CAMERA Gets Candid on CPB Web Site
CAMERA refutes the contention by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s ombudsman, seconded by a former National Public Radio staffer now reviewing the network’s Arab-Israeli coverage, that the committee is not really interested in upholding journalistic standards. CAMERA’s reply to Ombudsman Joel Kaplan’s Web posting, headlined “Candid CAMERA,” can be found here on the CPB Web site, www.cpb.org.
Last October, CAMERA wrote to CPB Chair Bruce Ramer and his colleagues on the corporation board. It pointed out that their decisions to consolidate the ombudsman’s office and hire Kaplan, associate dean of the graduate program at Newhouse School of Communications Syracuse University, did not satisfy the CPB Inspector-General’s 2005 recommendation to conduct regular reviews of national programming. The reviews are necessary to ensure that CPB-funded shows on NPR and television’s Public Broadcasting Service meet the statutory requirement of “strict adherence to objectivity and balance in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.”
Ramer referred CAMERA’s letter, which had been copied to interested members of Congress, to Kaplan. The ombudsman courteously posted CAMERA’s reply.
It must be noted that CPB, which receives approximately $450 million annually from Congress, much of which eventually ends up supporting NPR and PBS, has a) never found a single program segment or program to have violated the objectivity and balance standards in nearly 45 years of public broadcasting — a statistical, not to mention journalistic impossibility and b) despite the ombudsman’s function as an address for complaints and as an independent advisor, still has no mechanism to conduct regular objectivity and balance reviews of national programming.
More from SNAPSHOTS
CNN’s Ben Wedeman Falsely Reports No Soldiers Injured in Gaza Border Violence
June 17, 2018
In a June 7 broadcast and online here, Ben Wedeman incorrectly reported that in the course of the ongoing "March of Return" violence at the Gaza border, "No Israeli soldiers were killed or injured during [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Hezbollah Helps Hamas Build Terror Camps, Israel Calls for U.N. Help
June 12, 2018
Well equipped Hamas operatives Hezbollah, the Lebanese-based, Iranian-backed terrorist group is helping Hamas build rocket factories and terror training camps in southern Lebanon, according to a Jerusalem Post report. Hezbollah’s assistance violates several United Nations [...]
Where’s the Coverage? Israel Foils Assassination Plot Targeting Netanyahu and Others
June 6, 2018
Israeli authorities uncovered and thwarted a terrorist cell that planned to murder top governmental officials, including the country’s prime minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, and the mayor of Jerusalem, Nir Barkat. However, many major U.S. news outlets [...]
U.S. Official: Iran’s Support for Hezbollah Greater Than Previously Thought
June 6, 2018
Hezbollah head Hassan Nasrallah The Islamic Republic of Iran’s support for Hezbollah might be greater than previously thought. Tehran gives the Lebanese-based terrorist group $700 million a year, according to recent remarks by the U.S. [...]
Where’s the Coverage? 14 Members of Congress Call to Halt PA Aid
June 1, 2018
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo In a widely underreported move, fourteen members of the United States Congress called upon the U.S. State Department to “immediately suspend all aid payments to the Palestinian Authority.” The [...]
Why Does a NY Times Journalist Want to Suppress an Anti-Hamas Article?
May 29, 2018
A New York Times journalist thinks the Wall Street Journal shouldn't have published an opinion piece criticizing Hamas's anti-Israel propaganda campaign. The reporter, Declan Walsh, is one of the Times reporters who has covered the [...]