Did PBS Bury an Exposé on Torture?
by Scott Horton
Scott Horton
This spring, PBS’s distinguished Frontline series aired a mildly critical account of the lead-up to the Iraq War entitled “Bush’s War.” As the airing of the program was announced,
the Bush Administration proposed to slash public funding for PBS by roughly half for 2009, by 56% for 2010 and eliminating funding entirely for 2011. Did PBS get the message? Perhaps.According to producer Sherry Jones, PBS told her that
“no time slot could be found for the documentary before January 21, 2009”—the day after Bush leaves office............... Watch the footage here:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-14/did-pbs-bury-a-frontline-episode-on-torture/...............
No one who has seen this dramatic documentary is likely to buy into the “rotten apples” narrative any longer.
Which may help explain why
PBS appears to be suffering from acute corporate indigestion over the work. The project was first offered to PBS in September 2007, with the representation that it would be available to air after May 2008. It was completed and circulated to PBS decision makers on schedule in May of this year. Their response?
According to producer Sherry Jones, PBS told her that “no time slot could be found for the documentary before January 21, 2009”—the day after George W. Bush and Dick Cheney leave office. Does that reflect concern that PBS would face retaliation from the Bush Administration for airing the program? I put that question to John Wilson, PBS’s Senior Vice President for Program, who didn’t respond following multiple inquiries. But January 21 is a Wednesday, and to me the only obvious reason for its selection is regime change.
..............
The producers decided to offer the show directly to local affiliates. As of this writing, roughly sixty-five percent of the PBS network have signed on to run the program, including the flagship New York (WNET) and Boston (WGBH) stations. Curiously, however, just
one major player in the network has declined: Washington affiliate WETA. The program manager for WETA also told the producers tha t the station simply had “no free time” until early next year. It’s worth noting that WETA’s CEO is Sharon Percy Rockefeller. She is the daughter of one senator and the wife of another—Senate Intelligence Committee Chair Jay Rockefeller. While neither Rockefeller nor Congressional oversight play any role in the documentary, there can be little doubt but that it raises painful questions for him. As public demands for accountability over torture policy rise, both Administration critics and defenders point to the role of the “Gang of Eight”—of which Rockefeller was one of the most prominent members. According to the Administration, they were briefed in detail about torture policies and acquiesced. Rockefeller handwrote a letter of protest after one briefing concerning the Administration’s broad-based surveillance program and locked a copy in his safe—but there is no suggestion he did anything comparable when torture was the issue.
If the next Administration opts to fully air the dark secrets surrounding the Bush Administration torture policies—as many now anticipate—Rockefeller may well have reason to be concerned about what will come out.more at:
http://www.thedailybeast.com/blogs-and-stories/2008-10-14/did-pbs-bury-a-frontline-episode-on-torture/
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