Is PBS becoming the BBC?
Joel Kaplan
July 16, 2012
April Wolff of New York is complaining that there is too much British programming on public television, citing Masterpiece and Downton Abbey. She wants more American Experience as well as more American Masters and would like to see a program on William Faulkner, which she says is a much greater writer than Harper Lee and a much deeper writer on racism in the South.
Finally, Ms. Wolff complains that all PBS documentaries except for Frontline are from Ken Burns. "Other than that, everything is great and thanks!!!," she writes.
Here is the response of John F. Wilson, senior vice president and chief TV Programming Executive for PBS to Ms. Wolff's complaints:
"Each year, PBS provides member stations with approximately 3,000 hours of unduplicated content. We take pride the fact that we are a variety service. Our goal is to present outstanding content in every genre.
"In addition to British drama, films by Ken Burns and FRONTLINE, PBS' programming includes the historical portraits of AMERICAN EXPERIENCE, the science explorations of NOVA, award-winning news programs PBS NEWSHOUR, WASHINGTON WEEK, NEED TO KNOW and other public affairs series, independent film showcases POV and INDEPENDENT LENS, celebrations of art and culture through GREAT PERFORMANCES, AUSTIN CITY LIMITS and much more. In addition, mini-series - such as the recent FINDING YOUR ROOTS WITH DR. HENRY LOUIS GATES, which uses DNA research to delve into the personal identify of group of remarkable individuals, and AMERICA REVEALED, a look at the complex systems that keep our nation working - add still more topics and voices to the content we present. Currently, our stations are in the midst of the 2012 Summer Arts Festival, a multi-part weekly series that kicked off on June 29 that takes viewers across the country and around the world through an eclectic collection of programs that feature a wide variety of subjects, from a high school Mariachi band to the famous Barnes collection.
"Regarding British programming, MASTERPIECE has been a part of the PBS schedule for more than 40 years and it has been a favorite of viewers and members. It is not to everyone's taste, of course. MASTERPIECE comprises about 75 hours of the total amount of content we distribute to our member stations. Similarly, the films of Mr. Burns make up a relatively small part of our overall offerings. The most recent Ken Burns series to debut on PBS was PROHIBITION, which premiered in October 2011. The next series we are planning to air is THE DUST BOWL, which is slated for November 2012.
"As someone who enjoys some types of PBS programming but not others, you might be interested in the PBS Video Player (http://video.pbs.org/), which offers free steaming of thousands of PBS titles on a 24/7 basis. Users can search for content by topic or show title or review the "most shared" and "most watched" videos. All of these features allow our visitors to watch what they want when they want. Last month, Americans watched nearly 137 million videos across all of PBS' web and mobile platforms. We hope you will have an opportunity to explore what we have to offer in this digital arena.
"We greatly appreciate your interest in our content and thank you for your frank observations. Comments from viewers - both negative and positive - are our best guide in making future programming decisions."
Additionally, in her complaint about Ken Burns, Ms. Wolff cited the documentary on New York City. That documentary was actually directed by Ric Burns, who is Ken Burns' brother.