http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/ombudsman/ en Copyright 2009 Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:14:02 -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/ In last week's Ombudsman's Column, I posted e-mails from some viewers who were upset with an episode of the venerable children's program Sesame Street that had aired on Oct. 29 and dealt with one of the program's colorful creations, the... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/11/sesame_street_responds_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/11/sesame_street_responds_1.html Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:14:02 -0500 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... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/11/pox_or_fox_we_report_you_decide.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/11/pox_or_fox_we_report_you_decide.html Wed, 04 Nov 2009 11:30:36 -0500 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... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/the_mailbag_15.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/the_mailbag_15.html Fri, 30 Oct 2009 17:30:39 -0500 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... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/unearthing_the_hidden_history.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/unearthing_the_hidden_history.html Thu, 22 Oct 2009 15:47:03 -0500 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... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/a_tough_but_proper_decision.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/a_tough_but_proper_decision.html Wed, 14 Oct 2009 15:32:19 -0500 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... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/the_mailbag_17.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/the_mailbag_17.html Wed, 07 Oct 2009 14:58:24 -0500 Not About 'The Parks' The sweeping, six-part, 12-hour documentary series by Ken Burns, "The National Parks: America's Best Idea," is still running at the time of this posting, so I'm going to save some of this week's mail commenting on... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/the_mailbag_16.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/10/the_mailbag_16.html Fri, 02 Oct 2009 14:13:59 -0500 What follows is more of a grab bag rather than an ombudsman's mailbag. Included are a couple of unusual but not widely known episodes that unfolded last week that I thought might be of interest more broadly to PBS viewers.... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/pbs_yes_and_no.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/pbs_yes_and_no.html Fri, 25 Sep 2009 10:47:19 -0500 Most of the mail that accumulated while I was away focused on two segments of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. One aired on Tuesday, Sept. 15, and dealt with a new and strongly-worded report from the United Nations about the... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/the_mailbag_13.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/the_mailbag_13.html Fri, 18 Sep 2009 16:31:36 -0500 I'll be away from the office until Sept. 18, but will be checking in electronically from time-to-time and my assistant, Marcia Apperson, will be here to handle your inquiries. You can continue to contact us at ombudsman@pbs.org or 703-739-5290.... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/away_from_the_office_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/away_from_the_office_1.html Mon, 14 Sep 2009 12:28:51 -0500 http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/end_of_the_rainbow_1.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/09/end_of_the_rainbow_1.html Thu, 03 Sep 2009 13:12:29 -0500 'The Moderator, Not the Judge' The headline on this column is from an answer I got from Linda Winslow, the executive producer of The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer. In the mailbag this week, not surprisingly, were a number of e-mails... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/08/the_mailbag_14.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/08/the_mailbag_14.html Fri, 21 Aug 2009 10:21:59 -0500 What follows is a sampling of the mail that landed here while I was away last week. There are lots of subjects covered so this gets pretty long. First come some follow-ups to the July 29 column that dealt with... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/08/the_mailbag_11.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/08/the_mailbag_11.html Wed, 12 Aug 2009 16:06:23 -0500 (Ombudsman's Note: I'll be away from the office until Aug. 10 but my assistant, Marcia Apperson, will be here and you can continue to contact us at ombudsman@pbs.org or by phone at 703-739-5290.) Two PBS programs in recent days struck... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/07/beauty_and_the_beasts.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/07/beauty_and_the_beasts.html Wed, 29 Jul 2009 14:42:37 -0500 This week's mailbag found viewers taking some pretty clear stands on three recent programs or segments. Last week's column featured an assault on the host of the weekly Bill Moyers Journal by conservative commentator Brent Bozell. It included some lengthy... http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/07/the_mailbag_12.html http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/rss/redir/http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2009/07/the_mailbag_12.html Thu, 23 Jul 2009 11:35:00 -0500