PBS is under attack- Major censorship and partisanship!

[Ian David]

From: "Josh Silver, Exec. Director" <[email protected]>
Subject: PBS is under attack

Dear Media Reformer:

PBS is in jeopardy. Today's New York Times describes secret efforts by Republican operatives to make our Public Broadcasting System more "fair and balanced."

Kenneth Tomlinson, the Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) -- the government-funded organization that was designed to shield PBS from political pressure -- is aggressively pressing PBS to correct what he considers "liberal bias."

He secretly hired a White House staffer to help draft "guiding principles" for the future of CPB. He brought in a consultant to monitor the "anti-Bush" and "anti-Tom Delay" content on Bill Moyers' NOW program, and then set up and funded right-wing commentator Paul Gigot's new PBS program. Now Tomlinson is working behind the scenes to stack CPB's board and executive offices with Republican Party cronies.

Here's how we can stop them. Join our call to Congress, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and PBS station managers to:

1. Remove Kenneth Tomlinson from the CPB board.

2. Return PBS to the people by holding local town meetings in your community. The public -- not partisan political operatives -- should decide what they want from PBS.

Add your name to the letter now by visiting http://www.freepress.net/action/pbs .

Tomlinson told the Times that he's trying to restore "objectivity and balance" to public broadcasting. This top-down partisan meddling goes against the very nature of PBS and the local stations we trust. Let the people speak and decide the future of PBS, not secret dealings by White House operatives.

Send your message now -- and forward this letter to all of your friends and colleagues, asking them to do the same.

Onward,

Josh Silver
Executive Director
www.freepress.net

P.S. -- To learn more, read the recent report on "Building a Public Broadcasting System that Deserves Public Support" by Free Press, Consumers Union, Common Cause, Media Access Project and the Consumer Federation of America. You can find a link to it at http://www.freepress.net/press/release.php?id=64 .

[demnan]

1. They've been after PBS since the Reagan years

and damn near succeeded in destroying it. Removing Moyers will be the final blow, from then on they'll just show old BBC repeats.

[Ian David]

9. It was Mister Rogers who saved PBS the last time

[Doctor_J]

2. I will just turn it off, like I do

with every other RW station. You don't have to watch, or contribute.

[wtbymark]

4. great, leave us out here in the cold

that's nice : P

[fasttense]

8. Yes, but the avenues for the truth are slowly dwindling. Next they'll

take the INTERNET.

[Ian David]

10. That's not the solution. We need to inform the ignorant FOX viewers

You and I know the Republican B.S. when we see it.

We need someone out there besides Air America spreading the truth to the American public.

If even something as conservative as PBS is taken down and turned into the Public Republican Network, we're fucked.

[Kolesar]

3. NPR ATC did a segment on this last week

I wrote to them to comment on the bias in the NPR reporting leading up to the Iraq War.

[tridim]

5. Imagine Elmo as a Bush supporter

"Elmo loves the leader!"

The thing that bugs me about this is PBS isn't "left wing". Shows like NOW deal with the truth, period. The Repukes just think it's hell.

[Coastie for Truth]

6. New York Times - Republican Chairman Exerts Pressure on PBS, Alleging Bias

Here's a Link to the Story in the New Tork Times



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.

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."

In late March, on the recommendation of administration officials, Mr. Tomlinson hired the director of the White House Office of Global Communications as a senior staff member, corporation officials said. While she was still on the White House staff, she helped draft guidelines governing the work of two ombudsmen whom the corporation recently appointed to review the content of public radio and television broadcasts.

Mr. Tomlinson also encouraged corporation and public broadcasting officials to broadcast "The Journal Editorial Report," whose host, Paul Gigot, is editor of the conservative editorial page of The Wall Street Journal. And while a search firm has been retained to find a successor for Kathleen A. Cox, the corporation's president and chief executive, whose contract was not renewed last month, Mr. Tomlinson has made clear to the board that his choice is Patricia Harrison, a former co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee who is now an assistant secretary of state.

Mr. Tomlinson said that he was striving for balance and had no desire to impose a political point of view on programming, explaining that his efforts are intended to help public broadcasting distinguish itself in a 500-channel universe and gain financial and political support.

"My goal here is to see programming that satisfies a broad constituency," he said, adding, "I'm not after removing shows or tampering internally with shows."

But he has repeatedly criticized public television programs as too liberal overall, and said in the interview, "I frankly feel at PBS headquarters there is a tone deafness to issues of tone and balance."

<snip>

There's a lot more in the original - about clear White House political pressure.

[Dr Ron]

7. Problems for years

PBS has so much less of interest afer years of attack.

At least there are still some good documentaries on Frontline.

[jen4clark]

11. Thanks! Signed the petition

:kick: