Nominee in Limbo for Public Broadcasting Post

Warren Bell, a television sitcom producer who was nominated by President Bush to lead the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, is in jeopardy of losing that appointment after the Senate Commerce Committee canceled his nomination hearing yesterday, reports the Los Angeles Times. A committee spokesman said Mr. Bell’s hearing was removed from the schedule because several senators on the panel had serious reservations about the nomination.

Many public broadcasting officials expressed concerns about Mr. Bell’s conservative political views after seeing the partisan comments he posted on the Web site of the National Review, a conservative magazine. Mr. Bell, who has described himself as “thoroughly conservative in ways that strike horror into the hearts of my Hollywood colleagues,” said he would put his politics aside if he became chairman of the organization, which oversees federal funds for public broadcasting.

The White House said President Bush has not withdrawn Mr. Bell’s name. It is unclear whether the nomination hearing will be rescheduled or whether the Senate panel will ask the president to submit the name of another candidate, the article said. Mr. Bell did not comment on the committee’s move.