June 30, 2005

Sen. Chuck Hagel
248 Russell Senate Office Building
Washington, DC 20510

Dear Sen. Hagel:

Recent news reports indicate that Corporation for Public Broadcasting chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson commissioned a $14,000 study to determine if there was an ideological imbalance in the guest lists of various Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) programs. To support Tomlinson's contention that the guest lists tilt to the left, the study identified you as a “liberal.”

Would you describe a study that reaches such a conclusion as well conceived and executed, or fundamentally flawed? Do you think Tomlinson's study should have been funded with taxpayer money?

Sincerely,

David Brock
President & CEO
Media Matters for America