PBS: Conservatives Need Not Apply

XXXXX DRUDGE REPORT XXXXX WED MAY 11, 2005 22:00:01 ET XXXXX

DEM CONGRESSMEN: CONSERVATIVE VOICES ON PBS MAY BE ILLEGAL

Two congressional Democrats called Wednesday for an investigation into recent activities by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, suggesting that efforts by the Republican chairman of the private nonprofit to add more conservative programs onto PBS may violate federal law.

In a letter released Wednesday evening, Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., and Rep. John D. Dingell, D-Mich., asked CPB Inspector General Kenneth A. Konz to investigate the contracting, hiring and policies of the corporation, which distributes federal funds to public television stations. Both congressmen are ranking Democrats on committees that have oversight of public television.

They called recent actions taken by CPB Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson "disturbing" and "extremely troubling."

A CPB spokesman could not be reached for comment. But in a recent interview with the LOS ANGELES TIMES, Tomlinson defended his efforts to expand conservative perspectives on PBS, saying he merely wants to increase the network's audience.

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This is absolutely ridiculous!

Earlier, I commented on an article in the New York Times, "Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Biases".

By STEPHEN LABATON, LORNE MANLY and ELIZABETH JENSEN

WASHINGTON, May 1 - The Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is aggressively pressing public television to correct what he and other conservatives consider liberal bias, prompting some public broadcasting leaders - including the chief executive of PBS - to object that his actions pose a threat to editorial independence.

I wrote:

"The liberals are not going quietly. They know if they lose their ideological monopoly over PBS that all is lost. It's not surprising that they are kicking and screaming about efforts to bring balance to its programming.

"It's about time that some political parity be brought to public broadcasting. After all, our tax dollars do help to fund it. It must present more than one side of an issue. It shouldn't promote the agenda of one political party. It shouldn't serve as a mouthpiece for liberals and the Democrat party.

"Liberals are under the impression that PBS is their turf. Although PBS has been their private playground for years, it's time for that to change.

"I'm glad efforts are being made to put the "public" back in public broadcasting. It's good to see that the era of the Bill Moyers PBS mindset is taking its last breaths.

"Move over elites.

"Public broadcasting should reflect the public, shouldn't it?"

This latest development, Obey and Dingell's request that CPB Inspector General Konz investigate Tomlinson, is more extreme than I could have imagined. I knew the liberals were upset that they might actually have to share PBS with at least some conservative voices, but I never thought congressmen would get involved.

I stand by my earlier analysis, that the addition of some conservative voices to PBS in order to balance its overwhelmingly liberal perspective is long, long overdue.

I guess you could call the Democrats' attempts to undermine Tomlinson's efforts a "New, New McCarthyism". The chill wind of censorship is blowing. Actually, it's more fitting to refer to it as the hot air of the liberals.