Public Broadcasting

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board member who in May charged PBS with liberal bias, abruptly resigned yesterday in the face of an internal investigative report that is expected to charge him with using questionable tactics and trying to undermine the political independence of public television and radio. Tomlinson, who was chairman of the CPB board when he made the allegations, stepped down from that post last month when his term expired - but only after hand-picking a successor, as well as a new president of CPB who was a former Republican official.

The state agency that holds Maryland Public Television's broadcast licenses didn't solicit bids for a $2.55 million contract it awarded and mistakenly paid $72,000 more than had been authorized to another contractor, a state audit found. The audit of the Maryland Public Broadcasting Commission, made public Tuesday, said a three-year contract for direct marketing and fundraising was awarded on a "sole-source" basis even though at least one other vendor offers similar services, including a public media co-op.

Public television stations, including Maryland Public Television (MPT), are America's largest classroom. Federal funding provides is vital for MPT, which is locally owned and operated. Those funds support educational programming with content often not given needed attention by commercial broadcasting stations. This week, public broadcasting faces withdrawal of support by opponents in Congress. This action would be a serious mistake. Maryland Public Television has a $29 million annual budget, of which less than 10 percent comes from federal appropriations.

Public television stations, including Maryland Public Television (MPT), are America's largest classroom. Federal funding provides is vital for MPT, which is locally owned and operated. Those funds support educational programming with content often not given needed attention by commercial broadcasting stations. This week, public broadcasting faces withdrawal of support by opponents in Congress. This action would be a serious mistake. Maryland Public Television has a $29 million annual budget, of which less than 10 percent comes from federal appropriations.

Pat Mitchell, president of the Public Broadcasting Service, defended PBS yesterday against charges of liberal bias recently leveled by Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. "Our responsibility is to tell the truth whatever the cost," Mitchell said yesterday in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington. "At times, that does lead people to question our motives or even suggest an agenda. ... But PBS does not belong to any one constituency or political party.

"It's dM-ijM-` vu all over again," says public broadcast pioneer James Day. In quoting baseball and malaprop Hall of Famer Yogi Berra, Day was referring to recent reports about the head of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting investigating public broadcasting for political "balance." "It happened in the Nixon years particularly," says Day, who helped found San Francisco's public television station, KQED, in 1953. "When Nixon finally appointed the majority on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board, it in effect began to take over programming, even though it was not supposed to do that," he says.

ALEXANDRIA, Va. -- "The Civil War" is over.Now what?It seems a fair and obvious question to put to Jennifer Lawson, PBS executive vice president of national programming and promotion services.In television, you're only as good as the program you have on, and it's been a month since the broadcast of "The Civil War," Ken Burns' landmark 11-hour documentary and the highest-rated series in PBS history.But in prime-time terms, that's ancient history."There's no question about it," says Lawson during a recent interview in her office at the Public Broadcasting Service's headquarters in Alexandria, Va. " 'The Civil War' is a tough act to follow."

Facing charges of political bias and a threat to its funding from Congress, the Public Broadcasting Service yesterday adopted an updated set of editorial standards and announced that it would add an ombudsman who will report directly to PBS President Pat Mitchell. The action comes in the wake of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's hiring of two ombudsmen in April to give viewers a place to take their "complaints" about public broadcasting, according to CPB Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson.

Calling supporters of public television a "small group of elitists," Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich yesterday charged the Public Broadcast System with using taxpayers' money to lobby for donations, and he renewed his vow to cut federal support of public TV and radio."

THIS WEEK WILL mark a critical moment for American public broadcasting as the U.S. House of Representatives takes up debate over funding for public radio and public television. A disturbing precursor came recently when the House subcommittee overseeing public broadcasting made massive cuts to its funding, saying that in a budget year when the country is facing record deficits, Congress has to begin to distinguish between "must do," "need to do" and "nice to do" programs. I couldn't agree more.

