Right-Wing Radio Host Accuses PBS Of ‘Bias,’ Says It Should Air More ‘Rude, Interruptive Guests’

Earlier this month, PBS’s NewsHour with Jim Lehrer aired a segment featuring far-right radio talk show host Melanie Morgan and VoteVets chairman Jon Soltz. Morgan turned the segment into a shouting match.

Viewers contacted the station’s ombudsman and called Morgan’s appearance on the NewHour a “dilution of the integrity” of PBS; one viewer asked, “Who in the world thought she would be a rational voice to counter Jon Soltz of VoteVets.org?” In response, NewsHour Executive Producer Linda Winslow promised that “you will never see that person on our program again.”

Last night on Fox News’s Hannity and Colmes, Morgan accused PBS of “censorship,” saying that the network “has a blatant anti-conservative bias. They don’t want to hear a proud pro American, pro-troop point of view. They’ve clearly demonstrated that in the past. I think PBS should be ashamed of itself.” When Alan Colmes told Morgan, “I really think they should allow rude, interruptive guests like yourself on PBS,” Morgan said, “I agree.”

Despite Morgan’s accusations, PBS does not have a bias against conservatives. A study published last fall found that from October 2005 to March 2006, “Republicans outnumbered Democrats on the NewsHour by 2-to-1,” and “’stay the course’ sources outnumbered pro-withdrawal sources more than 5-to-1.”

PBS and the NewsHour are not “anti-conservative,” but merely anti-Morgan.

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