"Kathleen worked diligently in a position that requires balancing the needs of national and local public broadcasting organizations, as well as answering to Congress and CPB's Presidentially appointed board," Mitchell said. "She recognized the need for CPB to remain a strong heat shield to protect public media from political pressure."
Jeff Chester, executive director of advocacy group Center for Digital Democracy, told The TV Column, "It's not a coincidence they bring in Ken Ferree and Cox's head rolls."
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He added, "The fact is she was basically an apolitical bureaucrat in an incredibly polarized agency."
Common Cause President Chellie Pingree said in a statement that naming Ferree even interim president "raises some serious concerns" because, Pingree said, "as Michael Powell's chief of the FCC's media bureau, Mr. Ferree seemed to be dismissive of the public interest obligations of broadcasters." The CPB said "staff changes are being played out in what appears to be an increasingly politically charged environment for public broadcasting, roiled by recent Administration and congressional criticisms of certain of its programming decisions."
During our 5 p.m.-ish conversation with the nice CPB spokeswoman, we asked why CPB would sign Cox to a one-year contract if she had been groomed for the job for four years and had worked at CPB for eight. "I'm not privileged to those kinds personnel decisions; I do not have access to that information," she replied.
We asked to speak to Cox. "I'm not aware she is taking press calls," she responded.
Asked why CPB put this news release out at 5 o'clock on a Friday, she replied, "It was the first opportunity we had to get it out the door."
We called back that nice spokeswoman to see if anyone from CPB had anything more to say. She'd apparently left to get a start on her weekend because we hadn't heard from her by 8:30 p.m.
