LoyaltyisaCurse

By DAVID BAUDER, AP Television Writer
Wed Nov 30, 5:30 PM ET

NEW YORK - After being caught in a storm over political influence at PBS, a weekly talk show featuring members of the Wall Street Journal editorial staff is shifting to Fox News Channel.

It was the "Journal Editorial Report" that was cited last month by an internal investigator at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting when he accused the CPB's former chairman, Kenneth Tomlinson, of meddling in PBS programming to promote a conservative agenda.

The last PBS edition of the conservative-leaning talk show anchored by Journal editorial page editor Paul Gigot will air on Friday. A new season will start on Fox News Channel on Saturdays in January.

Fox News approached Journal executives about making the move several months ago, before release of the report by CPB inspector general Kenneth Konz that accused Tomlinson of violating ethical standards by dealing directly with Journal staffers. The CPB helps fund PBS but is not supposed to be involved in programming decisions.

Bill Shine, Fox senior vice president of programming, said Fox was drawn to the show because it is an interesting, well-produced show likely to draw an affluent audience — always a plus for television advertisers.

When the show became a subject of a political battle over PBS, he said he figured some people would suggest Fox, with a Republican-dominated audience, was welcoming the "Journal Editorial Report" to make a point.

"I've been dealing with issues like that for nine years, and after four or five years it rolls off your back," Shine said.

Gigot said that Fox chief Roger Ailes and his team "have proven they can attract viewers with serious news programming and commentary. I look forward to working with them to make the `Journal Editorial Report' part of their successful lineup."

The Journal, in an editorial that ran last month after it announced it would no longer work with PBS on the show, said the "Journal Editorial Report" had been blackballed by some of the largest PBS stations.

PBS stations in eight of the top 30 markets didn't run the show at all, and four ran it in the middle of the night, the Journal said. On PBS, local stations determine their own schedules, not the network as a whole.

"Suffice it to say we know how Mr. Tomlinson must feel as he reads the stories about his profound influence over PBS," the Journal said. "The reality is just the opposite."

Stephanie Aaronson, spokeswoman for PBS, wished the "Journal Editorial Report" well. "It was a privilege working with them," she said.

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