I was gonna write about our friend Ken Tomlinson, his attempts to politicize CPB, PBS and NPR and the new information which has just come to light, but Media Matters beat me to it.
...newly released email messages prove Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), "extensively consulted a White House official shortly before she joined the corporation about creating an ombudsman's office." This new evidence directly contradicts Tomlinson's repeated denials that he had any contact with White House officials regarding public broadcasting.
Read 'em both. Then help me with this question: I can't decide whether lying is a prerequisite for working with Bush and his people, or whether working with them causes one to lie. What do you think?
Update: The guy Tomlinson used to "monitor" Now with Bill Moyers turns out to be less than objective; he's a former employee of something called the National Journalism Center.
Until last year, Mr. Mann worked at the National Journalism Center, which for the last few years has been run by the Young America's Foundation. The foundation describes itself on its Web site as "the principal outreach organization of the conservative movement" and as being committed to the ideas of "individual freedom, a strong national defense, free enterprise and traditional values."
So rather than find a neutral observer of the Moyers program, Tomlinson turns to someone likely to have a partisan bias. But there's no agenda here, right?
Posted by Linkmeister at June 20, 2005 03:52 PMPublic funds for broadcasting invariably poison the well, as politicos will try to steer the use of the funds so as to influence programming or editorial direction.
Posted by: Pixelshim at June 21, 2005 04:30 AMThat was the whole intent of CPB; it was to act as a firewall. Now these clowns are trying to corrupt the heat shield.
Posted by: Linkmeister at June 21, 2005 08:36 AMSorry Link ....
The heat shied has been a sham.
Has NPR been fair and balanced in the past?
By fair and balanced, I mean a 50-50 split on those programs "supportive" of the existing administration, and those whose editorial slant was opposed.
My point is that any attempt to make things fair to all will be corrupted by the politicl process.
Posted by: Pixelshim at June 21, 2005 01:44 PMYes, I think it has. I listen all day every day, and I regularly get ticked at how much of a pass NPR gives the Bush Administration. And you surely don't think it went easy on Clinton during his troubles, do you?
Posted by: Linkmeister at June 21, 2005 02:10 PM