Posted on 12/03/2005 6:17:47 PM PST by FreeManDC
"Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories" November 29, 2005
Ken A. Bode, Ombudsman Corporation for Public Broadcasting
The PBS program, Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories, a documentary about the treatment of abused children in divorce courts, aired on October 20 and produced a large number of submissions to our CPB Ombudsmen's web site.
The documentary was produced by Catherine Tatge and Dominique Lasseur, with support of a grant from the Mary Kay Ash Foundation, and sponsored for the PBS schedule by Connecticut Public Television. Lasseur/Tatge are veteran producers for PBS programs including a number of segments for the weekly news show "NOW with Bill Moyers."
Prior to the broadcast, Connecticut Public TV released a statement from the producers:
"When we began this project over a year ago, our goal was to produce a documentary about domestic violence and children. We had no preconceived notions about the issue...no specific agenda to prove or disprove. The finished documentary is simply a result of where countless hours of extensive research and interviews took us."
Those writing to us at CPB or to our web site challenged that premise of "no preconceived notions," essentially raising two questions: First, did Lasseur and Tatge get their facts right? Then, did they present a balanced treatment of the issue, or, as some charged, did they cherry-pick their evidence to support only one point of view?
The producers used a series of on-camera interviews, primarily with mothers and children, along with footage from a Battered Mothers Custody Conference to build their case that divorce courts in America are unfairly awarding children to abusive fathers in custody battles. Expert witnesses, including a family court judge, an intervention specialist and a custody evaluator all testify to a common viewpoint. The abuse is vividly described by victims and mothers alike. All support the mother's side in custody proceedings involving sexual or physical abuse.
Citing statistics from the Department of Justice web site, David Purcell of California wrote to CPB, saying the documentary ignores the fact that of those who perpetrate domestic violence on children 60 percent are women. A number of other PBS viewers also cited evidence contradicting the main thrust of the broadcast.
An important element of the film is Parental Alienation Syndrome (PAS), where one parent systematically alienates a child against the other parent, often using manipulations and lies. PAS has become a common charge in custody battles, seemingly favoring fathers. In other words, in court proceedings, mothers are more commonly charged with using alienation techniques against fathers and fathers tend to win the custody fights.
The experts provided by Lasseur/Tatge debunk PAS as "junk science." At one point the film states that PAS "has been thoroughly debunked by the American Psychological Association." Contacted for verification by a number of critics and viewers, the APA's communications director stated:
"The American Psychological Association does not have an official position on parental alienation syndrome--pro or con."
In this case it appears that Lasseur/Tatge plainly got it wrong. In a statement released to their website, the producers now say something quite different than they did in the film:
"We do not make the assertion that the phenomenon of alienation does not exist, simply that PAS seems to be wrongly used as scientific proof to justify taking children away from a protective parent."
Perhaps the most incendiary statement in the documentary, and the one that drew the most fire from critics, came from a custody lawyer for mothers:
"For the father to win custody of the kids over and against the mother's will is the ultimate victory short of killing the kids."
This, of course, spurred criticism from father's rights groups. Ned Holstein, president of Father's and Families said:
"A few groups are concerned about the accelerating trend toward joint custody of children and are striking back by accusing most fathers who seek custody of being batterers and child abusers. It's a shame PBS has dispensed with objective reporting and chosen to air an extremist point of view without looking at the political motives of the advocates it features."
The columnist and national radio host Glenn Sacks also cited legal research on the matter of PAS:
"Despite the film's claims, research shows that parental alienation is a common facet of divorce or separation. For example, a longitudinal study published by the American Bar Association in 2003 followed 700 "high conflict" divorce cases over a 12-year period and found that elements of PAS were present in the vast majority of them."
Another instance that prompted objections was the case of Dr. Scott Loeliger whom the film depicts as an abusive father. Loeliger charges that the show producers ignored extensive court filings, records and testimony that demonstrate conclusively that it was his ex-wife, not he, who abused their two daughters. He notes that his ex-wife was found liable in juvenile court for eight counts of child abuse, including physical abuse, and thus lost custody of the children.
Loeliger claims he gave this documentation to the show producers 6 months before the program aired, but he was ignored. In the documentary, the mother and daughter give poignant, even heartbreaking testimony. But is it true? Or is it a product of parental alienation syndrome? Among the press critics of Breaking the Silence was Glenn Sacks, whose column on the subject was headlined: "PBS Portrays Known Child Abuser as Hero."
As to the question of fairness and balance, several viewers suggested that the program directly violates the legal mandate of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to ensure strict adherence to objectivity in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature. I should note here that before a program is broadcast, CPB has no role in reviewing research, production or content. CPB ombudsmen are properly involved only post-broadcast.
