Senators Call for Removal of Chairman of Public Broadcasting Body

Senators Call for Removal of Chairman of Public Broadcasting Body

Florida's U.S. Senator Bill Nelson has joined 15 of his colleagues in the Senate in asking President Bush to remove the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, contending he's shown a pattern of bias and partisanship.

Among other things, the senators in a June 21 letter to Bush cited the fact that board chairman Ken Tomlinson is under investigation by a federal inspector general for secretly paying outside GOP groups to monitor the work of PBS reporters.

In addition, Tomlinson is viewed as being somewhat supportive of Republican congressional attempts to cut $200 million from public broadcasting's budget. Further, he's chosen a former co-chairman of the Republican National Committee to head the public broadcasting corporation.

"The administration is using Mr. Tomlinson to undermine - and, ultimately to try to undo one of the most balanced sources of news and programming in America," Nelson said today in response to reporters' questions about the senators' letter.

Other senators signing the letter include Joe Biden, of Delaware; Tom Harkin, of Iowa; Charles Schumer, of New York; Dianne Feinstein, of California; and, Frank Lautenberg, of New Jersey.

"Public television should not be undermined by appointed leadership that has a political agenda," the senators wrote to Bush. "We urge you to immediately replace Mr. Tomlinson with an executive who takes his or her responsibility to the public television system seriously."

http://billnelson.senate.gov/inthenews/mediareleases.cfm