Tomlinson bows out of political role

Ousted CPB chair won't continue at BBG

By WILLIAM TRIPLETT

Tomlinson

WASHINGTON -- Kenneth Y. Tomlinson, who was ousted as chairman of the Corp. for Public Broadcasting amid charges of political meddling, has asked that the White House not re-nominate him to continue as head of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the agency that oversees the government's international radio and television broadcasts.

The embattled Tomlinson, a staunch conservative who was the recent focus of a critical internal investigation, told Daily Variety that the best way for him to fight all the charges against him is to write about them.

"I asked myself, How should I spend my time? Fighting to preserve my name in the Senate, or do a book about how all this came into play?" he said.

Last year, an inspector general's report by the State Dept. -- BBG's parent agency -- criticized Tomlinson for inappropriately putting a friend on the BBG payroll and for using BBG time and resources to conduct his private horse racing business and to bet on horses. His sharpest critics continue to label him a partisan who wants to skew pubcasting to the right.

While Tomlinson resigned his post at CPB, he has maintained his chairmanship of BBG despite the inspector general's criticisms. He said, "I've spent far more time on my own farm using my own telephone for BBG business than I ever did using BBG (resources) for horses." He insisted that he never "bet as much as one penny" while at BBG on any race.

He maintained that he did not direct anyone at Voice of America -- a BBG entity -- to hire Les Daniels, a man he once worked with at VOA in the 1980s and came to know personally. "I did not negotiate his contract," which, he said, "was handled just like every other contract."

During the CPB controversy, Tomlinson claimed he was only trying to correct for a leftward tilt in pubcasting.

"But it's very hard to combat these charges," he said, adding that confirmation hearings always prompt "articles about what I'm said to have done."

He is writing a book about his experiences. He has an outline ready and is seeking an agent.

So far, his critics remain unmoved. "Ken Tomlinson got the message that the new Democratic Senate would give him the boot, so he wisely decided to leave the BBG," said Jeff Chester of the watchdog group Center for Digital Democracy. "But Congress should still investigate Tomlinson's handling of the BBG and institute reforms."