http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/ombudsman/ en Copyright 2012 Fri, 04 May 2012 14:37:52 -0500 http://www.sixapart.com/movabletype/?v=3.36 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/ombudsman/images/pbslogo-rss.gif http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/ombudsman/ Here's a sampling of viewer commentary that landed in the ombudsman's mailbag in the past week or so. The observations cover lots of ground and several programs but the fire is most concentrated, again, on the recent "America Revealed" series... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/05/the_mailbag_viewers_revealed_to_be_not_please_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/05/the_mailbag_viewers_revealed_to_be_not_please_1.html Fri, 04 May 2012 14:37:52 -0500 One of the most important editorial standards that PBS has, as I see it, is not actually included in their "Editorial Standards and Policies" document. Those editorial standards and policies are meant to "serve as the foundation for editorial decision-making... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/flunking_the_perception_test.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/flunking_the_perception_test.html Fri, 27 Apr 2012 12:45:36 -0500 This is a tale of two phrases. One accompanies the conservative online media-watch site known as NewsBusters, declaring itself devoted to "exposing & combatting liberal media bias." The other is of uncertain origin but holds that "no good deed will... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/busting_the_news_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/busting_the_news_1.html Fri, 20 Apr 2012 15:19:26 -0500 In last week's mailbag, I mentioned that there had also been mail about the beginnings of a new 10-part series called "Finding Your Roots," presented by Professor Henry Louis Gates Jr., and that we would present them in the next... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/the_mailbag_more_on_martinzimmerman_portrayal_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/the_mailbag_more_on_martinzimmerman_portrayal_1.html Thu, 19 Apr 2012 14:28:40 -0500 The mailbag this week was filled mostly with reactions to two events: a segment on the PBS NewsHour April 9 about the shooting death in Florida of an unarmed teenager by a neighborhood watch volunteer, and last week's ombudsman's column... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/the_mailbag_white_hispanic_white_and_hispanic.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/the_mailbag_white_hispanic_white_and_hispanic.html Thu, 12 Apr 2012 13:49:38 -0500 The name Dr. Wayne Dyer has appeared many times in ombudsman's columns and mailbags since this position was launched late in 2005. The first time was in a column six years ago and the most recent was in a mailbag... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/wayne_dyer_a_religious_point_of_view.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/04/wayne_dyer_a_religious_point_of_view.html Thu, 05 Apr 2012 16:04:37 -0500 The headline on this brief ombudsman's mailbag is a paraphrasing of one of the more famous, irreverent but eminently practical questions ever asked by a war reporter, as Jonathan Randal pointed out in an obituary some years ago of legendary,... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/the_mailbag_anybody_here_against_war_and_spea.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/the_mailbag_anybody_here_against_war_and_spea.html Fri, 30 Mar 2012 15:01:56 -0500 http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/independent_lens_brings_a_focus_on_pbs.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/independent_lens_brings_a_focus_on_pbs.html Thu, 22 Mar 2012 15:34:01 -0500 This week's mailbag was filled mostly by reminders of old issues that never really fade away. One deals with a new pledge drive program titled "Dr. Wayne Dyer: Wishes Fulfilled," hence the first part of the headline above. The other... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/the_mailbag_wishes_fulfilled_and_unfulfilled_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/the_mailbag_wishes_fulfilled_and_unfulfilled_1.html Wed, 14 Mar 2012 14:58:03 -0500 The PBS NewsHour's Judy Woodruff introduced a segment on the program last night dealing with an important and timely issue by saying, "We turn to U.S. politics, as both parties have been working to win over female voters amid a... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/columnist_and_strategist_not_a_good_pairing.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/columnist_and_strategist_not_a_good_pairing.html Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:32:06 -0500 In the televised portion of his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on March 5, among the things that President Obama said was that "the United States will always have Israel's back when it comes to Israel's security." Really?... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/what_if_having_israels_back_means_another_war_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/03/what_if_having_israels_back_means_another_war_1.html Wed, 07 Mar 2012 14:56:35 -0500 I was away last week but President Clinton came back for a two-night, four-hour reunion with PBS viewers as part of American Experience's series of presidential biographies. The "Clinton" documentary takes us from the turbulent childhood in Arkansas through the... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/02/the_comeback_kid_came_back.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/02/the_comeback_kid_came_back.html Wed, 29 Feb 2012 15:23:01 -0500 It seems, these days, that we hear more about tweets than about foreign correspondence. But yesterday, American journalism, and citizens who value being informed with incisive, in-depth and courageous reporting, suffered a tragic loss with the death, on assignment in... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/02/anthony_shadid_reporter_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/02/anthony_shadid_reporter_1.html Fri, 17 Feb 2012 12:30:18 -0500 I usually do not get involved in the Friday night segment of the PBS NewsHour in which columnists Mark Shields and David Brooks provide their analysis and opinions about the week's news events. I don't do opinion, and I'm not... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/02/the_mailbag_blowing_off_steam_reactive_and_ra_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/02/the_mailbag_blowing_off_steam_reactive_and_ra_1.html Wed, 08 Feb 2012 14:24:34 -0500 http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/01/the_mailbag_factchecking_and_checking_the_fac.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2012/01/the_mailbag_factchecking_and_checking_the_fac.html Fri, 27 Jan 2012 14:00:43 -0500