PBS ombud: race segment "too long", short on illumination

PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler reviews a Jan. 14 NewsHour segment on the racially-themed sparring between the Obama and Clinton campaigns. He concludes that the selection of partisan interviewees "led to a lengthy argument, rather than an examination of what, if anything, is really going on. Two more independent observers probably would have been more illuminating." The column also includes a response from the NewsHour's e.p.

Wash. signal goes to KUOW

KUOW-FM in Seattle is likely to start broadcasting on a new full-power signal in Bellingham, Wash., after resolving its competition for the frequency with KPLU-FM in Seattle/Tacoma, reports the Puget Sound Business Journal. Both stations had applied to the FCC for the open channel, and KPLU withdrew.

Critic finds Austen blowout mostly pleasurable

Writing for the New Yorker, Nancy Franklin reviews the "four-month Austenpalooza" now underway on PBS's rebranded Masterpiece. "[T]he Austen logjam has many pleasing aspects—as well as aspects that will vex Austen maniacs, but, as far as I can tell from the various Web sites devoted to the author, being vexed is part of the joy of being an Austen maniac," she writes. Screenwriter Andrew Davies, who penned several of the Masterpiece installments, appeared recently on NPR.