Conservatives and liberals for the past month have been duking it out over public broadcasting and whether its programming is balanced.

Managers of public radio and television stations in Utah believe it is, at least for now.

But they fear the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is moving to the political right under the leadership of Kenneth Tomlinson, the entity's Republican chairman. Their concern intensified with last week's appointment of former Republican National Committee co-chairwoman Patricia Harrison as CPB's president and chief executive.

Tomlinson says he's just returning public broadcasting to the political middle.

Yet some public broadcasting officials believe a shift in political ideology within public broadcasting's headquarters could ultimately affect programs aired by Public Broadcasting Service and National Public Radio.

"If it manifests itself, my fear is that . . . NPR - some of the best [journalists] working today - may second-guess themselves and be extra careful when they do a story," said Bryan Schott, news director for KCPW FM, one of three NPR radio stations based in Salt Lake City. He worries some may not do stories that should be done out of fear they may be labeled as biased.

Larry Smith believes local public television programming will remain unchanged for now.

"So far, the programs we get from PBS and what we produce locally, I don't see influence," said the general manager for KUED Channel 7, one of two PBS television stations in Utah. "But the key word is 'yet.' and I'm worried about that 'yet.' ''

He's concerned that if the conservative leadership within CPB exerts its authority in programming, and every show has to be fair and balanced within every segment, "that makes for boring television. "You have to have programs with a point of view."

John Greene, general manager for KUER FM, is not as anxious because he believes public broadcasting affiliates have more freedom from their national counterpart than do affiliates of commercial networks.

"I'm not concerned about it affecting our local programming because we won't allow it to happen," he said.

President Lyndon Johnson created the CPB in 1967 as a nonpartisan group to promote public broadcasting free of government influence. It helps fund PBS and NPR along with private donations and corporate foundations.

Yet liberal groups such as Media Matters and Common Cause, along with some Democratic congressmen, have complained the CPB is becoming anything but nonpartisan.

They criticized Tomlinson after he hired an employee of a journalism center founded by the American Conservative Union to monitor the so-called left-leanings in the PBS talk show "Now," once hosted by veteran journalist Bill Moyers.

Some argue conservatives then tried to hit public broadcasting where it hurts: the pocketbook. Republican representatives introduced an amendment to cut government funding to public broadcasting by 46 percent, which ultimately failed June 24 in a House vote.

"There's been an essential tone deafness at PBS headquarters that I think will be dealt with, with new leadership," Tomlinson said earlier this year on the PBS program, "Tucker Carlson: Unfiltered," one of two new PBS programs with a conservative bent. The other, which Tomlinson personally pushed for, is "Journal Editorial Report," which features members of the editorial board of the Wall Street Journal.

Tomlinson has complained despite an internal CPB study in 2003 that reportedly showed 80 percent of those surveyed gave PBS and NPR "favorable" ratings. More than half also said PBS news was more "trustworthy" and "in-depth" than commercial network news. The study, conducted by The Tarrance Group, a Republican polling and consulting firm, was based in part on findings from two focus groups in Salt Lake City.

In Utah, Doug Fabrizio hears accusations of bias from both sides.

"You do hear people say National Public Radio has moved to the right a bit, that they're more careful than they used to be, that they're soft-pedaling the [Bush] administration's agenda," the executive producer and host of KUER's "Radio West" said. "But you also hear that NPR is a leftist organization with an ideology that is socialistic."

Recent changes at PBS have angered Bill Moyers.

"Real journalism scares the hell out of these guys. They just don't want you out reporting," he said last week on "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart."

"He [Tomlinson] confused liberalism with journalism, and they're always doing that because they don't want reporting that defies the party line."

Fabrizio agrees influence by any political party on public broadcasting could have "a chilling effect."

"The Bush administration is an incredibly effective propaganda machine, good at expressing its vision and ideology, and it's trying to keep everyone on message," he said. "The concern is that CPB will be - though expressly created to be distant from political influence - an organ for their propaganda.

"I haven't a clue what that means for local entities," he added, "but it's troubling."