My conclusion after viewing and reviewing the program and checking various web sites cited by critics is that there is no hint of balance in Breaking the Silence. The father's point of view is ignored as are new strategies for lessening the damage to children in custody battles. There is no mention of the collaborative law movement in which parents and lawyers come to terms without involving the court, nor of the new joint custody living arrangements.
The producers apparently do not subscribe to the idea that an argument can be made more convincing by giving the other side a fair presentation. To be sure, one comes away from viewing the program with the feeling that custody fights are a special hell, legally, emotionally, psychologically. But this broadcast is so slanted as to raise suspicions that either the family courts of America have gone crazy or there must be another side to the story.
The sponsorship of Breaking the Silence by the Mary Kay Ash Foundation also drew criticism on the CPB Ombudsman web site. A major part of the Foundation's mission is the prevention of violence against women, particularly abusive relationships. In July of 2003, the Foundation announced: "More than 650,000 Mary Kay Independent Beauty Consultants in the United States have joined forces to raise funds for the National Network to End Domestic Violence on behalf of the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation."
Each beauty consultant using Mary Kay products was tasked with raising money for the effort. A spokesperson for the Foundation said:
"The women of the Mary Kay independent sales force don't just sell beauty products, they touch women's lives every day."
One critic who reached CPB cited reports that the Mary Kay Ash Foundation is providing a stipend so that every battered women's organization in the country can put on private screenings of this film for their local judges and legislators. If so, PBS may find it has been the launching pad for a very partisan effort to drive public policy and law.
An organization called Respecting Accuracy in Domestic Abuse Reporting (RADAR) sent a letter to Congressman Fred Upton, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Telecommunications and the Internet, saying, in part:
"We are writing in regard to the PBS program Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories, a documentary about the treatment of abused children by Divorce Courts in America. The program falsely concludes that children are frequently awarded to abusive fathers by divorce courts.
"As such, the program directly violates the legal mandate of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting to ensure 'strict adherence to objectivity in all programs or series of programs of a controversial nature.' Even though CPB did not create this program, CPB is nonetheless obligated by law to assure that all public broadcasting programs conform to journalistic standards of objectivity and balance."
RADAR's letter is co-signed by more than a dozen organizations representing families and fathers, and it concludes with a call for a Congressional investigation.
PBS says it has received around 4,000 letters, calls and e-mails about Breaking the Silence. The National On October 20 the Public Broadcasting Service released a controversial documentary called "Breaking the Silence." The program was criticized as unfairly depicting fathers and misrepresenting the issue of child abuse.
Organization for Women issued an action alert calling for mail supporting the program. Glenn Sacks used his radio show to promote mailings objecting to the broadcast. Jan McNamara the director of corporate communication at PBS says the program is now under official review. That's good. Along with the motives of its sponsor (The Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation), Breaking the Silence needs to be reviewed for accuracy, fairness and balance.
PBS=CBS
Another example of foundations run amok by bias and liberal lies. Symptomatic of everything that's wrong with PBS-CBP-NPR whatever.
The "Foundation" has not run amok. It is their stated goal to work against violence against women. They only have two goals.
The only thing run amok here is anyone who would have expected an objective report from people fronting for Mary Kay. From their website:
We are committed to eliminating cancers affecting women by supporting top medical scientists who are searching for a cure for breast, uterine, cervical and ovarian cancers.
• We are committed to ending the epidemic of violence against women by providing grants to women’s shelters and supporting community outreach programs.
They atarted with an anti-male agenda - and hey presto - they made some anti-male propaganda.
*The documentary was produced by Catherine Tatge and Dominique Lasseur, with support of a grant from the Mary Kay Ash Foundation, and sponsored for the PBS schedule by Connecticut Public Television.*
Did you read the article?
No, I read the previous 18 posts of this same (more or less) article.
The producers apparently do not subscribe to the idea that an argument can be made more convincing by giving the other side a fair presentation. . . . [T]his broadcast is so slanted as to raise suspicions that either the family courts of America have gone crazy or there must be another side to the story.
There were numerous objections to this program before it ran. Doesn't PBS have ANY obligation to ensure that this sort of thing doesn't happen?
Whoever was responsible for putting this on, and whoever allowed it to go forward in spite of all those complaints, should be fired, at the very least.
By the way, why do Republicans vote to refund this sorry organization every year?
What happened to Spork? poor cat.
Disappeared - she was chipped, so maybe we'll find out someday. She was the happiest cat I ever had - her elder sister is still meowing for her every night.
They are sexist. They are a sexist organization. By word and deed.
