Republican Media Coup

Rory O’Connor: Altnet News

Maurice Hinchey is one of the few Democrats in office who really seems to get the true scope of the ongoing Republican assault on public media. "There's no question that there has been a creeping conservative coup at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting," says Hinchey, who was elected to the House of Representatives in 1992 after serving 18 years in the New York State Assembly. "The insidious, aggressive assault by right-wing radicals aimed at taking over pubic broadcasting is doing terrible damage." After years of quiescence, of late even senior officials of PBS and the FCC have begun to protest publicly, decrying the ongoing power grab in such mainstream mouthpieces as The Washington Post and The New York Times. But given the scale of the attacks, and their blatantly partisan nature, just complaining about the situation -- even on Page One of The New York Times -- won't accomplish much. That's why Hinchey's newest effort -- the "Future of American Media Caucus" -- is so welcome and necessary.

full