AMY GOODMAN: We’re joined now by Timothy Karr, campaign director of Free Press, a media reform organization. Runs a blog called MediaCitizen.org. Welcome to Democracy Now!

TIMOTHY KARR: Thank you, Amy.

AMY GOODMAN: Well, can you talk about the significance of this appointment, of her involvement in these VNRs, video news releases, and the Republican Party?

TIMOTHY KARR: Sure, certainly. Patricia Harrison was supposedly brought on after an exhaustive research or education and recruitment process, but in fact we know that she has a long history with Kenneth Tomlinson, who is the current chair of the Corporation of Public Broadcasting. And in her former role as the Assistant Secretary for Education and Cultural Affairs at the State Department, she produced what are called video news releases. These were meant to spread good news about the war, as you said, and they were used to educate Arab and Muslim journalists on how to present the war. This is just another form of propaganda. And she is joined now by Kenneth Tomlinson, who himself served as a director — continues to serve as the director of the Broadcasting Board of Governors. This is the body that oversees such government mouthpieces as Voice of America, Radio Free Europe. So, what we are seeing here is a fairly well-orchestrated campaign to turn non-commercial media, Public Broadcasting, into yet another mouthpiece of the official White House view.

AMY GOODMAN: Into state media?

TIMOTHY KARR: Into state media. And they’re using the rhetoric of objectivity and balance. This is something we have heard from their counterparts over at Fox News channel. Objectivity and balance and fairness and balance are really just more a provocation. They’re meant as a provocation more than actual statement of fact. What they’re trying to do is use this to cloak efforts to create a more government-friendly news business. They have been very successful in co-opting commercial news, you see, in co-opting, embedding commercial reporters. Now they’re marching on the non-commercial media system. So, we have been very effective in fighting this thus far. But there was a victory yesterday on the Hill, but we, of course, lost some ground in C.P.B. So, we’re —

AMY GOODMAN: Would it be too cynical to say that the Republicans decided to restore the funding cuts now that the person in charge of the C.P.B. that will get the money is the former co-chair of the Republican Party?

TIMOTHY KARR: The Republicans decided to restore the funding cuts. Remember, 40% of House Republicans voted to restore them yesterday, because their phones were ringing off the hook. Organizations like Free Press, MoveOn, Common Cause and others have mobilized millions of Americans to speak out against these cuts. They — survey after survey tell you that Americans trust Public Broadcasting more than any other media. And it was very easy in many ways for us to go out to the public and say, "Save this last vestige of good journalism."

JUAN GONZALEZ: But would it be even more cynical to speculate that the move to cut the funding was actually to some degree an attempt to take the heat off the actual move to put Harrison in, and in essence, get the public concern about restoring funding more than Harrison getting into office?

TIMOTHY KARR: I think that there’s a real public education campaign that needs to — people need to understand. People need to understand that there’s a two-fisted campaign here. One is both to gag Public Broadcasting. The other is to starve it. And more and more Americans are coming out and fighting this. And you should go to Free Press to learn more about this.

AMY GOODMAN: Tim Karr of Free Press. Thank you very much for being with us.