In response to hundreds of letters from FAIR activists, PBS Ombud Michael Getler (7/16/10) agreed with FAIR’s criticism (Action Alert, 7/12/10) of the 3-hour PBS documentary Turmoil and Triumph, a tribute to former Reagan-era Secretary of State George Shultz funded in part by institutions and individuals with close ties to Shultz.
Getler found Turmoil to be “over-the-top, in my view, with praise, but with relatively little critical appraisal of some of the more controversial actions of Shultz’s tenure.” He wrote:
This series, for me, as a viewer and an ombudsman, created at least the appearance of a conflict of interest; a portrait so glowing that it overwhelms whatever modestly critical elements are included, that does not easily fit the designation one usually associates with a documentary, and that is indeed funded in part by associates of the subject. It doesn’t mean that funders exerted any editorial influence, but it left me feeling they didn’t have to.
Read the entire FAIR article here.
Read PBS Ombudsman’s Michael Getler’s column, Turmoil Over Turmoil.
Tags: FAIR, George Shultz, PBS, PBS Ombudsman, Turmoil and Triumph
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 7:29 pm and is filed under Journalism, Journalism Education, News/Commentary/Opinion, Student Journalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.
Both comments and pings are currently closed.
FAIR Activism Update: PBS Ombudsman Agrees That PBS Series Turmoil and Triumph Has a “Credibility Problem”
Getler found Turmoil to be “over-the-top, in my view, with praise, but with relatively little critical appraisal of some of the more controversial actions of Shultz’s tenure.” He wrote:
Read the entire FAIR article here.
Read PBS Ombudsman’s Michael Getler’s column, Turmoil Over Turmoil.
Tags: FAIR, George Shultz, PBS, PBS Ombudsman, Turmoil and Triumph
This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 at 7:29 pm and is filed under Journalism, Journalism Education, News/Commentary/Opinion, Student Journalism. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.