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the_ignored
SFN Addict
2562 Posts |
 Posted - 05/07/2005 : 11:11:11
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At least according to this article they are:
quote:
It is in Mr. Tomlinson's engineering of top appointments, however, that his urge to mimic the Soviet style approaches parody. Having ousted the former C.P.B. [Corporation for Public Broadcasting] president, whose ideological leanings were deemed suspicious, he replaced her with Ken Ferree, yet another Republican placeholder. But Mr. Ferree is merely an interim appointee, soon to be replaced by Patricia Harrison -- a State Department official and former co-chairwoman of the Republican National Committee.
Is this author being overly alarmist?
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>From: enuffenuff@fastmail.fm
(excerpt follows):
> I'm looking to teach these two bastards a lesson they'll never forget.
> Personal visit by mates of mine. No violence, just a wee little chat.
>
> **** has also committed more crimes than you can count with his
> incitement of hatred against a religion. That law came in about 2007
> much to ****'s ignorance. That is fact and his writing will become well
> know as well as him becoming a publicly known icon of hatred.
>
> Good luck with that fuckwit. And Reynold, fucking run, and don't stop.
> Disappear would be best as it was you who dared to attack me on my
> illness knowing nothing of the cause. You disgust me and you are top of
> the list boy. Again, no violence. Just regular reminders of who's there
> and visits to see you are behaving. Nothing scary in reality. But I'd
> still disappear if I was you.
What brought that on? this. Original posting here.
Another example of this guy's lunacy here. |
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
 Posted - 05/07/2005 : 13:04:17 [Permalink]
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quote:
Is this author being overly alarmist?
Not really, Ig. This story in the New York Times notes, for instance, thatquote:
The Republican chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is aggressively pressing public television to correct what he and other conservatives consider liberal bias, prompting some public broadcasting leaders - including the chief executive of PBS - to object that his actions pose a threat to editorial independence.
The rest of the article discusses the CPB chair's actions more deeply, but anyone who is interested in public broadcasting should be worried.
The Times wrote an editorial on the topic, but I somehow doubt that Tomlinson cares-- or, indeed, if he even reads the paper. If I recall correctly, I think he stated that he doesn't even listen to NPR! What kind of boss doesn't even pay attention to his company's product? We'll find out in the near future... |
| Edited by - Cuneiformist on 05/07/2005 13:06:12 |
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filthy
SFN Die Hard
USA
14408 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2005 : 14:43:33 [Permalink]
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I've been reading about it for several days now, and I think that it's a go.
Something interesting to speculate on: they rely a great deal on individual contributions for funding. I wonder how that will be affected. If the programing suffers a further swing to the right, my modest, annual donation will certainly dry up.
A further thought: Newt Gingrich, may his 'roids bleed rivers, et al, did their best to kill it in the '80s, and failed. Is this going to turn out to be another attempt? Or they simply trying to build yet another, sleezy propagands mill.
Joe Conason is generally pretty reliable.
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"What luck for rulers that men do not think." -- Adolf Hitler (1889 - 1945)
"If only we could impeach on the basis of criminal stupidity, 90% of the Rethuglicans and half of the Democrats would be thrown out of office." ~~ P.Z. Myres
"The default position of human nature is to punch the other guy in the face and take his stuff." ~~ Dude
Brother Boot Knife of Warm Humanitarianism,
and Crypto-Communist! 
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Cuneiformist
The Imperfectionist
USA
4955 Posts |
Posted - 05/07/2005 : 15:33:37 [Permalink]
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quote:
Originally posted by filthy
I've been reading about it for several days now, and I think that it's a go.
Something interesting to speculate on: they rely a great deal on individual contributions for funding. I wonder how that will be affected. If the programing suffers a further swing to the right, my modest, annual donation will certainly dry up.
Actually, this might be capitalism at its best. As I understand it, if a program is not popular stations don't carry it. If the people at, say, Car Talk (or whatever) are told to say things like "I think you should buy a big new SUV to show your support for the President's energy policies" people will stop listening/call and complain/etc. And it's likely that the station will pull it in favor of Delicious Dish or whatever. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 05/08/2005 : 15:09:49 [Permalink]
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| The guy that is being put in charge never watched any PBS programs before and has a history of being assigned to dismantle things according to Air America or Democracy Now....it's all a blur there are so many things to be freaked out about. |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 05/11/2005 : 12:56:09 [Permalink]
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Heard two encouraging bits from a current PBS spokeswoman on some interview program on FOX news. One was that the very small percentage of funds for NPR and PBS come from the government. And, two was most of the funds go to local stations to use to purchase PBS and NPR programs.
So as long as there are funding sources for the programs like Frontline and Bill Moyer's Now, (which seems to have become the poster child for right wing attacks), then this appointed hack may not matter so much. |
| Edited by - beskeptigal on 05/11/2005 12:56:51 |
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beskeptigal
SFN Die Hard
USA
3834 Posts |
Posted - 05/17/2005 : 10:18:26 [Permalink]
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Bill Moyer gave a most excellent talk about this mess. Much of his talk was played on Democracy Now and they have a transcript out now. It is very much worth hearing or reading.
quote:
Moyers: First, let me assure you that I take in stride attacks by the radical right wingers who have not given up demonizing me although I retired over six months ago. They've been after me for years now, and I suspect they will be stomping on my grave to make sure I don't come back from the dead....
Who are they? I mean the people obsessed with control using the government to threaten and intimidate; I mean the people who are hollowing out middle class security even as they enlist the sons and daughters of the working class to make sure Ahmad Chalabi winds up controlling Iraq's oil; I mean the people who turn faith-based initiatives into Karl Rove's slush fund; who encourage the pious to look heavenward and pray so as not to see the long arm of privilege and power picking their pockets; I mean the people who squelch free speech in an effort to obliterate dissent and consolidate their orthodoxy into the official view of reality from which any deviation becomes unpatriotic heresy. That's who I mean. And if that's editorializing, so be it. A free press is one where it's okay to state the conclusion you're led to by the evidence.
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