This time I can’t be bought,
Then again on the other hand,
How much have you got?
- Todd Snider; "I Can't Complain."
How much media influence could you buy with $23,000,000?
ITVS - Independent Television Service - is a small arm of public television that funds and distributes independent films. It was founded twenty years ago with a mandate to "take creative risks, advance issues and represent points of view" not usually featured by commercial broadcasters.
But ITVS has apparently been too 'risky' for PBS. Last Fall they produced a documentary called "Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream." It focused on one high-end apartment building in New York City that is home to some of the wealthiest people in the world. Among them, David Koch, who, with his brother Charles, owns Koch Industries.
You may have seen the occasional PBS program and noticed the announcement about 'funding' coming from the David H. Koch Charitable Foundation. According to The New Yorker, David Koch has contributed at least $23-million to public broadcasting. Not only has he contributed millions, but he has served as a trustee of Boston's biggest public broadcaster, WGBH. And in 2006 he joined the board of New York's WNET.
So when the PBS show "Park Avenue" was about to be broadcast, and the people at WNET realized it was very critical of David Koch, they informed him in advance. Then they dumped the original introduction to the program and replaced it with an announcement labeling the film "controversial" and "provocative." And, they gave David Koch an opportunity to be part of a roundtable discussion to be broadcast immediately following the show.
Not long after that incident, two other documentary filmmakers had what they thought was a deal with ITVS to produce a film called "Citizen Koch." In fact, the film competed for Best Documentary at the Sundance Film Festival. But recently, ITVS informed the producers that they would not move forward with the deal. You won't see it on PBS. You can read all the disconcerting details of Jane Mayer's reporting in The New Yorker here.
Sure, there's freedom of the press. And, yes, you've probably heard more than one talk-show host talk about how he or she has 'never' been censored or even 'toned down' by their corporate owners. And, even if the commercial radio and TV stations might be slanted or biased, many of us have always believed public broadcasting was there to balance things out.
But now some of us may have to question how some public broadcasters can balance out anything if they're so financially dependent on a few wealthy individuals. And I can tell you, from first hand experience, that corporate media bosses can and do influence programming. I was on the receiving end of orders from a CEO to fire a highly-rated talk host who was "too liberal." I could also tell you about the conference call involving network talk show hosts and radio program directors who listened to a CEO give "suggestions" on how shows should be slanted prior to a presidential election.
Media consolidation has led to fewer owners controlling more venues. You may have seen reports Koch Industries may buy the Tribune Newspapers - The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, The Baltimore Sun, The Orlando Sentinel and The Hartford Courant.
Regardless of your political views, it's troubling to know that there are fewer and fewer independent, and local, media voices. It's why many of us are dedicated to public stations like KSER that feature voices like Amy Goodman and local coverage from people like Ed Bremer and Sondra Santos. And volunteer contributors like Jim Smith who produces Labor Radio Journal; Kinuko Noborikawa who produces Color Commentary; Mark Hale's "Sand in the Gears"; and commentary from Jim Hightower.
But for every station like KSER, that's supported mostly by listener contributions, there are dozens of bigger stations with stronger signals and more corporate support and resources. That's why we're always thankful when more and more individual listeners are willing to pledge financial support for truly independent voices.
Conversely, as one of the producers of "Citizen Koch" puts it: "It's the very thing our film is about - public servants bowing to pressures, direct or indirect, from high-dollar donors." Or, listen to one ITVS executive, sounding like a Homer Simpson d'oh moment, "We live in a world where we have to be aware that people with power have power."
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