To the Point

Public Broadcasting and Partisan Politics

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting is a private, nonprofit created in 1967 to dispense federal money to public TV and radio stations. Some people call it a "heat shield" designed to protect public broadcasters from political interference by Congress. Now, a Republican appointed by Democrat Bill Clinton to head the CPB says public broadcasting is too liberal. So, Kenneth Tomlinson hired consultants to review programs for political slant and pushed for shows with conservative hosts. Does public broadcasting need a push to the right to achieve fairness and balance? Will Tomlinson's efforts have a "chilling effect" on criticism of the Republican White House and Congress? We get perspective from media analysts, experts in television and radio journalism, and veteran officials from the CPB and NPR. Making News: Hit the Road Jack (Straw) The polls in Britain won't close until after this live broadcast is over, and the BBC says the results won't be complete until tomorrow. James Kirkup, political correspondent for The Scotsman, has predictions on today's Parliamentary election and how charges of corruption could deal a blow to the Tony Blair's Labour Party. Reporter's Notebook: Most Expensive Game of Rock, Paper, Scissors Ever Played When a Japanese electronics company wanted to auction off a Van Gogh, Picasso, Sisley and Cezanne, it couldn't decide between Christie's and Sotheby's, so it required the auction houses to engage in a game of chance played on schoolyards all over the world. We all know that rock breaks scissors, scissors cut paper and paper covers rock. Douglas Walker of the Rock Paper Scissors Society has more on what may be one of history's most expensive games.