'American Idol's' Song and Dance

A rep for New York's WNET, the show's "presenting" PBS station, told The TV Column that in the most recent quarter, 290 PBS stations ran the program, 21 in the top 30 markets, and it averaged about 481,000 households. In the same quarter, the PBS show "Now" was carried on 342 stations, the rep said.

A spokesman for Journal publisher Dow Jones, asked for a response to the WNET stats, said the company declined to comment and issued the following statement: "The Journal decided not to pursue a third season on PBS because the carriage on the network, especially the refusal of many of the top PBS TV stations to carry the program, didn't justify the effort.

"Fox approached us and we are delighted to have the opportunity to work with a network that offers the national exposure this program deserves.

"As we reported in our Nov. 17 editorial 'PBS and Us,' we told PBS on Nov. 1 that we had decided not to pursue a third season on PBS. This was two weeks before the Inspector General issued his report and before we had any idea what would be in the report."

In that report, Konz found that Tomlinson may have violated federal law by shepherding the conservative talk show onto PBS's schedule, among other transgressions. Tomlinson resigned from the CPB board as the organization privately reviewed those findings, The Post's Paul Farhi wrote in a Nov. 16 story.

Konz said he found no criminal violations, but his report documented a series of Tomlinson-led initiatives that were undertaken without the knowledge of CPB's board or that directly violated the agency's statute and procedures.

Among Konz's most damning findings was that Tomlinson made efforts to steer "Journal Editorial Report" onto PBS's schedule, Farhi wrote. Federal law bars CPB board members from involvement in PBS programming decisions.

Konz found Tomlinson was very involved in the development of the show he had touted as the ideological alternative to "Now," which had starred Bill Moyers. Konz also said Tomlinson helped get funding for the show -- a possible violation of his fiduciary responsibilities, Farhi wrote.

"Journal Editorial Report" will have its last airing on PBS tomorrow. It debuts on Fox News Channel next month. FNC did not say what time slot it will get, but look for it on Saturdays.