From the NYTimes website:
[Republican] Lobbyists' Role for Public TV Is Investigated
The gist of the article is that Tomlinson paid $15,000 to two Republican lobbyists without informing the board, signing the contracts personally. The lobbyists advised the Corporation on Public Broadcasting (Tomlinson) on how to defeat a bill that would have given member stations more representation on the corporation's board. One of the lobbyists also did a report for Tomlinson on the political leanings of guests on Bill Moyer's NOW.
There may be nothing to this. Certainly Republicans will spin it as entrenched liberals in the Inspector General's office at CPB trying to undermine the chairman. To me, it is simply the latest example of:
(1) a Republican political appointee's behaving as though his position is not a public trust but a personal political fiefdom, and
(2) the extent to which Republican governance means government of the lobbyists, by the lobbyists, and for the lobbyists.