NEW YORK — Television sitcom producer Warren Bell's appointment to the board of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting appears in jeopardy after the Senate Commerce Committee on Wednesday abruptly pulled him from a nomination hearing scheduled for today.
A spokesman for Republican Sen. Ted Stevens of Alaska, the committee chairman, said Bell was removed from the agenda because several senators on the panel had concerns about his nomination. Hearings for two other CPB nominees -- former Arkansas Sen. David H. Pryor and Chris Boskin, a board member of San Francisco's public broadcasting TV station KQED -- are still going forward today.
Bell, executive producer and show-runner of ABC's "According to Jim," was tapped by President Bush in June to serve on the board of the private, nonprofit corporation that distributes federal funds to local public television and radio stations.
The selection of the outspoken conservative disquieted many public broadcasting officials, who were troubled by partisan comments Bell has posted on the website of the conservative National Review magazine. His sharp opinions caused some broadcasters to fear that Bell would rekindle the fierce political debate that engulfed the corporation last year under the leadership of former Chairman Kenneth Y. Tomlinson.
Bell -- who described himself in a May 2005 column as "thoroughly conservative in ways that strike horror into the hearts of my Hollywood colleagues" -- said in an interview in July that he would set aside his politics as a CPB board member.
"My intent for my service with CPB is to ensure a strong, healthy, vibrant public broadcasting system for everyone to be proud of," he said.
The White House said Wednesday that Bush had not withdrawn Bell's name.
"President Bush continues to support his nomination," said Emily Lawrimore, a White House spokeswoman.
But committee sources said it remained unclear whether Bell's hearing would be rescheduled or whether the panel would ask Bush to submit someone else.
"This is an indication that a critical mass of the Senate Commerce Committee, including the leadership, shares with us some pretty serious reservations about the credentials of Mr. Bell," said John Lawson, president of the Assn. of Public Television Stations.
Bell said he had no comment on the committee's move.