As programmers and public broadcasting executives from across the country come together starting Monday in Baltimore for the annual PBS Showcase conference, they face what could be the most challenging time in the history of American public broadcasting. The people responsible for producing and distributing such iconic TV series as The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer and Nova must confront a world financial crisis, deep cuts in funding, increased competition, and vast technological and cultural shifts in the way viewers demand content and broadcasters try to provide it. Indeed, attendance at the annual conference is expected to be lower than usual as public TV stations cut back on travel budgets.

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting board member who in May charged PBS with liberal bias, abruptly resigned yesterday in the face of an internal investigative report that is expected to charge him with using questionable tactics and trying to undermine the political independence of public television and radio. Tomlinson, who was chairman of the CPB board when he made the allegations, stepped down from that post last month when his term expired - but only after hand-picking a successor, as well as a new president of CPB who was a former Republican official.

WASHINGTON -- Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who led a charge against what he called the liberal slant in public broadcasting, ended his tumultuous two-year term as Chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting yesterday, yielding the gavel to another Republican appointee with similar views if not a similar style. "I've enjoyed about as much of this as i can stand," Tomlinson said as he convened the last meeting of his tenure as chairman, one of the most divisive chapters in the corporation's 38-year history.

WASHINGTON - Congressional Republicans cut funding for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which funds public radio and television stations. After having their fun, they then agreed to restore most of the money and dropped their threat to eventually phase out all taxpayer funding. But they shouldn't back down. In fact, they should finish the job: End all taxpayer funding for government broadcasting stations and let them compete in the marketplace like other broadcasters. In a 500-channel world, why do the taxpayers need to subsidize one more channel?

WASHINGTON - From partisan rallies on Capitol Hill featuring PBS kids' TV characters like Clifford the Big Red Dog to an army of station managers from around the country trooping through the halls of Congress to lobby their representatives, the culture war over public broadcasting broke out all over D.C. yesterday. The catalyst for yesterday's actions was a move late last week by the House Appropriations Committee to cut $100 million out of the proposed $400 million PBS budget for the fiscal year 2006 that starts in October.

THIS WEEK WILL mark a critical moment for American public broadcasting as the U.S. House of Representatives takes up debate over funding for public radio and public television. A disturbing precursor came recently when the House subcommittee overseeing public broadcasting made massive cuts to its funding, saying that in a budget year when the country is facing record deficits, Congress has to begin to distinguish between "must do," "need to do" and "nice to do" programs. I couldn't agree more.

IT'S THAT TIME of year again. Unsatisfied with its $390 million annual grant from Congress, PBS has begun interrupting Sesame Street reruns and documentaries on Armenian culture to continue its relentless pursuit for private donations. This year's efforts have been particularly intense, given the cost of complying with the Federal Communications Commission's requirement that stations convert to a digital broadcasting format. Congress provided an additional $48.7 million to aid that transition, but public broadcasting officials have estimated the conversion's total price tag at nearly $1.7 billion.

Washington -- Newt Gingrich's opposition may be the most visible threat to PBS, but it's far from the only one.With Congress on the verge of cutting its subsidy, public television is struggling to raise more money from corporations and viewers.But it faces many obstacles: it is bureaucratic and inefficient, requiring the upkeep of 350 stations, compared with 200 for the commercial networks, and its leadership is splintered and politicized.One sign of the troubled times: Ervin Duggan, the president of the Public Broadcasting Service, was so fearful of conservative critics that he wanted to take a four-hour series about the FBI off the air last month until he was talked out of it by his staff, PBS sources say. They fear that such a willingness to bend with the political winds potentially compromises the independence of PBS.Mr.

Facing charges of political bias and a threat to its funding from Congress, the Public Broadcasting Service yesterday adopted an updated set of editorial standards and announced that it would add an ombudsman who will report directly to PBS President Pat Mitchell. The action comes in the wake of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting's hiring of two ombudsmen in April to give viewers a place to take their "complaints" about public broadcasting, according to CPB Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson.

Pat Mitchell, president of the Public Broadcasting Service, defended PBS yesterday against charges of liberal bias recently leveled by Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting. "Our responsibility is to tell the truth whatever the cost," Mitchell said yesterday in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington. "At times, that does lead people to question our motives or even suggest an agenda. ... But PBS does not belong to any one constituency or political party.