Election voices

PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler says NewsHour's state-focused "Big Picture" series, which features discussions with citizens about election issues, is "exactly what public television ought to be doing." However, "the press, in general, and television in particular, including PBS, did not do a good job at the time of explaining the implications of Democratic primaries in Michigan and Florida," he says. Getler received letters on both topics, including one from a viewer upset by the lack of African Americans in the NewsHour's Colorado discussion group.

Jane vs. the pigskin

It would be a shame "if 'Miss Austen Regrets' goes more unseen than most Masterpiece fare because of PBS' scheduling, which forces the hollow-eyed Jane to compete against several dozen heavily muscled gentlemen in padded uniforms," says Variety of Superbowl Sunday. "It's the kind of dunderheaded scenario, frankly, from which even the dashing Mr. Darcy would be hard-pressed to affect a rescue."