- Kenneth Tomlinson
Kenneth Y. Tomlinson (born
August 3 ,1944 ) is an American government official. He is the former chairman of theBroadcasting Board of Governors , which managesVoice of America radio. According to "The New York Times ", there is an ongoing inquiry concerning possible criminal misuse of federal money by Tomlinson. [Stephen Labaton; Steven R. Weisman,New York Times , [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/politics/05broadcast.html "Spending Inquiry For Top Official On Broadcasting"] (subscription needed), November 5, 2005.] Investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said on15 November 2005 "that they had uncovered evidence that its former chairman had repeatedly broken federal law and the organization's own regulations in a campaign to combat what he saw as liberal bias." [Stephen Labaton,New York Times , [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/politics/16broadcast.html "Ex-Chairman of Public Broadcasting Violated Laws, Inquiry Suggests"] (subscription needed), November 16, 2005.] According to the "New York Times", State Department investigators determined in 2006 that he had "used his office to run a 'horse racing operation'," that he "improperly put a friend on the payroll," that he "repeatedly used government employees to perform personal errands," and that he "billed the government for more days of work than the rules permit." [Stephen Labaton,New York Times , [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30broadcast.html?ex=1314590400&en=194dd8e78d3d1467&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss "Broadcast Chief Misused Office, Inquiry Reports"] , August 30, 2006. Retrieved Nov. 17, 2006.]He is a former board member of the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting , and served as chairman from September 2003 to September 2005. During his time as chairman, he pursued aggressive policies of adding conservative viewpoint to CPB's programming. An internal investigation into his acts as chairman led to his resignation in November 2005.Biography
A native of
Grayson County, Virginia , Tomlinson began his career in journalism working as a reporter for theRichmond Times-Dispatch in1965 . In1968 he joined the Washington bureau of "Reader's Digest ".He was a correspondent in
Vietnam , and co-authored the book P.O.W., a history of Americanprisoners of war in theVietnam War . In 1977 and 1978, he worked out of the "Digest's"Paris bureau covering events inEurope ,Africa and theMiddle East .During that time, Tomlinson married Ann Sale of Ashland, VA, a school teacher, but the couple soon divorced. He later married Rebecca Moore Tomlinson, a former congressional aide to Bill Stuckey and Sonny Montgomery, in 1975. They live at Springbrook Farm in
Fauquier County ,Virginia and have two sons. William M. Tomlinson graduated fromVanderbilt University and is a sports producer atESPN . Lucas Y. Tomlinson was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy and graduate of theUnited States Naval Academy in Annapolis, MD.In September 1982, President Reagan nominated Tomlinson to be his fourth Director of the
Voice of America (VOA), where he served through August 1984.cite journal |author=Engelberg, Stephen |month=August 31, 1984 |year=1984 |title=New tenor, new tone at the Voice of America |journal=The New York Times |pages=p. A.14 |url=http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FB0712FA3B5C0C728FDDA10894DC484D81 |format=abstract] Some of the Reagan Administration's innovations for the Voice, such as the advent ofeditorial s extolling Administration policy, stirred opposition and fears that the broadcasts could be seen aspropaganda ."Someone complained that your editorials sound just like Ronald Reagan," Mr. Tomlinson said, "and I said you're darn right and I'm proud of it. The editorials should reflect the viewpoint of the party in power."
In October 1986, President Reagan nominated Tomlinson to be the fourth chairman of the
National Commission on Libraries and Information Science (NCLIS), where he served until May 1987.In May 1987, President Reagan nominated Tomlinson to be a member of the Board for International Broadcasting (BIB) where he served until 1994 when the BIB was dissolved by the International Broadcasting Act of 1994 and replaced by the
Broadcasting Board of Governors (BBG). Tomlinson became a close friend ofKarl Rove while they served together on the BIB after President Bush nominated Rove to be a member of the BIB in 1989.Following his work at VOA, Tomlinson returned to "Reader's Digest" as managing editor in 1984. He was named executive editor in
1985 and becameeditor-in-chief in1989 .Tomlinson was the
Virginia Press Association 's Virginian of the Year in1994 and is a member of the Virginia Communications Hall of Fame.Tomlinson retired as editor-in-chief of "Reader's Digest" in 1996 to pursue his lifelong interest in
thoroughbred breeding and racing.In 1999, Tomlinson was named president and director of the
National Sporting Library inMiddleburg .CPB Tenure
Tomlinson was appointed to the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting 'sboard of directors by PresidentBill Clinton and was confirmed in September 2000.Tomlinson was appointed as chairman of the CPB board by President George W. Bush, for a two-year term, in September 2003. He embarked upon a mission to purge CPB of what he perceived as "liberal bias. [ Paul Farhi,
Washingtonpost.com , [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/19/AR2005051901975.html "A Different Reception For Public Broadcasting"] , May 20, 2005 ] " His efforts sparked complaints of political pressure. His close friendship with Karl Rove [Stephen Labaton; Steven R. Weisman,New York Times , [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/politics/05broadcast.html "Spending Inquiry For Top Official On Broadcasting"] (subscription needed)] , is one of many concerns the public has had about his own bias and his intent with respect to CPB, and accusations that he was attempting to turn the balanced content to a right wing agenda similar to FOX television [News Hounds , [http://www.newshounds.us/2005/05/25/kenneth_tomlinson_wants_pbs_to_get_foxed.php "Kenneth Tomlinson wants PBS to get Fox-ed"] , May 25, 2005] .Tomlinson commissioned a $10,000 study into
