Marc Morano, CNSNews.com
Wednesday, July 24, 2002

Critics also point to a $15,000 grant that the charitable arm of CBS Corp. awarded the Nature Conservancy as additional proof of a "cozy" relationship between the two organizations.

Osgood and CBS's relationship with the TNC are detailed in documents and exclusive interviews obtained by CNSNews.com.

Osgood admitted there is a "sense of kinship" between TNC and "CBS News Sunday Morning," which he said predates 1994, when he began hosting the program.

"I think we all have tried to be cooperative and helpful with people doing good work, and I think very seldom does that compromise you," said Osgood, who has won several Peabody Awards for his broadcasts.

"Sunday Morning" has a Christmas season segment titled "Our Gifts to Us," which Osgood described as "things that have been added to our national parks through the Nature Conservancy during the course of the year."

And Osgood also praised the environmental group's work during one of his "Osgood File" radio commentaries in March 2000.

The Nature Conservancy refers to itself as "nature's real estate agent." Celebrity activist Paul Newman and his wife, Joanne Woodward, are among those involved in TNC's work.

'A Piece of Bird Seed'

Osgood described the CBS philanthropic arm's gift of $15,000 to TNC as "paltry."

"When you are talking about CBS, you are talking about a piece of bird seed," Osgood stated.

"What I find interesting is that somebody thinks that $15,000 is going to make any difference to anybody at CBS or for that matter the Nature Conservancy.

"It seems a pretty paltry sum to me," Osgood said.

According to documents obtained by CNSNews.com, CBS Foundation gave at least two grants of $7,500 in 1998 and 1999 to the Nature Conservancy of New York "to provide support for the Conservation Internships for Inner-City Youth Program."

Former CBS News President and executive Howard Stringer, credited with bringing David Letterman to the network, is listed as a member of TNC's board of governors.

Crossing the Line?

In October 2001, Osgood served as master of ceremonies for TNC's fundraiser and awards dinner.

Osgood "is great. He spoke at the annual meeting," said Richard Weinstein, state chairman of Florida's Nature Conservancy. Osgood, who was not paid for his appearance, presented TNC's "National Hero" award to Weinstein at the Oct. 4 event in Orlando.

Osgood is "a wonderful guy, terrific guy ... he emceed the events in which they introduced the people that were being honored and introduced a film and he talked, and he's wonderful," Weinstein said.

When asked about the Florida fundraiser, Osgood admitted, "I made some remarks and presented an award."

Osgood also conceded that he has appeared "every so often" at the conservancy's "Last Great Places" events in Central Park in New York City. According to Osgood, Stringer "was the one who asked me if I would do this ..."

TNC was also the focus of at least one of Osgood's CBS Radio Network commentaries, "The Osgood File." In the report, Osgood praised the efforts of TNC for its "conservation" methods involving "no-till" farming in Fish Creek, bordering Indiana and Ohio.

According to Osgood, Fish Creek's mussel population is now recovering and the "creek is slowly coming back to life" because of the conservancy's efforts.

Ivan Osorio, a research associate with Capital Research Center, a Washington, D.C.-based public policy group that monitors charitable giving, believes CBS News has a conflict of interest regarding the Nature Conservancy.

"It brings into question CBS News' objectivity regarding environmental reporting, when you have got this cozy relationship with the Nature Conservancy," Osorio said.

When asked about his involvement with TNC, Osgood became defiant.

"You can't possibly hope to navigate public affairs over 35 years or 50 years or any other period of time without pissing somebody off because you have said something that they don't like, or they don't like environmentalists or whatever their problem is," Osgood stated.

"If you fail to do anything good because somebody might disapprove, I think that would be very inhibiting indeed."

Osgood said he had no idea that anyone opposed TNC's methods of securing land and water for natural preservation.

"I was not aware that there was anything controversial about that ... I didn't even realize that anybody was against that," he said.

'Deliberate Ignorance'

"For a reporter, that is deliberate ignorance," countered Ron Arnold, author of "Undue Influence," which details the activities of TNC.

Osgood "is simply not doing his journalistic duty to even ask the question," Arnold said. "People have been crying at the top of their lungs for so many years about" the Nature Conservancy, he added.

Arnold cited one instance where TNC's goals of land acquisition were at odds with the farming community of Little Darby Creek, Ohio.

"They have completely killed [the farmer's] property rights," he said.

Arnold, who also serves as the vice president of Center for the Defense of Free Enterprise, said TNC "virtually lives in the hip pocket of the federal government."

TNC had assets of more than $2.8 billion and annual revenues of nearly $800 million in 2000, making it the wealthiest green group in the world, according to Arnold.

"These guys are rich beyond the dreams of avarice," Arnold said.

TNC is working with governments at all levels to accelerate the transfer of private lands into public ownership, according to Arnold.

"Socialist countries have less [government] land ownership than the U.S.," he insisted.

Arnold believes private owners are better stewards of the land than governments.

Barry Clausen, environmental expert and author of the book "Burning Rage," which details the activities and agenda of the environmental movement, called TNC's political ideology "extreme."

"They want to control land, control water and they are being very successful because of the money they get," Clausen told CNSNews.com.

"The frustration and anger by so many people in rural America is now being directed toward the Nature Conservancy," Clausen said.

Weinstein defended TNC's partnerships with the federal government, stating "we protect the land we acquire ... we can do it better in partnerships of all kinds."

A CBS corporate spokesman said CBS Foundation has been absorbed into Viacom since the merger between the two corporations in 1999. Details about the relationship between CBS, the Nature Conservancy and the grants were not provided despite repeated attempts.

Copyright CNSNews.com

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