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.
![george2](https://blog.hunterword.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/george2.jpg)
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.