Art Levine, in The American Prospect, comes in second behind Franklin Foer, but still lands some good blows on Ken Tomlinson's performance with the Broadcasting Board of Governors. He focuses on the Voice of America (also see Sanford Unger's devastating piece in Foreign Affairs on the VOA; Unger made mincemeat of Tomlinson's letter of complaint by offering a dozen examples when Tomlinson demanded one). Here's Levine:
What’s happened at the VOA -- which the longtime Karl Rove ally Tomlinson oversees as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG) -- has done considerable damage to the value and credibility of international broadcasting. According to interviews with current and former VOA staffers and e-mails obtained by The American Prospect, under Tomlinson’s watch, VOA administrators have pressed the agency’s journalists to report pro–White House spin and too often directed them to downplay hard-hitting news in favor of puffery.
...critics say he’s encouraging politicization with the approval of a board that was meant to prevent such meddling. “What was supposed to be a firewall to protect broadcasters,” says Ungar, “has become a vehicle for political interference.”
...
Tomlinson and Jackson deny conferring about specific stories or taking orders from White House officials, although there is no doubt that Jackson is following the board’s wishes. His approach to coverage of the Iraq War has been particularly controversial within the agency, where he stands accused of cutting real war coverage to push good-news gush.
Levine kind of wasted an aardvark's precious time, but what the heck... it happens. Good to see the BBG - from VOA to al-Hurra - finally getting the critical attention it deserves. I will point out, however, Levine's fairly transparent partisan dodge: by mainly addressing the VOA, Levine avoided the awkwardness of criticizing al-Hurra, with its Democratic backer (Norm Pattiz) and its Democratic patron (Joe Biden).
Comments