More PBS conflict woes as activists move to eject David Koch from board of “NOVA” station [View all]

[ErikJ]

Last edited Mon Mar 3, 2014, 07:57 PM - Edit history (1)

David Sirota 3/3/14

Last month, Pando’s “Wolf of Sesame Street” investigation broke the news that one of PBS’s flagship outlets had inked a secret deal with anti-pension billionaire John Arnold. That deal, which was not explicitly disclosed to viewers, was designed to broadcast anti-pension programming on public television stations throughout the country. ............


The campaign’s target is David Koch, who serves on the board and the Science Visiting Council of Boston’s WGBH. These are particularly powerful posts for the conservative financier — one of the infamous Koch brothers — because, like the Arnold-infiltrated WNET in New York, the Boston station produces many of the national PBS network’s programming. In fact, according to its own website, WGBH is “PBS’s single largest producer of Web and TV content.” That includes PBS’s iconic science show, NOVA.

Pando has learned that along with online ads and a new website, Forecast the Facts’ campaign plans to unveil a prominent billboard right outside of WGBH’s offices, demanding Koch’s removal. The new ad campaign is being launched following protests outside the WGBH offices and a petition signed by tens of thousands of viewers that calls for Koch to be ousted.

Koch’s role at WGBH may conflict with PBS’s own rules prohibiting editorial control and funding from donors who have a political or financial interest in the PBS they oversee. In this case, Koch is on the board of the station that produces PBS science content. He has also funded some of that content. Yet, he owns a fossil fuel conglomerate and has bankrolled the fossil fuel industry’s campaign to deny climate change.

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http://pando.com/2014/03/03/more-pbs-conflict-woes-as-activists-move-to-eject-david-koch-from-board-of-nova-station/