PBS

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    PBS: Bill Moyers Journal

  • War and its Aftermath

    5 Nov 2009 | 12:51 pm
    This week, the JOURNAL presented a shortened version of a new documentary film, THE GOOD SOLDIER, which explores how the experience of combat irrevocably changed the lives of four veterans of America’s various war efforts. One of those featured, Jimmy Massey, who served in Iraq earlier this decade, described what it was like for him to return to the United States: “You first come home and you immediately forget about everything. You go to McDonald’s and you go to all your favorite restaurants and you do all your favorite things and you’re having a great time, and you know… And then…

  • Bill Moyers Essay: Restoring Accountability for Washington's Wars

    5 Nov 2009 | 9:02 am
    Update Required Sorry in order to watch this video clip you need the latest version of the free flash plug in. CLICK HERE to download it and then refresh this page. We invite you to respond in the space below.

  • WEB EXCLUSIVE: Glenn Greenwald

    30 Oct 2009 | 10:14 am
    Acclaimed blogger Glenn Greenwald, recipient of the Park Center for Independent Media Izzy Award, spoke with Bill Moyers this week for the special web-exclusive conversation below. Update Required Sorry in order to watch this video clip you need the latest version of the free flash plug in. CLICK HERE to download it and then refresh this page. We invite you to respond in the space below.

  • How Much Can the Government Do?

    30 Oct 2009 | 10:10 am
    (Photos by Robin Holland) This week, the JOURNAL featured wide-ranging conversations about America’s economy and William F. Buckley, Jr.’s contribution to the conservative movement. Both guests on the broadcast, liberal economist James K. Galbraith and conservative writer Richard Brookhiser, engaged a fundamental question that people have been debating for centuries and that cuts to the core of recent disputes about economic stimulus and health reform: how much is the government capable of doing? Galbraith argued that past federal programs have been successful and that the U.S. government…

  • Were War Crimes Committed in Gaza?

    23 Oct 2009 | 11:00 am
    (Photo by Robin Holland) This week on the JOURNAL, Bill Moyers spoke with Justice Richard Goldstone, a respected figure in international law who headed the controversial UN Human Rights Council investigation into Israel and Hamas’ actions during military operations in Gaza that began last December. While the resulting ‘Goldstone Report’ concluded that both sides had committed war crimes and, potentially, crimes against humanity, it was especially harsh in its condemnation of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) for their actions in Gaza, saying that they were “a deliberately…
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    PBS: Frontline Reports

  • Next on FRONTLINE: Sick Around The World

    10 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm
    Tuesday, Nov. 10 at 9pm on PBS (Check local listings). In the debate over health care, what can the U.S. learn from the successes and failures of five other capitalist democracies?

  • Close to Home

    27 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    Available for viewing online. Producer Ofra Bikel chronicles how the middle class is faring in this recession through the stories of the people who she's come to know at the hair salon she's frequented for the past twenty years. The film reveals the struggles of a small business owner to stay afloat, her sister's risk of imminent foreclosure on her Florida home, and the various clients whose lives intersect at this New York City salon--from well-to-do bankers to struggling actors, each with a story to tell about how they're getting by in these turbulent times.

  • The Warning

    20 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    Available for viewing online. In the devastating aftermath of the economic meltdown, FRONTLINE sifts the ashes for clues about why it happened and examines critical moments when it might have gone much differently. Looking back into the 1990s, veteran FRONTLINE producer/director Michael Kirk (Inside the Meltdown, Breaking the Bank) discovers early warnings of the crash, reveals an intense battle among high-ranking members of the Clinton administration, and uncovers a concerted effort not to regulate the emerging, highly complex, and lucrative derivatives markets, which would become the…

  • Obama's War

    13 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    Available for viewing online. Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counterinsurgency plan that builds on the lessons of Iraq. But can U.S. forces succeed in a land long known as the "graveyard of empires"? FRONTLINE producers Martin Smith (Beyond Baghdad, Return of the Taliban) and Marcela Gaviria (In Search of Al Qaeda, The War Briefing) once again make the dangerous journey to the front lines of America's biggest fight. Through interviews with the top U.S. commanders on the ground, embeds with U.S. forces and…

