PBS PROMOTES HCI

"...CPB's president... acknowledged that up to 30 of the 75 largest public television stations traded lists of donors with the Democratic National Committee..."

CPB Pres. Robert Coonrod

      Conservatives have complained for years that the Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB), funded by U.S. taxpayers, promotes liberal politics through its programming. Certainly, the CPB has promoted the anti-gun agenda through biased news reports.

      The CPB distributes federal funding to 353 public TV stations through the Public Broadcasting Service (PBS), and 694 public radio stations through National Public Radio (NPR). But this week, during an emergency hearing of the House Commerce Committee's Telecommunications, Trade and Consumer Protection Subcommittee, the CPB's president, Robert Coonrod, acknowledged that up to 30 of the 75 largest public television stations traded lists of donors with the Democratic National Committee (DNC). He also claimed that stations exchanged lists with seven little-known Republican groups, although lifelong Republican and U.S. Representative Barbara Cubin (Wyo.) stated she had never heard of any of them.

      Even more troubling to gun owners, however, is the revelation that lobbying groups like Handgun Control, Inc. (HCI), are also involved with this list sharing. Coonrod stated that there would be no punishment for past incidents of what he now admits is wrong, but claimed "is not illegal."

W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-LA)

      Subcommittee Chairman W.J. "Billy" Tauzin (R-La.), a supporter of public broadcasting, commented that the list-swapping practice "threatens the integrity of public broadcasting" and "further deepens suspicions that many people have had about public broadcasting." Some lawmakers have demanded that federal funding for CPB will be cut if it does not put an end to sharing lists with groups like the DNC, but there does not appear to be a groundswell of opposition to sharing lists with groups that clearly promote a specific political agenda.

      Please contact your U.S. Representative and urge him to ensure that the practice of sharing of donor lists between public television stations and groups with political agendas, like HCI, is ended. You can reach your U.S. Representative by calling (202)225-3121.

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