Kenneth Tomlinson, the controversial chief of public broadcasting, is stepping down as chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which oversees U.S.-backed international broadcasting. Tomlinson penned a letter to the president asking that he not be renominated for the post.
Tomlinson previously headed up the Corp. for Public Broadcasting, where he became the subject of an Inspector General's report for hiring a buddy to track what he considered to be liberal biases on PBS programming. He also caught flack for running his race horse business from his CPB office and double-billing CPB and BBG for simultaneous hours worked. He resigned from the CPB board in November 2005.
Tomlinson has maintained that the criticisms leveled at him were politically driven. He told the president he intends to write a book about his experience.
Rep. Ed Markey (D-Mass.), incoming chairman of the House telecom subcommittee, issued a parting shot.
"The resignation of Mr. Tomlinson from the Broadcasting Board of Governors is welcome news for those who want to improve the image and reputation of the United States and convey positive images and messages about our nation to the world in a manner that is bipartisan and de-politicized," Markey said. "I urge the Bush Administration to seize upon this opportunity to nominate a new chairman for the Broadcasting Board of Governors who will better reflect the board's long history of bipartisanship in fulfilling its important mission."
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