Another Crony Bites the Dust

So the chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, appointed by President Bush, was so worried about an upcoming finding by a CPB Inspector General that he resigned.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Directors said Thursday that embattled former board chairman Ken Tomlinson has resigned.

The board has been reviewing a CPB Inspector General's report--called for by a pair of congressmen--on Tomlinson's relationship with the board stemming from Tomlinson's attempts to add more conservative programming.

Tomlinson came under heavy fire for adding conservative shows to balance what he saw as liberal bias, and for hiring an outside consultant to gauge the bias in shows, particularly Now with Bill Moyers.

By the way, this outside consultant ended up using appearances by people like Chuck Hagel and Bob Barr as proof of liberal bias. I guess in that context, "liberal" means "anyone who disagrees with me." And Tomlinson hired the consultant in secret, with taxpayer money.

So out Tomlinson goes. But he'll remain on the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which fits with the most recent GOP strategy of staying out of the limelight and doing the dirty work behind the scenes. Indeed, there are still Republican operatives all over the CPB. I'm all for balance in public broadcasting, but when the CPB President, Patricia de Stacy Harrison, is a former chairwoman of the Republican Party, I don't think "balance" is the goal. I'm sure the core mission has remained unchanged, only the highest-profile player has been shunted to the side. But Representatives like David Obey, Ed Markey and John Dingell have been great on this issue, and I'm sure they'll continue to keep the pressure on.