PBS and bias

I've been following the PBS/NPR/Corporation for Public Broadcasting kerflufle for a few days. Basically, the chairman of CPB, Ken Tomlinson, hired a consultant to provide a report to him about liberal bias in PBS and NPR programs. Also, his report analyzed whether or not the shows were favorable of the Bush administration or not. I can almost understand wanting to make sure reporting was truthful, factual, and unbiased. But when they start rating shows based on favorability to the Bush administration, they stepped way over the line.

PBS is not a propaganda outlet for the Bush administration. They've already got Fox News, for crying out loud. To prepare a report like this means that the administration may be trying to turn them into one.This and the recent appointment of Patricia S. Harrison, former Undersecretary of State and former Republican Party co-chair, as head of PBS, call the future of PBS and CPB into question. The Corporation was set up to shield PBS and NPR from political influence. The shield is melting under the onslaught.

CPB Liberal Bias Study Flawed, Critics Say

A consultant who monitored news and talk programs on public radio and TV found that liberal and anti-administration views were widespread, but critics said the consultant's work was itself biased and riddled with errors.

The consultant, Frederick W. Mann, was secretly hired last year by Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the agency that disburses about $400 million in federal tax funds to public broadcasters. In recent months, Tomlinson has criticized National Public Radio and the Public Broadcasting Service for an allegedly liberal bias and has pushed PBS to add programs with a more conservative tone.

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The report labels guests on these programs "liberal," "conservative" or "neutral," or categorizes them by such descriptions as "pro-Bush," "anti-Bush," "support administration," "oppose administration." It found "Now" (hosted by Moyers and in part by David Brancaccio) to be rife with liberal views; of 136 segments reviewed, it said 92 "clearly opposed" administration policy, while the balance were "neutral" or "not about policy." It also found that when "conservatives/Republicans" were guests, they "mostly opposed" the administration. Tomlinson has often cited the Moyers show in his public critiques.

Of 46 guests on Rehm's program, "liberal" viewpoints outnumbered "conservative" viewpoints by 22 to 5, according to Mann.

But Mann never explains his labeling criteria or indicates in any detail which specific comment or comments earned a guest a particular characterization.

Dorgan pointed out that "red-blooded" conservatives such as Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) and former congressman Bob Barr (R-Ga.) were classified as "liberal" and "anti-administration" apparently for briefly expressing views that differed from administration policy. Dorgan called the report "kind of a nutty project" and an "amateurish attempt to prove a liberal bias," noting Mann had apparently faxed his findings to Tomlinson from Mary Ann's Hallmark, a card store in Indianapolis.