  • Breaking the Bank

    16 Jun 2009 | 7:00 pm
    Available for viewing online. The bets were huge and risky -- billions of dollars on the housing market. The upside was undeniable -- superbanks reaped billions of dollars, dominated the landscape, and gobbled up competitors. Then the bottom dropped out -- the massive losses on Wall Street nearly broke the banks. In the worst crisis in decades, brand name banks are on the brink. Now as the federal government implements an unprecedented intervention in the industry, FRONTLINE goes behind closed doors to tell the inside story of how things went so wrong so fast and to document efforts to…
 
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    PBS: Frontline View Online

  • Close to Home

    27 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    (60 minutes) Producer Ofra Bikel chronicles how the middle class is faring in this recession through the stories of the people who she's come to know at the hair salon she's frequented for the past twenty years. The film reveals the struggles of a small business owner to stay afloat, her sister's risk of imminent foreclosure on her Florida home, and the various clients whose lives intersect at this New York City salon--from well-to-do bankers to struggling actors, each with a story to tell about how they're getting by in these turbulent times.

  • The Warning

    20 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    (60 minutes) In the devastating aftermath of the economic meltdown, FRONTLINE sifts the ashes for clues about why it happened and examines critical moments when it might have gone much differently. Looking back into the 1990s, veteran FRONTLINE producer/director Michael Kirk (Inside the Meltdown, Breaking the Bank) discovers early warnings of the crash, reveals an intense battle among high-ranking members of the Clinton administration, and uncovers a concerted effort not to regulate the emerging, highly complex, and lucrative derivatives markets, which would become the ticking time-bomb…

  • Obama's War

    13 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    (60 minutes) Tens of thousands of fresh American troops are now on the move in Afghanistan, led by a new commander and armed with a counterinsurgency plan that builds on the lessons of Iraq. But can U.S. forces succeed in a land long known as the "graveyard of empires"? FRONTLINE producers Martin Smith (Beyond Baghdad, Return of the Taliban) and Marcela Gaviria (In Search of Al Qaeda, The War Briefing) once again make the dangerous journey to the front lines of America's biggest fight. Through interviews with the top U.S. commanders on the ground, embeds with U.S. forces and fresh reporting…

  • Breaking the Bank

    16 Jun 2009 | 7:00 pm
    (60 minutes) The bets were huge and risky -- billions of dollars on the housing market. The upside was undeniable -- superbanks reaped billions of dollars, dominated the landscape, and gobbled up competitors. Then the bottom dropped out -- the massive losses on Wall Street nearly broke the banks. In the worst crisis in decades, brand name banks are on the brink. Now as the federal government implements an unprecedented intervention in the industry, FRONTLINE goes behind closed doors to tell the inside story of how things went so wrong so fast and to document efforts to stabilize Wall Street.

  • The Madoff Affair

    12 May 2009 | 7:00 pm
    (60 minutes) In the mid-1960s, Bernard Madoff tapped money from Jewish businessmen at exclusive country clubs with the promise of steady guaranteed returns on their investments. He then set his sights on Europe and Latin America, brokering deals with powerful hedge fund managers and feeder funds from Buenos Aires to Geneva. Billions of dollars were channeled to Madoff's investment firm, and his feeders became fabulously wealthy. The competition wondered how the man could produce such steady returns in good times and bad. There were allegations that Madoff was "front-running" or operating a…
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    PBS: FRONTLINE Editors' Notes

  • Branded by War

    6 Nov 2009 | 8:12 am
    On this Veteran's Day, Nov. 11th, Americans and the U.S. military are more aware than ever of war's impact on the soldier. View--

  • Kahrdinal Sins

    2 Nov 2009 | 8:17 am
    --a response to Andrew Kahr by Jim Blaine, State Employees' Credit Union, North Carolina Andrew Kahr sure takes Messieurs Bubb and Kaufman to task in his blog response! Perhaps he should be more gentle, a bit more patient. After all, Bubb and Kaufman are admittedly just young, budding, novice economists; give them some space, surely their worst work still lies ahead! Actually, I was well pleased with both the tone and stridency of Mr. Kahr's rebuttal. Having watched his interview on FRONTLINE's 2004 program, Secret History of the Credit Card, I had always assumed that Mr. Kahr's views had…

  • Look Back

    1 Nov 2009 | 6:43 am
    A year ago, Obama was elected president, and we aired a report on his life and career. Stats show this is the most watched section from that film...

  • Madoff Saga

    29 Oct 2009 | 3:55 pm
    The scandal's newest number? $21 billion lost by investors. View inside-the-operation stories as told by Madoff's earliest feeder (late '60s), Michael Bienes. One of our most fascinating interviews ever!

