53 Public Stations Shared Donor Lists

Fifty-three public-broadcasting stations sold or exchanged the names of their donors with political organizations — in almost all cases Democratic groups — for use in direct-mail appeals, according to a report by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Inspector General.

The Inspector General, in response to concerns that Congress had raised at a July hearing on public stations’ list-sharing practices (The Chronicle, July 29), studied those practices at 591 television and radio stations that receive federal money.

The report stated that list exchanges with political groups “may create the appearance of improper relationships.” But the Corporation for Public Broadcasting said the report confirmed its view that the stations involved were motivated by financial rather than political considerations.

A copy of the report can be found on the Corporation for Public Broadcasting’s Web site at http://www.cpb.org.