CPB Liberal Bias Study Flawed, Critics Say
Consultant's Report Under Investigation

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 1, 2005; Page C01

A consultant who monitored news and talk programs on public radio and TV found
that liberal and anti-administration views were widespread, but critics said
the consultant's work was itself biased and riddled with errors.

The consultant, Frederick W. Mann, was secretly hired last year by Kenneth Y.
Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the agency that
disburses about $400 million in federal tax funds to public broadcasters. In
recent months, Tomlinson has criticized National Public Radio and the Public
Broadcasting Service for an allegedly liberal bias and has pushed PBS to add
programs with a more conservative tone.



-- he Washington Post)


CPB hasn't released Mann's $14,000 study, which is the subject of an
investigation by the CPB's inspector general as a possible abuse of taxpayer
funds. It's still not clear what the purpose of the study was, although its
conclusions comport with Tomlinson's view that liberal comments and ideas
dominate news shows on public broadcasting.

Tomlinson, who was unavailable for comment yesterday, has never mentioned
Mann's work in any of his public statements about public broadcasting. Mann,
who reportedly lives in Indiana, remains something of a mystery; efforts by
news organizations to reach him have been unsuccessful for weeks.

Mann's work was released yesterday by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who had
requested a copy from the CPB. It details the views of guests on four public
radio and TV programs -- "Now With Bill Moyers" and "Tucker Carlson:
Unfiltered" on PBS, "The Diane Rehm Show" and "The Tavis Smiley Show" on NPR --
that aired between October 2003 and June last year.

The report labels guests on these programs "liberal," "conservative" or
"neutral," or categorizes them by such descriptions as "pro-Bush," "anti-Bush,"
"support administration," "oppose administration." It found "Now" (hosted by
Moyers and in part by David Brancaccio) to be rife with liberal views; of 136
segments reviewed, it said 92 "clearly opposed" administration policy, while
the balance were "neutral" or "not about policy." It also found that when
"conservatives/Republicans" were guests, they "mostly opposed" the
administration. Tomlinson has often cited the Moyers show in his public critiques.

Of 46 guests on Rehm's program, "liberal" viewpoints outnumbered "conservative"
viewpoints by 22 to 5, according to Mann.

But Mann never explains his labeling criteria or indicates in any detail which
specific comment or comments earned a guest a particular characterization.

Dorgan pointed out that "red-blooded" conservatives such as Sen. Chuck Hagel
(R-Neb.) and former congressman Bob Barr (R-Ga.) were classified as "liberal"
and "anti-administration" apparently for briefly expressing views that differed
from administration policy. Dorgan called the report "kind of a nutty project"
and an "amateurish attempt to prove a liberal bias," noting Mann had apparently
faxed his findings to Tomlinson from Mary Ann's Hallmark, a card store in
Indianapolis.

People in public broadcasting and some of those mentioned in the report
expressed both indignation and confusion yesterday.

Rehm called Mann's findings "unprofessional and simplistic." She added, "I've
been booking shows for 25 years. I don't think they have any idea what it takes
to achieve the professionalism and expertise and the right people to express a
variety of points of view. . . . What he's doing, I think, is trying to scare
public broadcasters" into presenting a more one-sided and favorable view of the
administration.

Tomlinson himself was a guest on Rehm's program on May 18. During that
appearance, he said, "I'm a longtime admirer of you and this program."

Kevin Klose, president of NPR, said he found the report "impulsive" and
asserted there was no evidence of systematic bias on NPR's news programming.
"If there are questions and concerns about what we do, the first place to start
is with a thoughtful, respectful and substantive discussion with [us]," Klose
said. "We have yet to have that conversation."

Mann labeled as "liberals" three Washington Post reporters -- Dana Priest,
Robin Wright and Walter Pincus -- who had appeared at various times on Rehm's
show to discuss their news articles. Each said yesterday that he or she had
reported aggressively on several administrations, both Democratic and
Republican, and did not play favorites. "I stand on more than 30 years of
reporting on U.S. foreign policy, in which I have traveled to 140 countries,"
said Wright. "I have criticized both Republicans and Democrats equally."

Said Priest, "My mission as a journalist is to hold this administration, like
the Clinton administration, accountable for what it says it's doing, and I
don't think that has a label."

Pincus likened the CPB report to the Nixon administration's efforts to pressure
newspaper columnists. "I don' t think it's about labeling a political
philosophy," he said. "What they were really doing is determining, 'Are you
with us or are you against us?' "

The CPB issued a statement yesterday saying it could not comment on Mann's
study while it is being investigated.