  • Still Waiting: Unfair and Deceptive Credit Card Practices Continue

    29 Oct 2009 | 9:30 am
    "I think this new Pew report -- just out this week -- says it all." --Lowell Bergman, correspondent for the FRONTLINE/New York Times joint report The Card Game, airing November 24th. One hundred percent of credit cards offered online by the leading bank card issuers continue to include practices that will be outlawed once legislation passed in May takes effect next year, according to a new report by the Pew Health Group's Safe Credit Cards Project. The report also found that advertised credit card interest rates rose an average of 20 percent in the first two quarters of 2009, even...
 
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    PBS: FRONTLINE/World - Reports

  • Brazil: The Money Tree

    3 Nov 2009 | 6:00 pm
    In the new economy created by global warming, forests are becoming a valuable commodity. Promising not to cut them down is one of the most popular ways companies would like to offset emissions. Mark Schapiro follows the trail of one of those offset projects deep into Brazil's Atlantic Forest.

  • Covering Conflict Zones: A Media Symposium

    21 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    This fall, FRONTLINE/World gathered a small panel of journalists and media representatives in New York to share experiences and discuss the challenges of covering conflict zones and repressive regimes. Watch highlights from the discussion and join the conversation online.

  • Peru: Kiva's Web-based Microfinance Growing Up

    16 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    Three years after we first broadcast our popular story about Kiva, a pioneer of web-based microloans, we decided to check in with the nonprofit on its fourth birthday, and find out how it's working with locals in a high Andean outpost in Peru.

  • Jamaica: Girls on Track

    1 Oct 2009 | 7:00 pm
    It won six gold medals in track and field at the Beijing Olympics and has a population smaller than the city of Chicago. What makes Jamaica's athletes so good and so fast?

  • Honduras: Standoff at the Embassy

    30 Sep 2009 | 7:00 pm
    We talk with Al Jazeera reporter Monica Villamizar from the Honduran capital, where she reports that the return of the deposed president Manuel Zelaya is being watched throughout Latin America for how the U.S. responds to the political crisis.
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    PBS: FRONTLINE/World Dispatches

  • Peru: Kiva's Web-based Microfinance Growing Up

    16 Oct 2009 | 10:57 am
    Three years after we broadcast our phenomenally popular story about Kiva, the San Francisco-based nonprofit that helps thousands of small businesses with microloans across the developing world, we check back in with the company on its fourth anniversary.

  • Honduras: Standoff at the Embassy

    30 Sep 2009 | 7:26 pm
    Honduras' left-leaning president, Manuel Zelaya, who was deposed in a coup back on June 28, has returned to the country. We spoke to Al Jazeera's Monica Villamizar, who has been following the story, which, she says, has become a test case in Latin America for how the U.S. handles the crisis.

  • China: Wall Scholar

    17 Sep 2009 | 3:03 pm
    There is apparently no formula to becoming an expert on the Great Wall of China. David Spindler was a graduate student in Beijing back in the early 1990s when he began trekking the wall and studying ancient documents to reveal its secrets. His passion for the wall's history is now the subject of two new exhibits.

  • Afghanistan: A Stolen Election?

    3 Sep 2009 | 9:57 pm
    It's a pivotal time for Afghanistan. Allegations continue to stack up that Hamid Karzai and his supporters have rigged the election, and a change in U.S. policy to put more troops on the ground is losing public support.

  • Swaziland: The King and the Web

    26 Aug 2009 | 11:47 pm
    Can an internet conference challenge the status quo in a country with the highest rate of HIV/AIDs in the world and an absolute monarch reluctant to change?
 
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    PBS: MediaShift

  • Speculative Fiction Novelists Find Success with Online Donations

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    Over the years, many authors have tried versions of the online donation model, with mixed results. But one specific genre of writers, speculative fiction, seems to be experiencing a moderate level of success. Back in 2000, Stephen King became one of the first major authors to offer a book online using an "honor system" to solicit donations. The book was called "The Plant," and was based on a series of chapbooks King had sent around to his friends in the '80s. He placed the first chapter in various downloadable formats on his website, and downloaders were expected to donate $1 by mail or…

