Reaction Quick on CPB Appointment

Reaction to Pat Harrison’s appointment as the head of CPB, reported above, was swift.
CPB Board Chair Tomlinson said Harrison is committed to the mission of public broadcasting.
NPR spokesman Andi Sporkin said, “While we’re disappointed that the CPB Board ignored the public broadcasting community’s unanimous desire for a new president with demonstrated broadcasting and nonpartisan credentials, we look forward to Ms. Harrison providing strong impartial leadership in fulfilling CPB’s role as a funding agency and supporter of the independence of public radio and television.”
Jeff Chester of the Center for Digital Democracy said in a statement, “The GOP majority at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting – backed undoubtedly by the White House – has installed Kenneth Y. Tomlinson’s ‘Public Diplomacy’ colleague Patricia Harrison as its president. Mr. Tomlinson, his four fellow arch-conservative CPB board members and now Ms. Harrison will continue their crusade to transform public broadcasting through a campaign of intimidation. Their goal is to ensure that public television in particular becomes more of a reflection of a GOP dream world where the public is fed government-approved programming.
“Not since Richard Nixon have we seen a White House so intimately involved in the business dealings of CPB,” stated Chester, who called for disclosure of the White House role in Harrison’s appointment.