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A ‘Right-Wing Coup’ at PBS & the CPB? A Roundtable
Discussion on the Future of Public Broadcasting
Rep. Bernie Sanders on the Importance of Media Reform As
A Political Issue
A ‘Right-Wing Coup’ at PBS & the
CPB? A Roundtable Discussion on the Future of Public Broadcasting
On Wednesday, Reps. David Obey (D-WI) and John Dingell (D-MI)
called for an investigation of the Corporation Public Broadcasting.
This comes following accusations that the CPB has been largely
taken over by conservatives who are influencing programming
and hiring decisions. Obey requested that the Inspector General
for the CPB, investigate whether the CPB is violating the
Public Broadcasting Act of 1967 that prohibits interference
by federal officials over the content and distribution of
public programming, and forbids "political or other tests"
from being used in CPB hiring decisions.
We speak with Obey as well as PBS host Tavis Smiley, PBS
board member Norman Ornstein, Jeff Chester of the Center for
Digital Democracy and media analyst Robert McChesney, who
is organizing this weekend’s National Conference on
Media Reform.
Yesterday, two congressmen called for an investigation into
reports that the Republican Chairman of the Corporation for
Public Broadcasting, Ken Tomlinson, is pushing for political
control over public broadcasting. The Corporation for Public
Broadcasting or CPB is a private, nonprofit entity financed
by Congress to ensure the vitality of public television and
radio. CPB develops programming for National Public Radio,
Public Radio International and PBS. Appointees of President
Bush currently control the majority of seats on CPB’s
eight-member board.
Wisconsin Democrat, David Obey, and Michigan Democrat, John
Dingell, requested that the Inspector General for the CPB,
investigate whether the CPB is violating the Public Broadcasting
Act of 1967. This act prohibits interference by Federal officials
over the content and distribution of public programming, and
forbids "political or other tests" from being used
in CPB hiring decisions.
The letter from the congressmen came after a flurry of high
profile personnel changes and revelations that have sparked
controversy and charges that CBP is moving to the right. In
April, the CBP board did not renew the contract of its chief
executive, Kathleen Cox. Board Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson
tapped Ken Ferree -- a former top aide to Michael Powell at
the Federal Communications Commission – to be her temporary
replacement. Ferree alarmed many when he suggested in a recent
New York Times magazine article that he didn’t watch
much PBS or listen to NPR.
Also in April, CPB appointed a pair of veteran journalists
to review public TV and radio programming for evidence of
bias - the first time in CPB’s 38-year history that
it has established such positions. In an article in the Washington
Post, an anonymous senior FCC official was quoted as saying
that the CPB, "is engaged in a systematic effort not
just to sanitize the truth, but to impose a right-wing agenda
on PBS. It’s almost like a right-wing coup. It appears
to be orchestrated."
And last week, a report in the New York Times revealed that
Tomlinson hired an outside consultant last year to keep track
of the political leanings of guests on the PBS program Now!
With Bill Moyers. The paper also reported that Tomlinson had
worked to kill a legislative proposal that would have required
more radio and TV veterans on the CPB Board and he has made
clear that a former co-chairwoman of the Republican National
Committee, Assistant Secretary of State Patricia Harrison,
is his preferred choice for the vacant CPB presidency.
In response to the Times article, Tomlinson published an
Op-Ed in the Washington Times writing "To me and many
other supporters of public broadcasting the image of the left-wing
bias of "NOW" -- unchallenged by a balancing point
of view on public broadcasting’s Friday evening lineup
-- was unhealthy. Indeed, it jeopardized essential support
for public TV."
- Robert McChesney, professor at the University of Illinois
at Urbana-Champaign and the author of eight books including
Rich Media, Poor Democracy: Communication Politics in Dubious
Times. He is the co-founder of Free Press which is organizing
this week’s National Conference on Media Reform here
in St. Louis.
- Jeffrey Chester, Executive director of the Center for
Digital Democracy.
- Norman Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise
Institute for Public Policy Research. He is a member of
the Board of Directors of the Public Broadcasting Service
(PBS)
- Tavis Smiley, hosts Tavis Smiley which airs nationally
on PBS stations , and a radio show, The Tavis Smiley Show
broadcasted by Public Radio International.
- Rep. David Obey, Democratic Congressman from Wisconsin
Rep. Bernie Sanders on the Importance of Media Reform
As A Political Issue
In this broadcast from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
we hear an excerpt of a speech by Rep. Bernie Sanders, an
independent from Vemont, from the conference "Can Freedom
of the Press Survive Media Consolidation?"
Sanders of Vermont spoke on the opening day of the conference
Tuesday night. Sanders is the first independent congressman
elected to the House of Representatives in 40 years. He recently
announced that he will be running for the Senate in the seat
that will be vacated by Jim Jeffords in 2006.
This is an excerpt of what he had to say Tuesday night.
For a copy of today’s program, call 1 (800) 881 2359.
Our website is www.democracynow.org.
Our email address is mail@democracynow.org.
Democracy Now! is produced by Mike Burke, Sharif Abdel Kouddous,
Ana Nogueira, Elizabeth Press, Jeremy Scahill and Parvez Sharma.
Mike Di Filippo is our engineer.
Thanks also to Uri Galed, Angela Alston, Orlando Richards,
Simba Russeau, Johnny Sender, Rich Kim, Joe Murgio, John Randolph,
Chris Zucker, Karen Ranucci, Denis Moynihan, Eric Rweyemamu,
Jenny Filipazzo and Isis Phillips.
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