PBS press tour notes

PBS announced that Ken Burns now has a place of his own in Apple's iTunes online media store. Viewers can buy and download Burns’ documentaries and related music, audiobooks and podcasts. Also at the summer press tour, PBS said it has scheduled African American Lives 2 for February, hosted by Henry Louis Gates Jr. and tracing the ancestry of Maya Angelou, Dave Chapelle, Morgan Freeman, Jackie Joyner-Kersee and one “ordinary individual,” yet to be announced. PBS also announced that pubTV's new digital multicast channel, PBS World, will launch nationally Aug. 15.

Burns adds new material at ends of "The War" episodes

Ken Burns told TV critics yesterday that 28 minutes of footage about Hispanic and Native American soldiers is being added to The War, AP reported. Material about two Latinos will appear before final credits at the ends of episodes 1 and 6 and about an Indian solider at the end of episode 5. "It doesn't alter the vision of the film that we made and completed a year and a half ago," he said. But adding the material at the ends of episodes may draw complaints from Latino leaders who had already objected to tacked-on heroes. Antonio Morales of the American GI Forum did not object in a statement: "The two Latino Marines who are part of the documentary 'The War' represent the honor and patriotism of all Hispanic-Americans," he said. Kansas City Star critic Aaron Barnhart quotes Burns: "I think we've found the right balance, had the right compromise, that permitted us not to alter our original vision and version of the film and at the same time honor what was legitimate about the concerns of a group of people who, for 500 years, have had their story untold in American history." The American GI Forum was one of two Latino groups that issued a joint agreement May 9.

Talent Quest names Round 3 contestants

The results from Round 2 of the Public Radio Talent Quest were announced yesterday. Three finalists eliminated from the competition were Bee Jellyfish, Carrie Kaufman and Komal Trivedi. The People's Choice winner from Round 2 is Rebecca Watson, the contestant who also received the ranked highest rankings among PRTQ online voters in Round 1.