The lies of Ken Tomlinson (Media Matters)

[struggle4progress]

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), faces growing criticism from supporters of public radio and public television who argue that his leadership has compromised CPB's charter to protect public broadcasting against political interference. Sixteen U.S. senators have called on President Bush to remove Tomlinson as head of CPB, charging that Tomlinson "seriously undermines the credibility and mission of public television." In the wake of a May 2 New York Times article detailing the controversy surrounding Tomlinson, he has repeatedly defended himself against allegations that he has exerted political pressure on CPB. But new documents, along with increased scrutiny of his actions, have proved several of Tomlinson's prior statements false. <snip>

The Times reported that, in a May 24 letter to Sen. Byron L. Dorgan (D-ND), Tomlinson stated he saw no need to consult the CPB board of directors about hiring an outside consultant to monitor bias on PBS' NOW with Bill Moyers, because, he wrote, the contract was "approved and signed by then CPB President, Kathleen Cox."

But the Times reported on June 22 that a copy of the contract obtained by the paper shows that Tomlinson signed it on February 3, 2004 -- five months before Cox became CPB president. Tomlinson declined to comment to the Times on the apparent discrepancy.

CPB paid the consultant, Fred Mann, $14,170 to monitor bias on NOW. Mann worked for 20 years at the National Journalism Center, an organization founded by the American Conservative Union and M. Stanton Evans, a conservative columnist, that counts among the alumni of its training programs Wall Street Journal columnist John Fund and right-wing pundit Ann Coulter. <snip>

http://mediamatters.org/items/200506220009