  • Hossein Derakhshan's Arrest: One Year Later

    5 Nov 2009 | 3:28 pm
    It's been over a year now since the arrest of Hossein Derakhshan, popularly known as Hoder. Ever since he wrote the first Persian-language blogging guide in November 2001, he has helped pioneer the Iranian blogging community while living in his adopted home of Toronto. (Derakhshan is a dual citizen of Iran and Canada.) However, beginning in 2006, Derakhshan's views started changing. He called for Iran to have nuclear weapons, and engaged in personal attacks against people that he disagreed with politically. He was even sued for libel by another Iranian in September 2007. A year later, he…

  • FT's Long Room Uses Velvet Rope Approach to Online Community

    5 Nov 2009 | 11:43 am
    What determines a successful community? The number of unique visitors or page views? The number of comments? Those metrics can be important, but there are also qualitative aspects to consider. Are the discussions on your site respectful and insightful? Are members deriving value from the community? Or are you hosting flame wars that lack intelligence and decorum? In order to create a community of quality, perhaps it makes sense to cut down on quantity, and create an exclusive members-only structure. Few media companies have done a better job of building this kind of exclusive community than…

  • @FakeAPStylebook Editors Explain Their Overnight Success on Twitter

    4 Nov 2009 | 1:23 pm
    For anyone who has suffered through reading the entire AP Stylebook for a journalism class, there's a cathartic release when reading the dry wit of the @FakeAPStylebook feed on Twitter. It combines parody of the journalism usage bible with funny repartee and the absurd. That mix has brought amazing success to the people behind the feed: more than 40,000 followers in 15 days, plus they've scored a literary agent for a book deal. Here are some of my favorite recent tweets from @FakeAPStylebook: > STAR WARS Episodes IV-VI are to be referred to as "The Original Trilogy." Episodes I-III are not…

  • 10 Projects that Help Citizens Become Government Watchdogs

    3 Nov 2009 | 1:42 pm
    With the 2010 U.S. elections coming into view, many people are looking for more information about the people running for office -- and the individuals and organizations funding these candidates. Fortunately, there are dozens of initiatives that mine and share the data that influence policy and policy-makers. Many are funded by The Sunlight Foundation, which aims to use "the revolutionary power of the Internet to make information about Congress and the federal government more meaningfully accessible to citizens." Below are 10 innovative government transparency projects that employ powerful…
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    PBS: Nature

  • Black Mamba: Snake Handler Thea Litschka-Koen Answers Your Questions

    tanner vea
    6 Nov 2009 | 5:27 am
    Thea Litschka-Koen Submit your questions here for snake handler Thea Litschka-Koen, featured in Black Mamba. During the week of Monday, November 9, Thea will answer your questions here. Thea Litschka-Koen was born in Swaziland and is the third generation in her family to live there. She initially became interested in black mambas after one of her sons chose snakes as a school project. Soon after, she found herself doing a lot of fascinating research and ultimately enrolling in handling and identification courses, and her involvement grew from there. Enlisting her husband, Clifton, in her…

  • Black Mamba: Video: Catching a Deadly Snake

    tanner vea
    3 Nov 2009 | 1:36 pm
    Thea and Clifton respond to a call from a maid who spotted a six-and-a-half-foot black mamba inside a guestroom at a resort they manage. They want to remove it from the area — but first they have to find it.

  • Born Wild: The First Days of Life: Video: Full Episode – Expires Nov. 8th

    tanner vea
    2 Nov 2009 | 8:04 am
    From the moment of birth, baby animals in the wild can face almost anything – from a large social group of interested caregivers to complete abandonment. Yet all wild babies share some things in common – they must learn whom to trust, what to fear, and when to act – all in the first days of life. (View full post to see video) This program premiered November 1, 2009.

  • Born Wild: The First Days of Life: Download Baby Animal Wallpaper for Your Computer or Mobile

    tanner vea
    29 Oct 2009 | 12:35 pm
    To preview wallpaper, click the size you want. Then, right-click or control-click the image and choose “Save Image As” or “Save As” to download. Baby Gorilla Wallpaper 1024×768 1280×800 1280×1024 iPhone Blackberry Baby Hippo Wallpaper 1024×768 1280×800 1280×1024 iPhone Blackberry Baby Penguin Wallpaper 1024×768 1280×800 1280×1024 iPhone Blackberry

  • Born Wild: The First Days of Life: Video: Lion Cubs

    tanner vea
    28 Oct 2009 | 5:12 am
    Lions kill infants they don’t know, so this lion mother hides her cubs for the first six weeks, visiting only to feed them. When she introduces the cubs to the rest of the group, will they recognize the cubs as part of the family?
 
