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PBS Whitewashes Flawed Documentary
PBS plans to produce a follow-up documentary on child custody, family
courts, and parental alienation syndrome, to be aired in Spring 2006.
PBS does not indicate that the second program will highlight the
concerns or perspectives of fathers; indeed, the PBS statement does not even include the word, “father.”
Of greater concern is the PBS statement that says, “Additionally, the
documentary's ‘first-person story telling approach’ did not allow
the depth of the producers' research to be as evident to the viewer as
it could have been.” [emphasis added]. RADAR is concerned that in Breaking
the Silence Part II,
PBS will simply present biased experts and one-sided research that will
reinforce the propaganda-like conclusions contained in Breaking the
Silence Part I.
The PBS statement made no concession to Ken Bode, ombudsman for the
Corporation for Public Broadcasting, who wrote on Monday, “It was
precisely the lack of balance and fairness that caused so many viewers
to contact PBS and CPB ... Lasseur now says that [lack of balance] was
intentional. Simply put, that amounts to a plea of guilty to violating
the fairness and balance standards of PBS.” [http://www.cpb.org/ombudsmen/051219bode.html]
The PBS statement also ignored the criticisms by PBS' own ombudsman,
Michael Getler, who wrote on December 2 that the program comes across
“as a one-sided, advocacy program” and “there was no recognition of
opposing views.” [http://www.pbs.org/ombudsman/2005/12/introduction_and_breaking_the_silence.html]
On December 12, RADAR sent a letter to the Corporation for Public
Broadcasting calling for an Inspector General investigation of the
program. The letter reiterated RADAR's demands that PBS completely
retract Breaking the Silence,
and that PBS commission a follow-up documentary that highlights the
plight of children endangered by a court system that awards custody to
fathers only 15% of the time. [http://www.mediaradar.org/docs/RADAR_letterToCPB_InspectorGeneral.pdf]
A recent column by David Usher reveals how Breaking the Silence
is part of a broader campaign to influence public policy that would
make it far more difficult for divorcing fathers to gain shared
parenting rights of their children. [http://www.therealitycheck.org/GuestColumnist/dusher121905.htm]
RADAR will analyze the situation over the upcoming holidays and issue
our next Alert on January 2, 2006.
PBS Programming Statement on BREAKING THE SILENCE: CHILDREN'S STORIES
BREAKING THE SILENCE: CHILDREN'S STORIES chronicles the impact of
domestic violence on children and the recurring failings of family
courts across the country to protect them from their abusers. In stark
and often poignant interviews, children and battered mothers tell their
stories of abuse at home and continued trauma within the courts. The
producers approached the topic with the open mindedness and commitment
to fairness that we require of our journalists. Their research was
extensive and supports the conclusions drawn in the program. Funding
from the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation met PBS's underwriting
guidelines; the Foundation had no editorial influence on program
content.
However, the program would have benefited from more in-depth
treatment of the complex issues surrounding child custody and the role
of family courts and most specifically the provocative topic of
Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS). Additionally, the documentary's
"first-person story telling approach" did not allow the depth of the
producers' research to be as evident to the viewer as it could have
been.
PBS has received a substantial body of analysis and documentation from
both supporters of the documentary and its critics.
It is clear to us that this complex and important issue would
benefit from further examination. To that end, PBS will commission an
hour-long documentary for that purpose. Plans call for the documentary
to be produced and broadcast in Spring 2006. We expect that the
hour-long treatment of the subject will allow ample opportunity for
doctors, psychologists, judges, parent advocates and victims of abuse
to have their perspectives shared, challenged and debated.
Date of RADAR Release: December 20, 2005
R.A.D.A.R. – Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting – is a
network of concerned men and women working to assure that the problem
of domestic violence is treated in a balanced and effective manner: http://www.mediaradar.org/.
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After a month-long review, the Public Broadcasting Service has
disappointed thousands of viewers and given its stamp of approval to Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories.