CPB and CBC go CRaaaZy !

First up is this story in The New York Times covering the replacement of The Corporation for Public Broadcasting chief executive, Kathleen A. Cox, who had been in the post less than a year, with Kenneth Ferree, a former senior official at the Federal Communications Commission. Or, in other words, a former Bush administration official! (cue spooky music here). Well, we’ll have none of that! http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/12/business/media/12pbs.html?adxnnl=1&adxnnlx=1113354344-U+eFCsAx/NWOry8CHcugcw

Chellie Pingree, president of Common Cause, said on Monday that during Mr. Ferree's time at the F.C.C., he "seemed to be dismissive of the public interest obligations of broadcasters."

"These staff changes are being played out," Ms. Pingree said in a statement, "in what appears to be an increasingly politically charged environment for public broadcasting, roiled by recent administration and Congressional criticisms of certain of its programming decisions."

She said Mr. Ferree "seems an unlikely choice to steer C.P.B. in a way that would protect public broadcasting's editorial independence and that would ensure that no political or partisan interference mars its deeply important mission of providing substantive news and information to the American public."

Political and partisan interference has long corrupted editorial independence at CPB and marred is so-called mission of providing substantive news. Sorry, Ms. Pingree, your racket may be up. Read the article; Mr. Ferree gives it right back to ‘em…

Now, let’s go north of the border, and see more government funded reporting in action. Via Instapundit http://instapundit.com/archives/022398.php , Angry in the Great White North http://angrygwn.blogspot.com/ prints the response he got from a CBC reporter when he (politely) complained of the bias of a series of reports:

I've got a way for you not to pay for the CBC. Leave Canada.

How DARE we question the wisdom of our Public Television Masters ! Take it the way we dish it out, or leave the country!

Why do I have the feeling that the gent from the CBC speaks for all the folks at CPB as well?