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    PBS: Nightly Business Report - Learn More

  • STREET CRITIQUE - Todd Harrison

    5 Nov 2009 | 2:42 pm
    Anchor Paul Kangas interviews market strategists and financial experts about Wall Street trends. On Wednesday, November 5th, Todd Harrison of Minyanville is Paul's guest.

  • The Chrysler Plan

    4 Nov 2009 | 2:38 pm
    Today in Michigan, Fiat detailed its five year plan to return Chrysler to profitability. NBR's Diane Eastabrook attended the event and has analysis of the plan in tonight's program. You can learn more about the Chrysler plan here.

  • Of Mutual Interest - Bruce Berkowitz

    3 Nov 2009 | 2:33 pm
    Tonight's Of Mutual Interest interview focuses on a leading large cap value fund -- The Fairholme Fund. NBR's Paul Kangas asks Fairholme's Bruce Berkowitz about the fund's performance. Berkowitz also talks about some sectors he likes.

  • Mutual Fund Fee Debate

    2 Nov 2009 | 2:44 pm
    How much money should you pay your mutual fund's investment adviser? That's the question before the Supreme Court right now. As NBR's Darren Gersh explains in tonight's program, three investors charge Harris' Oakmark Funds with imposing unfair fees. You can learn more about mutual funds here.

  • MARKET MONITOR - Eugene Peroni

    30 Oct 2009 | 4:42 pm
    Anchor Paul Kangas gets stock market insight from investing pros. On Friday, October 30th, Eugene Peroni of Advisors Asset Management is Paul's guest.
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    PBS: XChange - The NBR Blog

  • The Odds for a Jobless Recovery Rise

    6 Nov 2009 | 3:32 pm
    I don't know about you, but today's employment data makes me thankful to have a job. Now 1 person in 10 is out of work. In my anecdotal experience, things feel even worse. I see an increasing number of fathers doing drop off at kids' schools, something I didn't see a year ago. And there doesn't seem to be any change in the number of requests I'm getting for job contacts -- and not just for leads in my field. One interesting fact I came across: If the 15.7 million unemployed lived in one state, that state would be the country's fifth largest. Wow! But, even more distressing than today's jobs…

  • Elizabeth Warren Wants to Keep Banks Honest

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:37 pm
    The largest financial firms made out under the government's asset guarantee program. That's the conclusion of the panel overseeing the program for Congress. Harvard Law School Professor Elizabeth Warren chairs the panel. She says while the program hasn't lost taxpayers money so far, it has fundamentally changed our system. Now all big financial firms have an implicit guarantee by Uncle Sam. Warren says reforming the financial regulatory system is our "only hope" to fix that moral hazard. Warren has also championed a new Consumer Financial Protection Agency to keep banks honest. Congressman…

  • No Place to Hide from Unemployment

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:35 pm
    The teen unemployment set a new record in October: 27.6%. Faced with the scary job market, many young people are heading for college or graduate school. Most of the increase in college enrollment is at community colleges. It makes sense. If teenagers and young workers can't find a job, they can ride out the storm and use the time to improve their skills. The only problem is that many other young people have the same idea. With employers cutting back and more people going to college, we could face a glut of new grads in a few years. In some sense, the added education only postpones the job…

  • ETFs vs. Funds: How to Choose What's Best for You

    5 Nov 2009 | 5:14 am
    Charles Schwab, the discount brokerage, made a bit of news this week by offering eight new exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. That wasn't such a big deal in itself, since the ETF business is booming with new offerings from just about every mutual fund firm and brokerage. But Schwab has upped the ante by allowing its customers to trade the house-brand ETFs for free - without paying the $12.95 brokerage commission for trading other types of stocks. Now that's interesting. Commissions have been one of the few drawbacks to ETFs, because they can chew up accounts of investors who want to add modest…

  • Despite Pick Up in Economy, Layoffs Continue

    4 Nov 2009 | 10:21 am
    The number of workers receiving pink slips each month is finally beginning to tail off, but companies plan to keep laying off workers despite signs of a pick up in the U.S. economy. Private-sector employers cut 203,000 jobs in October, after eliminating 227,000 jobs the previous month, according to a report out today by payroll giant Automatic Data Processing Inc. and Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, a consulting firm that specializes in economic forecasting. On a more encouraging note, U.S. companies said they were planning fewer layoffs going forward. Planned layoffs at U.S. firms fell to 55,679…
 
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    PBS: Now

  • Interview: David Sirota

    6 Nov 2009 | 10:00 am
    Only one year after a historic election rerouted the course of America's political culture, do the 2009 election results show momentum swinging in the opposite direction? NOW's David Brancaccio talks to political author and columnist David Sirota about populist anger, the Obama administration's successes and failures, and how this week's election results foreshadow the state of politics in 2010.

