• by Wayne Friedman , Staff Writer, May 2, 2005

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB) intent is to insure "objectivity and balance" for the PBS programming it funds -- and that's just the problem.

A New York Times story reveals that Kenneth Tomlinson, the chairman of the CPB, the private non-profit company financed by Congress, alleges that PBS, to which it gives tons of money, has a liberal bias. Tomlinson has gone so far as to hire an outside consultant to monitor and count the number and the political leanings of PBS news show, "Now With Bill Moyers."

The answer is that PBS gives producers freedom of opinion - just the way Fox News does for is producers, who seemingly have a conservative bias.

Yes, PBS and the CPB are funded by taxpayers -- that is why Tomlinson's efforts are to make sure "a program schedule that's not skewed in one direction or another" is aired.

Well, that is just not possible. Someone runs a network and has a vision -- that isn't always down the perfect middle. TV executives have opinions.

Pat Mitchell, outgoing president and chief executive of PBS, supported Tomlinson's pet project, "The Journal Editorial Report," which is hosted by Wall Street Journal columnist Paul Gigot and loaded with conservative-minded opinion makers.

PBS, it seems, was created for all opinions. But it wasn't created to air an exact equal number of opinions - and that, it seems, is the direction that Tomlinson wants to go. No business, no television network can work under that microscope and be effective.

All this means that maybe the government shouldn't be in the broadcasting business if these perfect rules of programming engagement are to be in effect, which seems to be the Bush Administration's real intent.

If the Bush Administration wants to let the market forces determine the fate of what U.S. television viewers see, then it probably should go all the way - and stop any efforts to scrutinized indecency issues on U.S. television.

Control all opinions - or don't do it at all.

That's the American way.