Money IS Influence: The Koch Brothers, Universities, and Public Broadcasting

Does money buy influence in politics? Of course it does. You know that. I know that. We all know that. When it comes to buying influence nobody does it quite like the Koch Brothers. Since the infamous Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court that allowed unlimited spending in elections by anyone through so-called Super Pacs, the Koch brothers have become the most influential donors of the far right.

In 2012, for example, they spent at least $60 million in an effort to unseat President Obama. Most of that was funneled through Super Pacs that don't have to disclose their donors. So, we don't know the precise number. This year, the Kochs were bigger spenders. According to the National Journal, they spent $100 million in their successful bid to win the US Senate for Republicans.

Politics is one thing. Most people are so convinced that both major parties are so corrupt, and that the game is and has always been rigged by big money donors that even this kind of prodigious spending is often met with numb shrugs. What many in the public don't pay as much attention to is how much big donors influence our universities. Earlier this year, under pressure from big donors the University Illinois fired Steven Salaita for tweets he made that criticized the State of Israel for its treatment of Palestinians. But that is almost small potatoes compared to the influence the Koch Brothers want at universities accross the country. The most notable example is at Florida State.


Back in 2011 the Koch Foundation told Florida State (FSU) that if it did the Kochs bidding it would give FSU $1.5 million. And what exactly would Florida State have to do?

A foundation bankrolled by Libertarian businessman Charles G. Koch has pledged $1.5 million for positions in Florida State University's economics department. In return, his representatives get to screen and sign off on any hires for a new program promoting "political economy and free enterprise."  

Traditionally, university donors have little official input into choosing the person who fills a chair they've funded. The power of university faculty and officials to choose professors without outside interference is considered a hallmark of academic freedom.  

Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it's not happy with the faculty's choice or if the hires don't meet "objectives" set by Koch during annual evaluations.

And Florida State did just that.  But Florida State isn't the only University the Kochs are trying to gain control of. In 2012 alone the Koch Brothers' foundations donated $12.7 million to colleges and universities accross the country according to the Center for Public Integrity. This includes a nearly $8.5 million dollar donation to George Mason, a university the Koch Brothers practically own. According to Tampa Bay Times, the Charles G Koch Charitable Foundation gave George Mason over $30 million dollars over the last two decades, and the university has become a veritable right wing think tank:

The big exception has been George Mason University, a public university in Virginia which has received more than $30 million from Koch over the past 20 years. At George Mason, Koch's foundation has underwritten the Mercatus Center, whose faculty study "how institutions affect the freedom to prosper."

When President George W. Bush identified 23 regulations he wanted to eliminate, 14 had been initially suggested by Mercatus scholars. In a New Yorker profile of the Koch brothers in August, Rob Stein, a Democratic strategist, called Mercatus "ground zero for deregulation policy in Washington."

As you can see, the Koch Brothers don't just give money to receive influence, they get the exact influence they seek, whether if it is donations to political campaigns and candidates or donations to colleges and universities. But does this demand for influence also extend to the Kochs'contributions to things such as public broadcasting? You bet it does!

The Koch Brothers are deeply involved with public broadcasting having donated more than $23 million to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting over the years. David Koch has served on the boards of two public broadcasting TV stations: Boston's WGBH and New York's WNET. These stations are responsible for most of the national programming broadcast across PBS affiliates.

However, as Jane Mayer reported in the New Yorker in May 2013, WNET gave special consideration to David Koch when it made the decision to air a documentary called "Park Avenue: Money, Power, and the American Dream." The documentary caused an uproar, and David Koch threatened future funding for the station.

Since then, PBS has blocked the airing of the documentary "Citizen Koch" which takes a look at how money influences politics in the post-Citizens United era. PBS had previously agreed to air the documentary which was warmly received at the Sundance Film Festival. Sources told the New Yorker that the decision was made "after attempts to assauge David Koch" had failed. All of this despite PBS guidelines which mandate that stations shield creative and editorial processes from donor pressure.

This brings us to our meme that Snopes recently alleged was "false" for its assertion that Koch Brothers' generous donations to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting influenced NPR's decision to gut its environmental reporting. Previously, NPR had three fulltime reporters dedicated to covering the environment and climate issues. Today, it has one reporter who only reports on the environment part time.

In addition to the Kochs millions to CPB, NPR directly receives donations from the American Natural Gas Association. That sponsorship has been criticized by listeners. It is our view that public broadcasters' increased reliance on corporate sponsors and big money donors are just as harmful to their mission as big money donors are to the mission of our representatives in government.

We believe that big money donors are bad for politics, universities, and public broadcasting. Snopes argues that NPR has ethical guidelines that prohibit it from being influenced by big money donors. Well, case closed, right? Ethical guidelines didn't stop PBS from censoring a film critical of the Koch Brothers, did they? Money buys influence. End stop.