  • Electric Car Dreams

    30 Oct 2009 | 11:00 am
    Home to a worldwide summit on climate change in early December, Denmark is setting a global example in creating clean power, storing it, and using it responsibly. Their reliance on wind power to produce electricity without contributing to global warming is well known, but now they're looking to drive the point home with electric cars. To do this, they've partnered with social entrepreneur Shai Agassi and his company Better Place. NOW investigates how the Danish government and Better Place are working together to put electric cars into the hands of as many Danish families as possible. The idea…

  • Water World

    23 Oct 2009 | 11:00 am
    Is climate change turning coastal countries into water worlds? NOW travels to Bangladesh to examine some innovative solutions being implemented in a country where entire communities are inundated by water, battered by cyclones, and flooded from their homes. Imagine you lived in a world of water. Your home is two-feet under. You wade through it, cook on it, and sleep above it. This is the reality for hundreds of thousands of people around the world, coastal populations on the front lines of climate change. Only weeks before world leaders meet in Copenhagen to discuss climate change, NOW senior…

  • Nurses Needed

    16 Oct 2009 | 11:00 am
    By the year 2020, a nationwide shortage of up to 500,000 trained nurses could mean that hundreds of thousands of patients will receive less attention and substandard treatment. Just as alarming, fewer nurses are choosing to teach the next generation of professionals, resulting in tens of thousands of applicants being turned away from the nation's nursing schools. NOW on PBS takes a hard look at the strains this crisis is placing on the entire medical system, as well as innovative efforts to reverse the trend.

  • PBS Special Report: Health Care Reform

    25 Sep 2009 | 11:00 am
    With health care reform now the most pressing and talked-about domestic issue in America, the hallmark PBS programs NOW ON PBS, TAVIS SMILEY and NIGHTLY BUSINESS REPORT are collaborating to provide a single timely and much-needed in-depth look at health care reform in America and the latest government proposals to address the issue. The program will include late-breaking news and analysis on the health care debate and also feature cultural, political and economic insight from each program: NOW ON PBS will examine how reform may change the way we live, especially for boomers who have their own…
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    PBS Ombudsman

  • Pox or Fox? We Report. You Decide.

    4 Nov 2009 | 8:30 am
    One of the most interesting aspects of this peculiar job is that you hear from viewers about lots of things that surprise you. I expect to hear regularly about The NewsHour, Frontline, Bill Moyers Journal, NOW, Tavis Smiley or Washington...

  • The Mailbag

    30 Oct 2009 | 3:30 pm
    This week's mailbag produced half-a-dozen or so letters from viewers who were angry at what they saw as PBS promotion of children being vaccinated against the flu virus, and in some cases, the H1N1 strain of that virus. Their ire...

  • Unearthing 'the Hidden History'

    22 Oct 2009 | 1:47 pm
    Most of the e-mails to the ombudsman this week came in reaction to last week's column dealing with Frontline's Oct. 13 documentary about Afghanistan with the controversial title, "Obama's War," and with the controversial use of footage of a fatally...

  • A Tough but Proper Decision

    14 Oct 2009 | 1:32 pm
    The long-running PBS documentary series Frontline aired its new season premiere this week, an hour-long look at the now eight-year-old war in Afghanistan that carried the controversial title, "Obama's War." I'll come back to that title a little further down...

  • The Mailbag

    7 Oct 2009 | 12:58 pm
    As I was saying, we would wait until the completion of the six-part, 12-hour Ken Burns series on "The National Parks" before pulling together a representative sampling of viewer observations sent to the ombudsman's inbox. Not surprisingly, this makes for...
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    PBS: P.O.V. Blog

  • How Did "The Way We Get By" End Up on POV?

    4 Nov 2009 | 2:45 pm
    The Way We Get By premieres on PBS next Wednesday, November 11 at 9 pm on most PBS stations. (Check local listings.) In this video clip from the film's world premiere screening at the SXSW Film Festival, a member of the audience asked how the film got chosen to be on POV. Here's what filmmaker Aron Gaudet and producer Gita Pullapilly had to say. HOW DID "THE WAY WE GET BY" END UP ON P.O.V.? from The Way We Get By on Vimeo. Learn more about The Way We Get By and watch the trailer on the POV website.

