The second item in the ombudsman column Monday by the Public Broadcasting System's Michael Getler deals with complaints from viewers who believe the publicly funded PBS carries too many Christian-oriented programs.
This is not a new complaint to the nation's two public media organizations. Back in August we commented on a similar column written by National Public Radio ombudsman Jeffrey Dvorkin. These complaints seem to be of the same vein.
According to Getler, most of the complaints dealt with specific programs. In thorough fashion, Getler dispatches with the complainers who were "very concerned about the amount of Christian-related content oozing onto PBS." The horror!
I found most of the complaints cited by Getler ridiculous. As a journalist I receive my fair share of kooky comments, along with an equal number of solid questions and informed statements of opinion. I wonder, where are the informed, intelligent complaints about the coverage of religion on PBS?
And where are the complaints about separation of church and state? I guess/hope we've moved beyond that for public broadcasting. As long as the news or feature value of the shows' content was valid -- which they appear to be -- how can one complain?
Here's my favorite complaint:
It seems each show, whether it's historical, scientific or documentary in nature[,] is flush with some sort of Christian angle. In this age of growing multi-ethnicity in the U.S., and increased conflict and tension between cultures of religion around the world, I find this bias highly disturbing and worse -- validating the new Right Wing Evangelical perspective that has become oppressive in this country." This viewer mentioned recent, high profile and high viewership series such as "Walking the Bible" and "Country Boys" and an earlier documentary on "The Appalachians."
Where to start? Christianity is not exclusive to the right-wing evangelicals, ignoring a religion will not help subside conflicts and tensions and a relatively heavy load of religion programming does not implicate bias. Disclaimer: I have not seen any of these shows so I cannot judge their quality of slant.
Here is Getler's explanation for the rise in Christian-related programming:
We have, of course, just passed the Christmas season. And we are also at a time, in mid-January, when the three-part documentary "Walking the Bible" is airing around the country. This series is based on the best-selling book by author Bruce Feiler, who also hosts the series and takes viewers on a 10,000-mile journey based on a retracing of the routes contained in the first five books of the Bible. This series drew above average viewership nationwide, and, according to the producers, the "vast majority" of the responses sent directly to them were positive. I got some of those as well. But the majority of people who wrote to me complained. "The show is simply religious propaganda wrapped in pseudo-history and dubious legend," wrote a Baltimore viewer. A resident of Omaha, Neb., said, "The schools and governments are prohibited from promulgating superstitious dogma. How is it that PBS can even consider such as 'Walking the Bible'?"
The "Walking the Bible" miniseries also roughly coincided in January with the airing of "Country Boys," a three-part, six-hour documentary presented by PBS's highly respected "Frontline" program and produced by widely-acclaimed producer David Sutherland. This was a very powerful program. The mail to me was overwhelming positive, and I'm the guy to whom people are supposed to complain. This painstakingly documented portrait of two teenagers struggling to escape poverty in a small Kentucky town also achieved solid viewership around the country, although not as high on average as the Bible series. But "Country Boys" also had a sizeable dose of religion throughout.
On the other hand, religion is a big part of life in those communities, and that's just the way it is and it needs to be reported and reflected. I didn't see "The Appalachians," which aired well before I got to PBS, but it is the same region. Indeed, Christianity, and religion generally, have always been a very big part of American life and it is only natural that portraits of who we are as a country will contain this as one aspect.
Yet, I found this collection of messages from viewers around the country to be important and worthy of attention and discussion within PBS and its vast network of independent member stations. Is religious content being elevated these days? If so, why is that happening? Is it intentional and how should public television handle it?
Getler's three questions are something of a copout, but not one I can be too hard on him for taking. They are tough questions and deserve some serious debate.
Q. Is religious content being elevated these days?
Q. Why is that happening?
Q. Is it intentional and how should public television handle it?
Tmatt believes that PBS could be attempting to attract viewers in a country that is about 40 percent evangelical Protestant and another 85-90 percent self-identifying as "Christian." Taxpayers are also the base of much of PBS' funding, and taking on subjects that involve its viewers' lives might be a smart move. If the country were 30 percent Islamic, I'm sure the network would air more shows on Islam.