Former employee blew the whistle on CPB board member

Beth Courtney, CEO of Louisiana Public Broadcasting (LPB) and a Bush appointee to the Corporation for Public Broadcasting Board of Directors, was exposed for financial irregularities by an employee that she fired.

The Louisiana State Ethics Commission fined Courtney $10 thousand after it came to light that a video production company owned by her husband received nearly $50 thousand in LPB funds. The ethics commission got word of Courtney's misdeeds from a former reporter for LPB, the statewide public television network.

Jeff Duhe, who was fired by Courtney in 2004, tells blog Accuracy in Media that he reported Courtney to the state Legislative Auditor as well.

But Courtney says this morning Duhe made wild allegations that were dismissed by the ethics commission, and the charges for which she paid a fine were not part of his complaints.

Courtney and her husband, Bob Courtney, agreed this month to pay a $10,000 state fine because he conducted business with groups she manages. Bob Courtney owns Courtney Communications.

"He was fired for just cause. He just hates me," says Beth Courtney, saying Duhe is looking for a forum to vent anger.

Accuracy in Media, a conservative watchdog group, is calling for Courtney's resignation or dismissal from the CPB board, citing the board's standards of conduct for its members.

The CPB Code of Ethics and Business Conduct says that "Each employee shall act at all times with integrity and perform his or her duties in compliance with all applicable Federal, state and local laws, and CPB policies and procedures. Each employee shall discharge his or her duties in an honest, candid, and thorough manner."

Courtney told AIM the state violations were "technical" and didn't deserve any "gigantic follow-up" from the press. She said she would not resign from the CPB board.

Beth Courtney's term on the CPB board expires in 2010.