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CPB’s new ombudsmen have so far found no political bias on their beat, but instead “have been positively glowing in their assessments of the journalism heard on NPR and seen on news shows distributed by PBS,” says the Washington Post.
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Patricia Harrison, the controversially-appointed new president of CPB, today made her first public appearance in that role. In testimony before the Senate subcommittee overseeing CPB, Harrison pled pubcasting’s case for greater federal funding than the House has approved to this point. “The federal dollars are critical to leveraging all the other resources,” she said. “It opens the door for funding from state and local governments, universities, businesses, foundations, by providing a “seal of approval” from the federal government.” Embattled CPB Board Chair Ken Tomlinson also appeared to add his two cents and take shots from senators regarding his efforts to hire consultants and otherwise act on his much-reported concerns about pubcasting balance.
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NPR should not have aired the testimony of the “BTK” killer, says NPR Ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin.
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Slate blogger Mickey Kaus takes exception to the New York Times Magazine’s fawning June 26 profile of KCRW’s Nic Harcourt. “Harcourt’s scared to rock,” Kaus claims. (via mediabistro.com)
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The Situation with Tucker Carlson may not be bad for America, but does seem to weaken the “intellectual standing” of its host, writes a New York Times critic.
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With Apple’s introduction of podcast features into iTunes, “every public radio station probably should be offering podcasts by now,” writes Steve Outing.
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A Berkeley Daily Planet article details some of the latest disputes engulfing Pacifica’s KPFA-FM.
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Conservative columnist Jonah Goldberg says public TV is liberal (“it just is”) and shot through with contradictions between its claims and its reality. Cal Thomas meanwhile focuses on Moyers, citing a Current article.
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The progressive website Media Matters asked CPB to recognize the Freedom of Information Act and release the bias studies commissioned by Chairman Ken Tomlinson. CPB contends that it isn’t subject to FOIA scrutiny but in the past has pledged to abide by it voluntarily.
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Only 42 percent of Americans think the press generally stands up for America, says a study by the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press. The score on that question returns to pre-9/11 days. After 9/11 it soared to 69 percent. Views different greatly by party affiliation, Pew notes: The press is too critical, say 67 percent of Repubs, 24 percent of Dems.
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The National Park Service is rebalancing the politics of a video shown to visitors of the Lincoln Memorial, adding footage of pro-gun and pro-war marches and other right-side events to scenes of civil rights rallies and the like, AP reported.
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In today’s Washington Post, public broadcasters and reporters labeled with the scarlet “L” respond to the content analysis study commissioned by CPB Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson. The Los Angeles Times and New York Times also report on the study in today’s editions. Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who released the study, called it “a little nutty.”