Current.org Blog

CPB's bipolar approach to political programming extends to its $20 million "America at a Crossroads" project, the New York Times reports. First, the corporation gave a preliminary grant for a film about controversial neocon and former Bush advisor Richard Perle to an old Perle pal. Then it commissioned a critical examination of Bush foreign policy to balance the first film. "I think the American tradition of journalism is that if something is controversial, the initial treatment of it would provide sufficient balance," said Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, who helped PBS update its editorial guidelines.