Viewers see no basis for accusations of bias for PBS
It's been 10 years since Dannemora. escape; Casting for Last American Newspaper
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I stopped watching the network news years ago.
Not because it was biased, but because it wasn't giving me enough. The 30-minute nightly telecast anchored by Lester Holt on NBC at the time gave me 22 minutes of news and eight minutes of commercials.
I needed more and PBS Newshour not only gave me twice as much, iit provided deep dives daily on the issues of the day and commentary from David Brooks every Friday.
And no commercials.
When people ask where I get my TV news - my number one source is still newspapers - I tell them PBS.
On May 2, President Donald Trump signed an executive order for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to stop all funding to PBS and National Public Radio stations. The funding amounted to about $1 billion or a tiny portion of the federal budget.
"Neither entity presents a fair, accurate, or unbiased portrayal of current events to taxpaying citizens," the executive order reads.
The Nieman Journalism Lab's research found just the opposite.
That seems to be a common thread with this administration. The facts rarely support the administrations's positions.
Nieman conducted a survey of 1,500 people who watch PBS regularly and found something interesting. Republicans and Democrats seemed to agree about its value.
- 54.5 percent of self-described "extreme conservatives" consider PBS a major source of news and information.
- 58.5 percent of self-described "extreme liberals" also consider PBS a major source of news and information.
But more importantly, Nieman found that PBS audience evaluate its news as unbiased.
And that audience is loyal.
Respondents said PBS was the news organization least associated with a political ideology.
The exact opposite of what Trump's executive order says.
When it comes to kids programing - you know Sesame Street, Arthur, Mr. Rogers - barely 5 percent of respondents said they distrust it.
There are Republican politicians who are trying to make Sesame Street into something evil. Isn't that a bridge too far.
"I've always loved PBS since I was a child," one respondent told the Nieman folks. "I trust it because they are the most harmless network I have ever seen. Everything is so pure and they speak the truth."
Nieman believes that people trust PBS BECAUSE it is publicly funded.
When I was growing up, and perhaps even now, PBS programming was often seen as "highbrow" because of shows like "Masterpiece Theater."
PBS programming is some of the most educational on television today, from Ken Burns' documentaries to shows such as Antiques Roadshow, Austin City Limits, NOVA, Finding Your Roots, Great Performances, American Masters, American Experience, Independent Lens, Frontline and of course, Masterpiece Theater.
For some reason, conservatives have opposed PBS and NPR for decades as a waste of money.
Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski said she believes PBS and NPR are an "invaluable resource that saves lives in Alaska."
I would make the same case for North Country Public Radio which continues to deliver some of the most in-depth local news coverage anywhere in the state.
Using his social media megaphone, Trump called PBS and NPR, "RADICAL LEFT 'MONSTERS' THAT SO BADLY HURT OUR COUNTRY!"
I wonder which Sesame Street character he was referring to: Elmo, Big Bird, Cookie Monster?
Margaret Sullivan, columnist for The Guardian who was once editor of The Buffalo News, also said it is the opposite.
"That’s wrong," Sullivan wrote. "Public radio and television in America are notable for their lack of bias; in fact, both organizations bend over backwards to present all viewpoints. The only prejudice they have is for traditional objectivity in their news gathering and presentation. If there’s a more balanced and thoughtful news report on TV than the nightly PBS NewsHour, I don’t know what it is."
I've been saying the same thing for years.
Play update
Some of the casting for my play, The Last American Newspaper, is set.
Among the players is Nick Baroudi, a Queensbury native and resident who has made a couple of movies, been on some television shows and was in Adirondack Theater Festival's "Dial M for Murder" last summer. He will be playing former Post-Star editorial page editor and Pulitzer Prize winner Mark Mahoney, also a Queensbury resident.
Marcus Kyd continues on as the director. Other cast members includes Lise Bruneau (Off-Broadway: The Cherry Orchard), Doug MacKechnie, Elizabeth Pietrangelo and David Girard, who also was in the Albany reading in March.
The staged reading will be presented in the cabaret space at the Charles R. Wood Theater July 25-27 and opening night is already sold out.
Dannemora anniversary
This week marked the 10-year- anniversary of the prison break at Dannemora that captivated the entire country for three weeks.
North Country Public Radio marked the anniversary with an interview with NPR reporter Brian Mann, who covered the jailbreak for NCPR 10 years ago.
People never seem to get enough of this story.
Flunking history
It would be interesting to see what grades Donald Trump got in high school history.
When he returned to the White House in January, he had a copy of the Declaration of Independence hung in the Oval Office.
So when Terry Moran of ABC News asked what the document meant to him, his reply was a confusing:
“Well, it means exactly what it says, it’s a declaration. A declaration of unity and love and respect, and it means a lot. And it’s something very special to our country.”
Obviously, that's not what the Declaration of Independence says. It is a declaration of war against a monarchy.
Frightening the president does not know that.
Avoid Reagan Airport
Hopefully, you are not traveling next Saturday when Reagan National Airport in Washington will suspend all airline operations to accommodate flyovers and fireworks for a military parade that President Trump has demanded.
Reagan International officials said the parade may impact scheduled flights and that travelers should check the status of their flights with their airline.
The parade will cost taxpayers between $25 and $45 million.
While the airport will not close, it will suspend operations between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m.
Powerful photo
Joe Seeman, the liberal activist and former Assembly candidate, posted this photo on Facebook this week during an Indivisible protest in downtown Glens Falls.
It shows the power of photojournalism.
It's also a reminder that Newspapers used to publish photos like this.
Coal is out, in?
Because of climate change, coal is being fazed out as a fuel source in the United States.
That was until President Trump took office.
The New York Times reported this week that coal-fired power plants in Michigan and Pennsylvania were scheduled to be closed in June.
The Trump administration ordered both to stay open as it continues its policy of depending on fossil fuels by declaring a "national emergency."
Did you know we had a national energy enmergency.
I just drove cross country and did not have any problems getting gas. I have not experience blackouts in New Orleans or in Queensbury.
The Times reported that the cost to keep the old coal plants open could reach tens of millions of dollars for consumers.
"Experts have said there’s little evidence of a national energy emergency, and 15 states have sued to challenge President Trump’s declaration, which was issued the day he took office," the Times wrote.
Even the companies that were closing were surprised by the orders to stay open and are scrambling to keep workers who were completing plans to shutter the facilities. In Michigan, the plant did not have any coal left to burn.
“What was surprising about this order is that nobody was asking for it,”said Dan Scripps, chair of the Michigan Public Service Commission. “The grid operator wasn’t asking for this plant to be kept online. The utility that owns and operates the plant wasn’t asking for the plant to be kept online, the state wasn’t asking for the plant to be kept online."
Ken Tingley spent more than four decades working in small community newspapers in upstate New York. Since retirement in 2020 he has written three books and is currently adapting his second book "The Last American Newspaper" into a play. He currently lives in Queensbury, N.Y.
Once again, the attack on PBS is the Stefanik, Stec, Simpson, Lafarr attack also. They are all Trump. They support him and put him in power. Every single Trump voter is responsible for the current destruction of our nation.
I've been reading your column and watching PBS News Hour for years. Never have I seen anything like the BS we hear from the Trump administration and Fox News. Thanx for your continued objectivity.