Kenneth Tomlinson - CPB Tenure

CPB Tenure

Tomlinson was appointed as chairman of the CPB board by President George W. Bush, for a two-year term, in September 2003. He embarked upon a mission to purge CPB of what he perceived as "liberal bias". His efforts sparked complaints of political pressure. Broadcasting & Cable magazine wrote when Tomlinson "...uses terms like “fair and balanced” in talking about what PBS should be, it is understandably seen as code guaranteed to evoke charges of the “Foxification” of PBS and raise alarm bells with liberals and moderates, as well as with viewers who just don’t care about a political agenda at all."

Tomlinson commissioned a $10,000 study into Bill Moyers' PBS program, Now with Bill Moyers without informing the board of the investigation. He also retained two Republican lobbyists to try to defeat a Congressional proposal that would have increased the representation of broadcasters on the board, again without informing the board of the contracts.

The inspector general's report issued 15 November 2005, said that Mr. Tomlinson appeared to have violated both the federal law and the corporation's own rules in raising $5 million to underwrite The Journal Editorial Report, a PBS program by the editorial board of The Wall Street Journal.

Mr. Tomlinson, in a statement distributed with the report, rejected its conclusions. He said that any suggestion that he violated his duties or the law "is malicious and irresponsible" and that the inspector general had opted "for politics over good judgment."

"Unfortunately, the Inspector General's preconceived and unjustified findings will only help to maintain the status quo and other reformers will be discouraged from seeking change," said Mr. Tomlinson, who has repeatedly defended his decisions as part of an effort to restore balance to programming. "Regrettably, as a result, balance and objectivity will not come soon to elements of public broadcasting."

In April 2005, the contract of the former CPB president, Kathleen Cox, was not renewed. She was replaced by Ken Feree, a Republican and former adviser to chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, Michael Powell.

Tomlinson resigned from the CPB board on November 4, 2005 after the board saw the report about his tenure by the Inspector General of the CPB, requested by House Democrats. The report described possible political influence on personnel decisions, including e-mail correspondence between Tomlinson and the White House which indicated that Tomlinson "was strongly motivated by political considerations in filling the president/CEO position."

Tomlinson was replaced by Cheryl Halpern.