If you're in the Washington, D.C. area tomorrow -- join MediaMatters

[Eloriel]

From my inbox this afternoon:


Corporation for Public Broadcasting to hold board meeting tomorrow (Tuesday, June 21) in Washington, D.C. -- attend if you can and tell the board not to appoint a longtime Republican activist as president of CPB

After The Washington Post reported on June 9 that former Republican National Committee co-chairwoman Patricia de Stacy Harrison is the "leading candidate" to be the next president of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), increased public attention has focused on CPB chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson's campaign to turn public broadcasting into a right-wing media outlet.

Last week, David Brock, president and CEO of Media Matters for America, wrote an open letter to the CPB board of directors regarding its selection of the corporation's next president. In addition, 21 members of the House of Representatives and three U.S. senators signed letters opposing Harrison's appointment. You can read these letters on the website of the Hands Off Public Broadcasting campaign, an effort by Media Matters to ensure that public broadcasting remains independent and free from political pressure.

If you live in the Washington, D.C., metro area, we would also like to invite you to join staff from Media Matters in attending the CPB board of directors meeting on Tuesday, June 21, from 3:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. in the Blair-Killian board room at the CPB headquarters, located in downtown Washington at 401 9th Street, NW. See the meeting announcement and get directions to the CPB building on the CPB website.

If you haven't done so already, please urge the board of directors to find another candidate to lead the CPB -- one with more experience in public broadcasting than in partisan politics and government propaganda.

Key Points:

* Harrison has an impressive resume as a Republican activist, but she lacks any experience in public broadcasting or independent journalism.

* In fact, as acting under secretary of state for public diplomacy and public affairs, a political appointment she assumed in 2004, Harrison has overseen the Bureau of Public Affairs and the bureau's Office of Broadcasting Services, which produced radio and TV content specifically designed to promote and defend Bush administration policy.

* By appointing a Republican activist to manage the CPB, the corporation's board of directors would be signaling to the American public that our nation's public broadcasting system is subject to political manipulation.

Take Action!

Visit http://www.cpb.org/talktous/ (opens in a new window). Select "A public broadcasting issue" and then "A suggestion" or "Other." Use some of the key points above or send your own message.

If you receive a response from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, let us know by forwarding the response to [e-mail]. Be sure to indicate whether we have your permission to use the response with your personal information deleted for our continuing campaign.

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