"Sen. Chuck Hagel
(R-Neb.) and former congressman Bob Barr (R-Ga.) were classified as
"liberal""

I guess that meant they were for liberty instead of government control of
our daily lives. Somehow I always thought Bob Barr was a staunch
conservative. I guess these terms get used as the speaker sees fit at the
moment.
Dave

"SWLer" wrote in message
...
CPB Liberal Bias Study Flawed, Critics Say
Consultant's Report Under Investigation

By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 1, 2005; Page C01

A consultant who monitored news and talk programs on public radio and TV
found
that liberal and anti-administration views were widespread, but critics
said
the consultant's work was itself biased and riddled with errors.

The consultant, Frederick W. Mann, was secretly hired last year by Kenneth
Y.
Tomlinson, chairman of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, the agency
that
disburses about $400 million in federal tax funds to public broadcasters.
In
recent months, Tomlinson has criticized National Public Radio and the
Public
Broadcasting Service for an allegedly liberal bias and has pushed PBS to
add
programs with a more conservative tone.



-- he Washington Post)


CPB hasn't released Mann's $14,000 study, which is the subject of an
investigation by the CPB's inspector general as a possible abuse of
taxpayer
funds. It's still not clear what the purpose of the study was, although
its
conclusions comport with Tomlinson's view that liberal comments and ideas
dominate news shows on public broadcasting.

Tomlinson, who was unavailable for comment yesterday, has never mentioned
Mann's work in any of his public statements about public broadcasting.
Mann,
who reportedly lives in Indiana, remains something of a mystery; efforts
by
news organizations to reach him have been unsuccessful for weeks.

Mann's work was released yesterday by Sen. Byron Dorgan (D-N.D.), who had
requested a copy from the CPB. It details the views of guests on four
public
radio and TV programs -- "Now With Bill Moyers" and "Tucker Carlson:
Unfiltered" on PBS, "The Diane Rehm Show" and "The Tavis Smiley Show" on
NPR --
that aired between October 2003 and June last year.

The report labels guests on these programs "liberal," "conservative" or
"neutral," or categorizes them by such descriptions as "pro-Bush,"
"anti-Bush,"
"support administration," "oppose administration." It found "Now" (hosted
by
Moyers and in part by David Brancaccio) to be rife with liberal views; of
136
segments reviewed, it said 92 "clearly opposed" administration policy,
while
the balance were "neutral" or "not about policy." It also found that when
"conservatives/Republicans" were guests, they "mostly opposed" the
administration. Tomlinson has often cited the Moyers show in his public
critiques.

Of 46 guests on Rehm's program, "liberal" viewpoints outnumbered
"conservative"
viewpoints by 22 to 5, according to Mann.

But Mann never explains his labeling criteria or indicates in any detail
which
specific comment or comments earned a guest a particular characterization.

Dorgan pointed out that "red-blooded" conservatives such as Sen. Chuck
Hagel
(R-Neb.) and former congressman Bob Barr (R-Ga.) were classified as
"liberal"
and "anti-administration" apparently for briefly expressing views that
differed
from administration policy. Dorgan called the report "kind of a nutty
project"
and an "amateurish attempt to prove a liberal bias," noting Mann had
apparently
faxed his findings to Tomlinson from Mary Ann's Hallmark, a card store in
Indianapolis.

People in public broadcasting and some of those mentioned in the report
expressed both indignation and confusion yesterday.

Rehm called Mann's findings "unprofessional and simplistic." She added,
"I've
been booking shows for 25 years. I don't think they have any idea what it
takes
to achieve the professionalism and expertise and the right people to
express a
variety of points of view. . . . What he's doing, I think, is trying to
scare
public broadcasters" into presenting a more one-sided and favorable view
of the
administration.

Tomlinson himself was a guest on Rehm's program on May 18. During that
appearance, he said, "I'm a longtime admirer of you and this program."

Kevin Klose, president of NPR, said he found the report "impulsive" and
asserted there was no evidence of systematic bias on NPR's news
programming.
"If there are questions and concerns about what we do, the first place to
start
is with a thoughtful, respectful and substantive discussion with [us],"
Klose
said. "We have yet to have that conversation."

Mann labeled as "liberals" three Washington Post reporters -- Dana Priest,
Robin Wright and Walter Pincus -- who had appeared at various times on
Rehm's
show to discuss their news articles. Each said yesterday that he or she
had
reported aggressively on several administrations, both Democratic and
Republican, and did not play favorites. "I stand on more than 30 years of
reporting on U.S. foreign policy, in which I have traveled to 140
countries,"
said Wright. "I have criticized both Republicans and Democrats equally."

Said Priest, "My mission as a journalist is to hold this administration,
like
the Clinton administration, accountable for what it says it's doing, and I
don't think that has a label."

Pincus likened the CPB report to the Nixon administration's efforts to
pressure
newspaper columnists. "I don' t think it's about labeling a political
philosophy," he said. "What they were really doing is determining, 'Are
you
with us or are you against us?' "

The CPB issued a statement yesterday saying it could not comment on Mann's
study while it is being investigated.