Posted by
Mike Bates on Friday, September 19, 2008 9:38:38 PM
On
PBS's Web site today, ombudsman Michael Getler
writes of complaints over an incident during last Sunday's pledge
drive. He describes the cheap shot taken by actor Mike Farrell against
vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin:
According to Joseph Campbell, vice president of fundraising programs, here's what happened:
"During the broadcast of 'The 60s Live!: My Generation,
My Music,' a special featuring Eric Burdon (of the Animals), the Mamas
and the Papas, Roger McGuinn (of the Byrds) and others, celebrity host
Mike Farrell made an unscripted remark regarding the presidency of the
United States. Mr. Farrell's spontaneous comment was entirely unplanned
and does not represent the views of PBS, its employees or its member
stations."
Campbell explained that, aside from performance clips by many stars
of the 60s and pledge breaks featuring station-produced testimonials, a
number of celebrities appeared live, including Farrell. "He made the
comment live and gave us no indication of his intentions. Immediately
after he went off the air he was confronted about his comments and
promised that he would stay 'on script' for the remainder of the
telecast, and did."
The exact exchange is as follows:
While Farrell is introducing Michelle Phillips of the Mamas and
Papas, Phillips says: "People may even know us as boyfriend and
girlfriend from (the TV show) 'Providence.'" Then Farrell says:
"'Providence' that's right. Now I've been thinking about the fact that
with all your qualities and the fact that you don't know anything about
economics or foreign policy that you could be in line for the
Presidency!"
Getler rightly notes that making political statements while asking
viewers for contributions "is just plain stupid, and contradictory to
the purpose and credibility of PBS." He includes a sampling of letters
received, all of which are critical.
Actor Mike Farrell's extremely liberal views and eagerness to voice
them are well known and his comment should not have been totally
unexpected. Still, at least PBS is recognizing that - at least during
fundraisers - it's prudent to dial down the bias.