  • Doc Soup: A Conversation with Alyce Myatt, Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media

    2 Nov 2009 | 8:59 am
    Independent journalist Tom Roston checks in and writes about the world of documentaries in his column, Doc Soup. A few weeks ago, I spoke with Tod Lending, director of The Principal Story, about how he hit the jackpot by getting money from the Wallace Foundation to make a series of nonfiction films. I asked him if there were other goldmines for filmmakersout there, and he directed me to Alyce Myatt, the head of Grantmakers in Film + Electronic Media (GFEM). I just caught up with Myatt — and while she may not actually be sitting on a mountain of gold coins, she did impress me with GFEM's…

  • How Common Is Your Last Name?

    29 Oct 2009 | 2:10 pm
    In 1990, my last name — the prosaic-in-China but seemingly obscure-in-America "Xu" — was the 10,540th most common name in America. In 2000, my last name had made an incredible leap — it climbed more than 7,000 spots to become the 2,701st most common name in America. What a difference a decade makes! How common is your last name? And has it moved up or down according to the census? Find out in POV's Last Name Popularity Index! In 2001, POV aired The Sweetest Sound, filmmaker Alan Berliner's meditation on names. For the film's website, we launched the Last Name Popularity…

  • Doc Soup: Have the Great Titans Moved On?

    23 Oct 2009 | 2:44 pm
    Independent journalist Tom Roston checks in and writes about the world of documentaries in his column, Doc Soup. Have the great doc titans lost their oomph? And if so, is that such a bad thing? I got to ruminating over these questions when I began considering how, this September, we saw the two most popular documentary filmmakers release new works practically right on top of each other: Ken Burns' The National Parks: America's Best Idea on PBS, and Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story, in close to a thousand theaters. Both were released to good amounts of fanfare and then, well, they…

  • Last Chance to Register for the 2009 National Film Challenge

    20 Oct 2009 | 11:30 am
    Here are a couple of items in my inbox that I thought filmmakers might want to note: There is only about a week left until the launch of the 2009 National Film Challenge, the sister competition of the 48 Hour Film Project. There is still time to organize your team and register before the kickoff on Friday, October 23. Registration will be accepted through Thursday, October 22. On the following day, hundreds of filmmakers from around the world will start writing, shooting and editing their films. So whether you are a 48HFP virgin, or a seasoned 48HFP pro, stop talking and start filming! Mark…
 
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    PBS: Tavis Smiley . Young Voices

  • '08 Elections: Our Work Does Not End With a Campaign

    6 Nov 2009 | 2:16 pm
    This post was first published at VeniceforChange.com.BY MARTA EVRYI have a tiny, 750 square-foot house. But I've somehow made room for one of those enormous Obama "Hope" posters. You know the one. You've seen it a million times. This one sits framed in my kitchen. On it are the signatures of many of the volunteers I worked with on the Obama campaign last year.Every day I am reminded of the miracle we pulled off. Every day I'm reminded how, in our congressional district alone (CA-36), 1,500 volunteers made over 600,000 phone calls to swing states all over the country, and sent hundreds of…

  • Prioritizing the Basics

    2 Nov 2009 | 5:09 pm
    Q: I lost my job and haven't worked for 8 months. Most of my savings is gone. How do I prioritize my bills, house note and car payment? What is more important? What can you do if creditors give no slack to regular payments? A Visitor, Upper Marlboro, Maryland A: I don't have to tell you the awful unemployment numbers. It's bad out there for a lot of people. I'm working one-on-one with several people who are unemployed, and often, after speaking with them, I want to cry. (Sometimes I do.) At this point, you are in crisis mode. What gets paid are just the basic necessities. You have to have a…

  • A Quick Diversion on Philip Glass

    2 Nov 2009 | 9:36 am
    If you're like me, you spend way too much time trolling YouTube for nuggets of awesomeness like this. Hopefully, by my posting it here, I can save you some valuable time in your workday. Or, at least, give you a jumping off point for more video watching.The clip is from a 2005 documentary called Looking Glass, about the composer Philip Glass, and sounds to me like it's narrated by Werner Herzog. I couldn't confirm the latter, but Glass is truly a fascinating guy, and this clip gives a brief window into his brilliance.More on Philip Glass here.

