White House Influence Seen in Hiring of CPB Pres. Harrison

Harrison rejected watchdog groups’ calls to resign. “No one owns me, ever,” she told reporters. She said her job is to keep politics out of the CPB, and “you will see what I do in the next few months. I do not have a political agenda. I cannot speak about the mindset of others.” The IG raised questions about her hiring, but the CPB board, which met Tues. in Washington, voiced full confidence in Harrison. “Although Pat Harrison has been in office less than 5 months, she has conducted herself in an exemplary fashion and made significant contributions,” all board members said in a signed statement.

Konz said he found “cryptic” e-mails between Tomlinson and White House staff whose “timing and subject matter” hinted Tomlinson was “strongly motivated” by politics in hiring the CPB head. Konz, who didn’t identify the White House staff, said Tomlinson defended his hiring someone with strong political ties by citing Harrison’s “qualifications and the need to build relationships with Congress to secure future funding.” Konz said he wasn’t allowed to interview White House staff as part of his investigation.

Tomlinson’s hiring of a Republican consultant to monitor “objectivity and balance” in public broadcasting programs was “consistent” with the Public Bcstg. Act, the IG said. But Tomlinson didn’t inform the board and signed the contract without board authorization, he added. And while Tomlinson broke no rules in creating the office of ombudsman, he didn’t adhere to the rules of having a competitive bidding for consulting services in excess of $50,000, he said. Of allegations a White House employee was in on creating the office, Konz said a White House employee briefly worked on a press release and talking points on the topic just before joining the CPB: “This work was advisory in nature and did not interfere with ombudsman operations.” He said his office couldn’t determine if any “political tests” were employed to pick the ombudsman. Of allegations Tomlinson spent $15,000 hiring 2 lobbyists to fight an APTS-backed CPB board expansion measure in the Senate, the IG said the contracting wasn’t done according to rules, but the lobbyists only provided strategic advice to the CPB about the legislative process. The report concluded that “seeking such professional advice was consistent with CPB’s responsibilities.”

Tomlinson violated his “fiduciary responsibilities and statutory prohibitions” by directly involving himself in the creation of a public affairs program, The Journal Editorial Report, the report said. In e-mails Tomlinson asked CPB staff to threaten to withhold programming funds from PBS if they didn’t balance their programming, Konz said. CPB has no power to withhold funds without permission from Congress, he said.

Konz cited grave weaknesses in CPB governance. Internal control mechanisms didn’t work as Tomlinson pursued his goals, he said. “Our review found an organizational environment that allowed the former chairman and other CPB executives to operate without appropriate checks and balances.” Harrison said a report on steps taken to implement the IG’s suggestions will be submitted to the IG in Feb. Addressing the board, Chmn. Cherly Halpern said she is treating the issues the IG raised “extremely seriously.” Problems, she said, stemmed from “long-standing systemic weaknesses” in CPB policies and practices. She said the board will “regularize” the process of hiring senior staff and setting compensation. It also is moving to remove even a “perception” of interference in programming decisions, she added.

Tomlinson said he was disappointed, but not surprised, by the IG report. “Any suggestion by Mr Konz that I violated my fiduciary duties, the director’s code of ethics or statutory provisions is malicious and irresponsible,” he said. His “lawful and sincere objective” from the start was to help bring balance and objectivity into public broadcasting, he said. Saying he is “proud” of his efforts, Tomlinson said public broadcasting shouldn’t be any particular ideology’s or party’s domain. “Preconceived and unjustified” findings by the IG, he said, will “only help to maintain the status quo and other reformers will be discouraged from seeking change. Regrettably, as a result, balance and objectivity will not come soon to elements of public broadcasting.”

“The report shows that Mr. Tomlinson was willing to ride roughshod over the law to impose his political mindset on PBS programming,” said Rep. Obey (D-Wis.), who with Rep. Dingell (D-Mich.), pushed in May for the IG inquiry. The CPB, he said, needs “significant reform and vigorous oversight” to preserve the political neutrality Tomlinson “pretended he wanted but did so much to prevent.”

“A runaway chairman apparently took advantage of a lackadaisical board of directors and a curious absence of basic management, and was allowed to inject politics into the work of the corporation,” said Dingell. He urged the CPB board to “get tough, or get out.” Board members, regardless of their political affiliation, must put in strong management controls and enforce them so public broadcasting’s credibility is not further diminished, he added.

Sen. Dorgan (D-N.D.) called on the IG to name the White House official Tomlinson worked with in hiring the “highly partisan” CPB pres. “Unfortunately, this fits exactly with a long pattern of unbridled, all-out partisanship and cronyism in so much of what this administration does.” He said Konz should also make public the e-mails between the White House staff and Tomlinson: “We need to bring the disinfectant of public scrutiny to begin to heal the damage Mr. Tomlinson has done to this corporation.”

Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy said the entire board should resign. “The full board is implicated in this report,” he said: “They have demonstrated an inability to effectively govern CPB.” It’s “shocking,” he said, that the full board continues to back Harrison. Finally, he said, the White House must be “forced to stop stonewalling… Who at the executive office of the President was Mr. Tomlinson in frequent contact with? The White House must release the email communications related to CPB and allow the IG to interview related senior staff.”