The Report Behind Kenneth Tomlinson's Jump

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The Corporation for Public Broadcasting's (CPB) Inspector-General, Kenneth A. Konz, found former CPB Chairman Kenneth Tomlinson "violated statutory provisions and the Director’s Code of Ethics" in negotiations over the creation of a program hosted by Paul Gigot, the conservative editor of the Wall Street Journal opinion page. Konz also found that Tomlinson hired Fred Mann, a 20 year veteran of the conservative National Journalism Center, to assess "NOW with Bill Moyers" and other programs, "without informing the Board or without Board authorization" and that his hiring of ML Strategies and the Alexander Strategy Group to advise on lobbying strategy on a budget bill "was not handled in accordance with CPB’s contracting procedures." Tomlinson resigned before the report was publicly released. In a fiery response, included as an appendix to the report, Tomlinson complained the findings would "only help to maintain the status quo and other reformers will be discouraged from seeking change."