Posted on 09/18/2004 2:16:21 PM PDT by CardCarryingMember.VastRightWC
New Conservative Shows Will Throw PBS Off Balance, Liberal Group Says Melanie Hunter Deputy Managing Editor
(CNSNews.com) - A liberal media watchdog group is accusing PBS of "pandering" to conservatives through its introduction of several new programs that feature conservative hosts, writers and editors.
"Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered," which debuts Friday night and features conservative CNN pundit Tucker Carlson, "The Journal Editorial Report," which features writers and editors from the Wall Street Journal editorial page, and a planned program featuring conservative talk show host Michael Medved will be added to the Public Broadcasting Service's lineup.
Fairness and Accuracy In Reporting (FAIR) complains that the shows are an attempt to balance out public television's "alleged liberal bias."
The group wrote in an action alert, "According to reports in the public broadcasting newspaper Current (1/19/04, 6/7/04) and in the New Yorker (6/7/04), conservative complaints about the alleged liberal bias of the program 'Now with Bill Moyers' contributed to the momentum to 'balance' the PBS lineup.
"The new programs seem to be the result of that pressure," FAIR added. "In fact, 'Now' will soon see its role on public television diminish, as the program is cut from one hour to 30 minutes when Moyers voluntarily leaves the program later this year."
According to FAIR, Moyers will be replaced by co-anchor David Brancaccio, from the public radio business show Marketplace, "who expresses no obvious ideology."
"If Carlson, Medved and the staff of the Wall Street Journal editorial page are all necessary to balance the liberal Moyers, by 2005 there will be no one on PBS to balance them," FAIR claimed.
The media watchdog blamed the new programming on the appointments of Cheryl Halpern and Gay Hart Gaines, who FAIR describes as "big donors to the Republican Party," to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which provides the largest source of funds for PBS.
Halpern and Gaines "do not hide their political agenda," FAIR wrote.
The group noted that Gaines fundraised for former House Speaker Newt Gingrich and chaired his political action committee GOPAC. "At the same time that Gaines was raising money for Gingrich's GOPAC, Gingrich was pushing Congress to cut all federal funds to public TV," FAIR concluded.
There shouldn't even be a PBS.
Tucker Carlson is a conservative? I thought he was, once, but that was awhile ago.
PBS never was balanced..so how could it be thrown off? PUBLIC television..that means the entire public.. otherwise let's just be honest and call it what it is.. People's Broadcasting System.
"waah waah waah! I don't want to have to show both sides of an issue!!!"
yawnnnnnnn....I don't care what FAIR thinks and the only reason I care about PBS is that they force me to pay.
You know, in all the copy I've read about See B.S. and Gunga Dan, that name did not come up even once.
Tucker Carlson is conservative?
Tucker Carlson is the same type of 'conservative strawman' the alphabet networks used for decades before the advent of cable.
He is there o look silly and ineffective as a spokesman for our side. He is the Herbie Stempel of conservative talking heads.
Unbelievable. It's time for these idiotic liberals to hop on the shut up train and ride it far into the land of grow up.
Tucker Carlson, RINO probably, CINO for sure...
BWA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA HA! The liberals are afraid of Tucker Carlson??? What a bunch of wimps!
PBS is simply ahead of their network peers; they've learned the lesson of Fox. They want to keep their cushy jobs and know which way the wind is blowing. They will sell their own so-called principles out quickly for survival and ratings.
At least Herbie Stempel has brains. Carlson doesn't even seem to do his research sometimes, and as far as I can tell, I don't even think he's voting for Bush in this election.
You know your network is tilting way to the left, when your cartoon conservative strawman thinks the republican are to far to the right.
IMHO, FAIR=FART "...the sky is falling, ..the sky is falling" Alert.
The main thing that "fair" wants is to be completely unfair to conservatives.
SUCH a wonderful point!
corretomundo!
I don't want any of my taxes to pay for anyone's spin.
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