"It was clear to us then that PBS could not retreat from Death of a Princess without compromising the integrity and independence of the network," recall Larry Grossman and Newton Minow in Columbia Journalism Review. The former PBS leaders compare their handling of the controversial PBS docudrama with CBS's cancellation of The Reagans.

Classical Public Radio Network host Mark Sheldon died Monday of cancer. More from Colorado Public Radio.

Tavis Smiley says in the New York Daily News that listeners complained when he enlisted the conservative J.C. Watts to provide commentaries. "I had people demanding to know if I'd lost my mind," he says. "But my belief is we need to hear and examine different perspectives, not just our own."