PBS Scrutiny Raises Political Antennas

[katty]

PBS Scrutiny Raises Political Antennas

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, April 22, 2005; Page C01

Liberal commentator Bill Moyers is out on PBS stations. Buster the animated rabbit is under a cloud of suspicion. And right-wing yakkers from the Wall Street Journal editorial page have been handed their own public-television chat show.

Some observers, including people inside the Public Broadcasting Service, see these recent developments as troubling. PBS, they say, is being forced to toe a more conservative line in its programming by the Republican-dominated agency that provides about $30 million in federal funds to the Alexandria-based service.

Officials at the agency, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, say they are merely seeking to ensure balance and fairness in the network's presentation of political news and ideas.

more at...http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A8067-2005Apr21.html?referrer=emailarticlepg

[Vincardog]

1. Fair and Balanced like FAUX

[Maestro]

2. PBS is really starting to disgust me.

Stand up to the government or just go the way of Faux News.

[Kikosexy2]

3. I enjoy...

PBS musical programming but their news and political programming has been hijacked! I've stopped making pledges.

[JPZenger]

4. I would rather see them add conservative commentators...

I would much rather see them add a few conservative commentators on a show than to muzzle progressive reporting. If they add a conservative viewpoint on a show or two, fine - I just won't watch that show. But don't try to censor the news coverage --- or all contributions will stop.

[wtbymark]

5. PBS is in a tough position

being that half of the budget of all PBS stations are government funded to the total tune of $500,000,000 a year, puts us between a rock and a hard place when it comes to dealing with political issues on public airwaves. Considering that this ultra-conservative administration has wanted to eliminate that funding all-together since ** took office, it seems that now we have to keep everybody happy at the same time. I can see the very fine line that PBS is walking on, and believe me that PBS's core values (i believe) are still progressive and liberal in nature, favoring science and truth above all, BUT, you are going to see more and more conservative viewpoints. The big boys in Alexandria have to make things more balanced so we can all keep our jobs. And if we become anything near Faux, I'll be the first one out the door.

[primavera]

8. The problem is CPB isn't looking for balance

Right-wing repukes have for decades bridled at what they label PBS' "liberal bias," just as they rail against the "liberal bias" of anyone who disagrees with them or reports anything that doesn't coincide with their propaganda messaging machine. The truth is, PBS isn't all that liberal, hasn't been for years. They've got Bill Moyers, but that's about it. Other than that, the shows they've added have included people like Tucker Carlson, William Saffire, William F Buckley, Ben Wattenberg, Lynne Cheney, the list of right-wing conservatives goes on and on and on, yet it makes absolutely zero difference to conservatives, because, to them, Rush Limpballs and Bill O'Reilly aren't conservative, they're simply fair and balanced; only those who disagree with their world view count as political. So no matter how many wingnuts PBS adds to their broadcast line-up, it will never be enough for the repukes, as they will never be satisfied with anything less than all propaganda, all the time.

Look at the current composition of the CPB board. All of the appointments the shrub has made to the board have had no experience in broadcasting of any variety. What their resumes all do have in common is extensive fundraising and political messaging experience for Bush's campaigns. What do you expect them to be doing? Of course, they're going to stomp on anything that doesn't read like a campaign poster. This whole nonsense about creating an ombudsman to monitor political prejudice in PBS' programming. Do any of us here for even an instant seriously imagine that the person named for that office by these Bushista campaign cronies is going to seriously document instances of conservative bias in PBS' coverage? Don't make me laugh! It's just another thinly-veiled effort to creat yet another weapon to be used selectively against views which don't support the administration and its policies.

[katty]

9. discussion,disagreement not OK-now it's labeled the usual...

liberal relativism, treason, unpatriotic...basically, it is just a form of reactionary hate speech that is spewed when ANYONE disagrees with ANY platform being peddled by the mooney, loonie, rabid rightwing and evangels. Cons thrive on polarization 24/7 (I can't bear to listen/view one minute of the bile that passes for news and commentary on cable and nets). Polarization keeps their arguments on the emotional plane making them entirely subjective in their presumptious assertions of morality, nationalism and faith. They whip up emotional fervor faster than a holy roller can fall to his knees and then proceed to call their 'volcanic emoting vomit' a 'rational and objective' view on any issue, not subject to outside review or scrutiny. When you succeed in polarizing an entire national dialogue (see pre-WW2 Germany) with subjective and emotionally based 'opinions' and convince the unsuspecting, non-critical thinking general populace that opinions are FACTS, well, then, you've caught your prey.

[shoelace414]

6. when did they start calling conservative bias, balance?

http://www.controlthedebate.com/index.php?id=22

[Village Idiot]

7. I have been supporting WNPE-WNPI monetarily EVERY year...

but sadly, no more...

They took the "Public" out of "Public Broadcasting Service..." I have always been afraid of this - corporate power at work again.

Perhaps they can change the name to "Public Faith-Based Broadcasting Service" to get more corporate donations...

[wtbymark]

10. then you have to contact you're local PBS program director

and urge them to keep shows like, Frontline, Now, Nova, To the Contrary, etc. Because it is really up to the local program director as to what airs, Alexandria offers 40 PBS feeds 24/7, so before you discount all PBS stations, maybe yours has a 'political' problem. Up here in Vermont, they've been trying to do away with us entirely, problem is, we're too good, we win emmy's, our program director lives in cali. also.