This Is Where We Take Our Stand
Joel Kaplan
January 30, 2012
The documentary This is Where We Take Our Stand premiered on public television this month. It follows the lives of three veterans who were among the 250 active duty veterans who gathered in Washington, D.C. in March 2008 to testify about their experiences on the fifth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq.
The gathering was inspired by the 1971 Winter Soldier meeting held by the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Here, the filmmakers followed the veterans for three months prior to the event.
James Rauch of Buffalo, N.Y. is complaining about the documentary. But his complaint does not center on the anti-war theme of the documentary or charges that it was not balanced. He instead wants to know why it has taken so long to air—nearly four years since the rally took place. And Mr. Rauch surmises that the delay is due to CPB's succumbing to economic and political pressure.
"CPB did not air this important documentary covering the Iraq War veterans 'Winter Soldier' testimony for well over three years after it was made," Rauch said. "The pertinent question is not 'why show it now?' as posed by the filmmakers on the ITVS website, but rather why did CPB not broadcast it in a timely matter?"
First off, it is important to point out that CPB neither produces nor airs documentaries and has no control over when that happens. CPB does partially fund some documentaries. In the case of This Is Where We Take Our Stand, CPB did not invest directly in the production. CPB provides annual funding to the Independent Television Service (ITVS), which funds, presents, and promotes documentaries and dramas on public television and cable and new media projects on the Web, and which did invest in the production. While CPB has no input into ITVS content or selection process, per its agreement with ITVS, all distributions of ITVS programs carry an underwriting credit that identifies CPB's financial assistance.
Nevertheless, Mr. Rauch is upset that while the filmmakers thoughtfully planned out the documentary, "PBS put it in the can and locked it up for almost four years."
"This is an absolutely outrageous dereliction of the broadcaster's journalistic responsibility to provide timely, factual news coverage," he asserts. "The failure to air this powerful program in a timely fashion tells me that CPB is now little different from the corporate media, such as Fox.
"Sadly, CPB has come under the economic control of the GEs, Exxons, Chevrons, etc. of the very military-industrial complex that President Eisenhower warned us about 60 years ago. I am reconsidering my annual donation to this sorry excuse for an 'independent public broadcaster.'"
That's not exactly what happened, say both CPB and the documentary producer. According to CPB executives, the producers of the documentary originally conceived of the project as a Web-only series and launched several webisodes before deciding to produce a documentary for broadcast. The producers then applied to ITVS for funding. The project was chosen, though the contract was not executed until March 2010. ITVS invested $235,781 in the project, which was 61.7% of the total budget.
The typical timeline for ITVS productions is 12-18 months from the date of the contract, which would put the airdate to mid- to late 2011. The producers of the documentary attempted to secure placement on Frontline, but were unsuccessful.
The producers and ITVS then reached agreement with NETA (another program distributor serving most of the same public television stations as PBS) to provide distribution and targeted January, 2012, which was the anniversary of the first Winter Soldier event depicted in the film.
David Zeiger, the co-producer of the documentary, said that while he agrees with Mr. Rauch's sentiment, there are some important facts that put the production and the distribution of the documentary in context.
"We began the film independently, funded by a group of progressive investors in New York," Mr. Zeiger said. "PBS wasn't involved. After Winter Soldier, we lost funding from a couple of foundations to complete the film because their 'priorities' shifted to getting Barack Obama elected. After a year of looking for funding, we got support from a foundation to make the Web series, which went up in the summer of 2009. It wasn't until after that, late in 2009, that we even approached ITVS. The public television funding process is a long one, and we were finally able to begin completing the film in 2010."
Mr. Zeiger then addresses Mr. Rauch's complaint about PBS and Frontline:
"On the issue of Frontline and Independent Lens, while I of course agree with you that they 'should' have picked the film for broadcast, they are highly competitive programs—ITVS certainly funds a lot of great films, far more than get broadcast on those programs (including POV), and I can't speak for why they didn't pick the film. But it's important to know that this wasn't a case of PBS nixing or shelving the film to keep it off the air.
"As I've said many times, this film is certainly a difficult one for PBS to air in today's political environment, and I am sure that has entered into decisions. But in that light, the most important thing to note is that if ITVS had not courageously come in with significant funding, this film simply would never have been made, let alone seen on PBS.
"The broadcasts will be continuing through February, so I really encourage you to let your local station know how important you believe this film is, and that you hope they find a way to get it seen as broadly as possible."
According to CPB, the film is currently being broadcast on PBS World, a digital multicast channel operated by WGBH. As of Jan. 20, 1,290 airdates have been secured over 163 channels. The show's rights period extends through 2015.
Update — Jan. 31, 2012:
This statement comes from Bestor Cram, the other producer of the documentary:
"The film was not delayed for four years by PBS. We, the filmmakers, had raised money for the production and a Web site exhibition of elements of that material from sources outside of PBS in 2008. We then sought a post-production grant from ITVS in 2009 and were awarded that grant enabling the completion of the film. It was finished in 2010 and took a year before a PBS entity or affiliated entity agreed to broadcast it. NETA acquired it in August and presented it to the system in December of 2011, and it began its broadcast life in January 2012. The principal delay was the period between completion of the film and the time it took for various PBS strands to review it and determine their interest and willingness to broadcast it. It was not accepted by POV, Independent Lens and Frontline."
