenings shows are interspersed with car ads which are 95% ad, and 5% underwriting message saying how great PBS is.

I think that public radio & television news' worst sin is to shy away from followups with these conservative politicians or liberals that spout lies and claim "a different opinion of the facts" etc.

He-said he-said journalism.

[ewagner]

9. Out of desparation,

NPR and CPB have had to turn to corporate underwritting which has affected their objectivity.....for that reason alone I think they either have to have 100% public financing or 0%. I don't think there's anything in between anymore.....

[nashville_brook]

11. the worm will turn

they are digging their own grave.

[Moochy]

6. Woo hoo!

Thanks! :bounce: now go listen to the mp3 and get kicking mad!! :grr:

[DrDebug]

4. Of course you need control over the non-corporate media as well n/t

[nashville_brook]

8. nominated -- considering all the money i've pledged over the years

it's the least i could do :)

this "on the media" program is one of the best shows on the air. i had ignored it for a long time on my Sirius radio b/c it seems to be always on! since dedicated listening time to it, i've been blown away hearing *real journalists* really get the "get" and conduct solid, feet-to-the-fire interviewing.

i've heard bob garfield and brooke gladstone for years -- but they are out there doing the rough stuff now. it's heartening!