Kenneth Tomlinson

Kenneth Tomlinson

Kenneth Y. Tomlinson (born August 3, 1944) is a former editor at Reader's Digest and American government official. He is the former chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, which manages Voice of America radio, and formerly Chairman of the Board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which manages funds appropriated by Congress in support of public television and radio. According to The New York Times, there was an inquiry concerning possible misuse of federal money by Tomlinson. Investigators at the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said on 15 November 2005 "that they had uncovered evidence that its former chairman had repeatedly broken federal law and the organization's own regulations in a campaign to combat what he saw as liberal bias." According to the New York Times, State Department investigators determined in 2006 that he had "used his office to run a 'horse racing operation'," that he "improperly put a friend on the payroll," that he "repeatedly used government employees to perform personal errands," and that he "billed the government for more days of work than the rules permit."

He is a former board member of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, and served as chairman from September 2003 to September 2005. During his time as chairman, he pursued aggressive policies of adding conservative viewpoint to programming supported by CPB funds. An internal investigation into his acts as chairman led to his resignation in November 2005.