  • A News Story with Heart

    2 Nov 2009 | 6:10 am
    For years, Byron Pitts has reported on some of the nation's most memorable stories. He's covered everything from domestic affairs in the U.S. to international conflicts around the globe. Many might even look at Pitts today and think to themselves that his life has been one of glamor and prestige. However, it is Pitts himself who will be the first to tell you that his life's accomplishments were no easy task. The CBS chief national correspondent and Maryland native grew up not knowing how to read until he was 12. He also lived with a stuttering problem until the age of 20. His road to success…

  • White House Releases Names

    31 Oct 2009 | 4:04 pm
    When I visited the White House, like most people, I got a tour that lasted roughly 10 minutes. It was a very fast tour of the one of the nation's most recognizable and powerful centers in the world.I would loved to have caught a glimpse of a guy like Joe Biden, who usually provides a lot of fodder for the late night talk show hosts, or even seen the White House bowling alley.While my name must not have reached the White House office yet, there have been others whose visit fared much better than my own. ABC News reports the White House recently released the names of visitors (in which…
  • add this feed to my.Alltop
    PBS: Wide Angle

  • World Links: Equatorial Guinea Pardons Simon Mann, Claude Levi-Strauss Dies at 100

    lauren feeney
    3 Nov 2009 | 9:34 am
    Czech President Vaclav Klaus signs the Lisbon Treaty, an agreement meant to streamline European Union decision-making that includes the establishment of an E.U. president. Klaus was the last hold out on the document, which required the unanimous support of all 27 E.U. member states. The treaty could now take effect as early as December. Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic appears at his war crimes trial at the Hague after having boycotted it last week, but asks for 10 months to prepare his defense. Judges temporarily adjourn the case while they decide what to do. The European Court of…

  • World Links: Karzai Declared Winner in Afghanistan, Opposition to Renew Challenge in Iran

    lauren feeney
    2 Nov 2009 | 2:58 pm
    President Hamid Karzai is declared winner of Afghanistan’s disputed elections after his main challenger, Abdullah Abdullah, withdraws from the race. Suicide attacks hit two of Pakistan’s largest cities — thirty people are killed in a blast in near  Pakistani army headquarters in Rawalpindi, and two suicide bombers and a policeman are killed in a car bombing at a police checkpoint in Lahore. French-Senegalese writer Marie NDiaye becomes the first black woman to win France’s top literary award, the Prix Goncourt, for her book Trois Femmes Puissantes (Three Powerful…

  • World Links: Haitian PM Ousted, Honduran Rivals Agree to Deal

    lauren feeney
    30 Oct 2009 | 9:08 am
    Ousted Honduran President Manuel Zelaya and defacto leader Roberto Micheletti agree to a deal that could lead to the creation of a power-sharing government with Zelaya resotred to the presidency. The deal, already hailed as “an historic agreement” by U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, must now be approved by the Honduran congress. In one of the biggest changes in the forty-year history of the Internet, web addresses written in non-Latin characters will soon be allowed. Former French President Jacques Chirac is ordered to stand trial on corruption charges dating back to his…

  • World Links: Iran Responds to Nuclear Deal, Race for E.U. President Begins

    lauren feeney
    29 Oct 2009 | 12:36 pm
    Iran hands over an initial response to a draft deal with the U.N. under which the country’s uranium would be sent abroad for processing. Iran is seeking two crucial changes to the plan — a slower timetable for delivery and the “simultaneous exchange” of nuclear fuel in return — but Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the country is ready to cooperate. The Taliban and Al Qaeda deny involvement in yesterday’s bombing that killed over 100 people in a crowded market in Peshawar, Pakistan. Kuwait’s highest court rules that female parliamentarians do…

  • World Links: Nearly 100 Dead in Peshawar Blast, Six U.N. Staffers Killed in Kabul

    lauren feeney
    28 Oct 2009 | 10:07 am
    Nearly 100 people are killed in a massive car bombing in Peshawar, the provincial capital of Pakistan’s Northwest Frontier. The blast hit a popular market full of fabric and clothing shops frequented mostly by women, and many of the dead are women and children. The attack comes as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits the country. Six U.N. staffers and two Afghan security guards are killed in an attack on their guest house in central Kabul. A Taliban spokesman takes credit, siting the U.N.’s involvement in Afghanistan’s presidential elections as the reason for the…
 
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