The New Yorker Magazine released an article yesterday entitled, "Big Bird Flies Right," (unfortunately it is unavailable online) which exposes several recent incidents that demonstrate the way ideologues within the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) are seeking to shape public TV and public radio.
The CPB provides federal funds to public broadcasting and its primary mission has always been to serve as a "heat shield," protecting programming from political interference. But instead of serving as a "heat shield," CPB now is an agent of partisan wrangling.
* CPB decided to provide funding to two programs -- one hosted by Tucker Carlson, who speaks for conservatives on CNN's "Crossfire," and one moderated by Paul Gigot, editorial page editor of the Wall Street Journal. At the same time, "Now with Bill Moyers," which receives no CPB funds, will be cut from an hour to 30 minutes.
* The Bush Administration has an apparent litmus test for choosing members of the CPB. The White House interviewed CPB board candidate Chon Noriega, a UCLA media professor and co-founder of the National Association of Latino Independent Producers, and asked him whether the CPB should intervene in programming "deemed politically biased." When Professor Noriega said intervention should be used only in extraordinary circumstances, the appointment process ground to a halt, and the White House has asked Senate Minority Leader Tom Daschle (D-SD) to put forward another candidate.
* In contrast to Noriega's qualifications, President George W. Bush's most recent CPB appointees, Gay Hart Gaines and Cheryl Halpern, and their families, have given more than $800,000 to Republicans since 1995. Both these appointees have backgrounds that raise questions about their suitability to serve on the CPB board. During her confirmation hearing last fall, Halpern indicated that she would welcome giving CPB members the authority to intervene in program content when they felt a program was biased. Gaines chaired Newt Gingrich's political committee GOPAC. Gingrich (R-GA), as House Speaker, proposed cutting all federal assistance to public TV.
* Referring to the recent events at CPB, Bill Moyers told The New Yorker author Ken Auletta: "This is the first time in my 32 years of public broadcasting that CPB has ordered up programs for ideological instead of journalistic reasons."
There is a problem with the CPB. Whether it is a Democratic or Republican President who appoints them, CPB board members tend to be big political donors who often come with specific ideological agendas. This seems particularly true of the current board.
We cannot let partisan warriors drive an ideological stake in the heart of public broadcasting. At a time when media ownership is increasingly consolidated into fewer corporate hands, we must ensure that the editorial independence of public broadcasting is held sacred.
Common Cause is calling on all members of the public to
fax the CPB TODAY to send a clear message that we won't tolerate playing politics with public broadcasting.
For more information and details about the backgroup of the Bush appointed members of the CPB click here