Bill Moyers 'PBS program, " [http://www.pbs.org/now/ Now with Bill Moyers] " without informing the board of the investigation. [Stephen Labaton, Lorne Manly AND Elizabeth Jensen,New York Times , [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/05/02/arts/television/02public.html "CHAIRMAN EXERTS PRESSURE ON PBS, ALLEGING BIASES"] , May 2, 2005 (subscription required)] He also retained two Republicanlobbyist s to try to defeat a Congressional proposal that would have increased the representation of broadcasters on the board, again without informing the board of the contracts.The inspector general's report issued
15 November 2005 said that Mr. Tomlinson appears to have violated both the federal law and the corporation's own rules in raising $5 million to underwrite [http://www.pbs.org/wnet/journaleditorialreport The Journal Editorial Report] , a PBS program by the conservative editorial board of "The Wall Street Journal ". [Stephen Labaton,New York Times , [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/16/politics/16broadcast.html "Ex-Chairman of Public Broadcasting Violated Laws, Inquiry Suggests"] , November 16, 2005 (subscription required)]In April 2005, the contract of the former CPB president,
Kathleen Cox , was not renewed. She was replaced byKen Feree , a Republican and former adviser to chairman of theFederal Communications Commission , Michael Powell.Tomlinson resigned from the CPB board on
November 4 ,2005 after the board saw the report about his tenure by the Inspector General of the CPB, requested by House Democrats. The report described possible political influence on personnel decisions, including e-mail correspondence between Tomlinson and the White House which indicated that Tomlinson "was strongly motivated by political considerations in filling the president/CEO position."Tomlinson was replaced by
Cheryl Halpern , an activist Republican.Broadcasting Board of Governors Tenure
In July 2005, the
State Department opened an inquiry into Tomlinson's work at the Broadcasting Board of Governors, after RepresentativeHoward L. Berman , RepresentativeTom Lantos and SenatorChristopher Dodd forwarded accusations of misuse of money from an employee at the board."The New York Times" reported that the inquiry was pursuing accusations that Tomlinson had spent federal money for personal purposes and hired unqualified and ghost employees. It also reported that State Department investigators had seized records and
e-mail from the board, including correspondence between Tomlinson andKarl Rove , PresidentGeorge W. Bush 's chief advisor. Rove, an old friend of Tomlinson's, helped to secure Tomlinson's position as chairman.A summary of the year-long report [http://www.house.gov/berman/pdf/Tomlinson_OIG_summary.pdf report] , prepared by the inspector general of the
State Department was released by Mr Berman onAugust 29 2006 . It concludes that Tomlinson used his office at the Broadcasting Board of Governors to oversee a stable of thoroughbreds. Berman has asked that Tomlinson be removed from his position immediately in the light of the reports findings. [cite news | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30broadcast.html?hp&ex=1156996800&en=8590fa5730300061&ei=5094&partner=homepage | title = Broadcast Chief Misused Office, Inquiry Reports | publisher = The New York Times | date =2006-08-30 ]`In early September 2006, the BBG appointees voted on two resolutions related to the inspector general's report: whether to call for Tomlinson's resignation, and whether to sharply curtail his authority. Both resolutions failed in votes that split along the Governors' party lines. [cite news | url = http://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/14/washington/14broadcast.html?_r=1&oref=slogin | title = Head of Broadcasts Board Survives Efforts to Oust Him | publisher = The New York Times | date =
2006-09-14 ]Investigation of misuse of public funds
It has been reported on August 30, 2006 [
CNN , [http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/30/broadcast.probe.ap/ expired link] ] that he is being investigated for misuing State Department funds onVoice of America . It has also been reported [ [http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/30/washington/30broadcast.html?ex=1314590400&en=194dd8e78d3d1467&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss Broadcast Chief Misused Office, Inquiry Reports - New York Times ] ] that he ran his horse business from his government office.In September 2007, Congressman
Henry Waxman announced that he would be investigating the activities of former State Department Inspector GeneralHoward Krongard , including Krongard's alleged interference into an investigation of Tomlinson's activities. [http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-09-19-voa40.cfm]References
External links
* [http://wiki.uscpublicdiplomacy.com:16080/mediawiki/index.php/Kenneth_Tomlinson USC Center on Public Diplomacy Profile]
* [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/05/19/AR2005051901975.html A Different Reception for Public Broadcasting] , "Washington Post",May 20 2005
* [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=4724317 NPR transcript describing Tomlinson-supported monitoring]
* [http://www.cpb.org/pressroom/release.php?prn=500 CPB statement on Tomlinson's resignation]
* [http://www.broadcastingcable.com/CA6281019.html Former CPB Chairman Ken Tomlinson Resigns] , "Broadcasting & Cable",November 3 2005
* [http://www.newsmeat.com/media_political_donations/Kenneth_Tomlinson.php Kenneth Tomlinson's campaign contributions] at NewsMeat.com
* [http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Kenneth_Tomlinson Kenneth Tomlinson] at SourceWatch
* [http://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/05/politics/05broadcast.html?ex=1288846800&en=6d98e01888e9d247&ei=5090&partner=rssuserland&emc=rss Spending Inquiry for Top Official on Broadcasting] , "The New York Times",November 4 2005
* [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/media/602_cpb_ig_reportofreview.pdf Office Of Inspector General Report Of Review] ,15 November 2005 (Konz Report - public version)
Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.