WETA's Political Name-Swapping
Exchange of Donor Lists With Democrats Angers GOP
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 16, 1999; Page C01
WETA, Washington's biggest public broadcaster, said yesterday that
it had exchanged donor lists with the Democratic National Committee,
a disclosure that comes amid a budding controversy over public
stations' fund-raising ties with the DNC.
Congressional Republicans already are angry at WGBH, the Boston
public TV station, which recently revealed that it exchanged
membership lists with the DNC on two occasions. Yesterday, a key
Republican predicted that public broadcasting's federal funding
would be cut as a result of the flap.
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), who heads the subcommittee overseeing
public broadcasting, said he would discuss rolling back a proposed
$300 million outlay for hundreds of public radio and TV stations to
an unspecified level. "I am frankly of a mind to support [reduced
funding] from what I've seen in Boston," he said.
Conservatives have attacked public broadcasting for years over TV
and radio programs deemed to have a liberal slant. Now, public
broadcasting's fund-raising methods are providing fresh ammunition
to the same critics.
Like many public stations, WETA sells lists of its donors, or
"members," to other organizations. It also trades these lists for
those kept by other organizations.
WETA spokeswoman Mary Stewart said the station has exchanged lists
with the Democratic National Committee, but she didn't know how many
names were involved or how frequently the exchanges took place.
While there haven't been any exchanges with the Republican National
Committee, she said the station has provided lists to conservative
organizations, including groups she identified as Great American
Republicans and the Patriotic Veterans Association.
Asked if viewers of WETA or listeners of WETA-FM were aware of the
list exchanges, she replied, "They may not. You can check a box on
some of our solicitations" to prevent your name from being given
out, "but not all of them" have such a feature.
Added Stewart: "Our policy has been the same for 20 years. We trade
lists with a variety of organizations, from all walks of life. We
trade with both liberal and conservative groups. . . . If this is
becoming a concern on Capitol Hill, we will reevaluate our policy."
Other major public TV stations say they prohibit list exchanges with
political organizations. But those policies appear to have been
violated. WGBH acknowledged exchanges with the DNC following reports
in May that a 4-year-old boy had received a fund-raising pitch from
the Democratic Party after his mother made a donation to the station
in the name of her son, a fan of public TV's "Barney & Friends."
Yesterday, WNET in New York said it had exchanged lists with both
Republican and Democratic organizations, which a spokeswoman, Stella
Giammasi, said she could not identify.
WNET's exchanges were made by an independent list broker "without
our knowledge," said Giammasi, who said the broker had been fired.
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the National Republican
Congressional Committee, the party's fund-raising and campaign arm,
said the disclosures raise questions about public broadcasters'
standing as tax-exempt organizations.
"This not only jeopardizes their tax status, it puts their whole
[federal] funding program in jeopardy, and that's unfortunate," he
said. "I'm hopeful this can be resolved in a constructive way so Big
Bird can remain on the air."
Staff writer Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
Exchange of Donor Lists With Democrats Angers GOP
By Paul Farhi
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, July 16, 1999; Page C01
WETA, Washington's biggest public broadcaster, said yesterday that
it had exchanged donor lists with the Democratic National Committee,
a disclosure that comes amid a budding controversy over public
stations' fund-raising ties with the DNC.
Congressional Republicans already are angry at WGBH, the Boston
public TV station, which recently revealed that it exchanged
membership lists with the DNC on two occasions. Yesterday, a key
Republican predicted that public broadcasting's federal funding
would be cut as a result of the flap.
Rep. Billy Tauzin (R-La.), who heads the subcommittee overseeing
public broadcasting, said he would discuss rolling back a proposed
$300 million outlay for hundreds of public radio and TV stations to
an unspecified level. "I am frankly of a mind to support [reduced
funding] from what I've seen in Boston," he said.
Conservatives have attacked public broadcasting for years over TV
and radio programs deemed to have a liberal slant. Now, public
broadcasting's fund-raising methods are providing fresh ammunition
to the same critics.
Like many public stations, WETA sells lists of its donors, or
"members," to other organizations. It also trades these lists for
those kept by other organizations.
WETA spokeswoman Mary Stewart said the station has exchanged lists
with the Democratic National Committee, but she didn't know how many
names were involved or how frequently the exchanges took place.
While there haven't been any exchanges with the Republican National
Committee, she said the station has provided lists to conservative
organizations, including groups she identified as Great American
Republicans and the Patriotic Veterans Association.
Asked if viewers of WETA or listeners of WETA-FM were aware of the
list exchanges, she replied, "They may not. You can check a box on
some of our solicitations" to prevent your name from being given
out, "but not all of them" have such a feature.
Added Stewart: "Our policy has been the same for 20 years. We trade
lists with a variety of organizations, from all walks of life. We
trade with both liberal and conservative groups. . . . If this is
becoming a concern on Capitol Hill, we will reevaluate our policy."
Other major public TV stations say they prohibit list exchanges with
political organizations. But those policies appear to have been
violated. WGBH acknowledged exchanges with the DNC following reports
in May that a 4-year-old boy had received a fund-raising pitch from
the Democratic Party after his mother made a donation to the station
in the name of her son, a fan of public TV's "Barney & Friends."
Yesterday, WNET in New York said it had exchanged lists with both
Republican and Democratic organizations, which a spokeswoman, Stella
Giammasi, said she could not identify.
WNET's exchanges were made by an independent list broker "without
our knowledge," said Giammasi, who said the broker had been fired.
Rep. Tom Davis (R-Va.), chairman of the National Republican
Congressional Committee, the party's fund-raising and campaign arm,
said the disclosures raise questions about public broadcasters'
standing as tax-exempt organizations.
"This not only jeopardizes their tax status, it puts their whole
[federal] funding program in jeopardy, and that's unfortunate," he
said. "I'm hopeful this can be resolved in a constructive way so Big
Bird can remain on the air."
Staff writer Juliet Eilperin contributed to this report.
© Copyright 1999 The Washington Post Company
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