I will let the product of their work and funding speak for them. "Breaking the Silence" is their product.
Here - I'll change a few words for you -
I have an organization that only:
1.) funds research into Male health issues.
2.) Funds males who are victims of an epidemic of judicial stupidity.
Would the media give the motives of this fictitious organization the same lack of notice?
And by the way - men do not get "the short end of the stick" - they get royally screwed by the legal system.
Your position is what they want you to think - "everyone should be against domestic abuse and breast cancer". (Of course everyone is against those things.) Then they use the money to lobby into research of women's health issues ONLY. (Which might make sense - if women didn't already outlive men by roughly 10%)(My question for you - whose health needs more research? The group living to 72, or those living to 78?). They use the money to promote an agenda and produce propaganda that vilifies males. Don't take my word for it - look at what they did.
Sexism is wrong.
FYI: Here's an example where "Breaking the Silence" was shown to judges and legislators:
http://trishwilson.typepad.com/blog/2005/11/breaking_the_si_1.html
EXCERPTS:
November 18, 2005
"Breaking The Silence" Shown In Massachusetts
"Breaking The Silence: Children's Stories" and "The Battered Mother's Custody Project" were both shown at the State House in Massachusetts on October 20. There was a panel discussion after the showing of "Breaking The Silence",
...
Lots of people who work on family law issues were invited to view both movies. These people are in need of educating regarding what happens to abused mothers and children in court. They needed to know that batterers are able to get custody when bogus "syndromes" like Parental Alienation Syndrome are introduced in court cases.
...
"Breaking The Silence: Children's Stories" is being shown to legislators and family law professionals around the country.
Mother's Research and Reference Center
New Documentary to Court TV, Frontline etc.
Family Court Failures
Please READ
[Note: Please respond the author of the message below, Meena Fox at
Abusesolutions@aol.com (and cc me at AuthorTalia@aol.com) Thanks!]
From Meena Fox:
Today I met with Dominique Lasseur of Tatge/Lasseur Productions,
who just finished making the PBS movie that comes out this Thursday
about Protective Parents, Family Court failure and PAS entitled "Breaking
The Silence: Children's Stories." Dominique is passionately interested in
continuing his work in this area, as he can see how raising the public's
consciousness about this problem and indeed, creating a public outcry
about it, will be key to achieving the reforms we seek in Family Court.
Dominique would like to focus next on judicial accountability for
these tragedies, and sees media exposure of the judges' heinous
misconduct in these child abuse cases as the best way to make an
impact on their future behavior. I know you will all agree that this
is a project that would be worth its weight in gold if he can pull it
off. He envisions marketing a series on Family Court failure to Court
TV, Frontline, America Undercover, or all three, if we can get him
enough information, footage and support.
The reason he met with me about this project is because I know all of
you and he was hoping I could rally you troops to help him with his
project, and I assured him I would be glad to. He is interested in
getting together a powerful collection of video tapes of Protective
Parents' court hearings, the type he used in "Breaking The Silence:
Children's Stories" in which Richard Ducote was arguing a motion in
Shelly's case to keep her daughter Manya from being given into the
custody of her father after disclosing years of abuse by him, where
the judge said the timing is suspicious, therefore I will deny the
motion and send her to live with the father. These types of courtroom
video tapes are used in most California Courtrooms in lieu of a court
reporter, and are available for sale at the court clerk's office. I
assume that most other states use these tapes as well. Shelly's case
was in Washington State, and Dominique has good footage from a Nevada
court too. So far these are the only two court tapes that he has, but he
wants to compile a big collection of them and use them as the basis of
his new series.
Dominique needs each of you to send him videotapes from your cases
where judges were awful to Protective Parents, i.e. treated them
disrespectfully or inappropriately, blew up at them, or just made
completely illogical or punitive rulings against them, or all of the
above.
Dominique requests that we contact all the Protective Parents who
might have access to such evidence and ask them to look in their
legal files, try to determine what day these rulings occurred on, and
then each order the tape from the courtroom for that hearing. Next he
needs each Protective Parent to preview the tape and keep track of
where on the tape the good footage is, so that when we forward them
to him, all he has to do is put the tape in the VCR (or the DVD on
the computer), and watch it, and he'll see the best footage. He does
not have time to watch hours and hours of tapes looking for when the
right hearing was called and trying to find the outrageous parts, he
needs us to do that for him.
Once we have compiled a good collection, he will make these into a
proposal piece to market a series for Court TV on Family Court
failure to protect child abuse victims. He could also market the idea
to Frontline or to HBO America Undercover, or all three, if we can
get him enough footage to start with. He has excellent footage that
Richard got him from Shelly's trial, only some of which he included
in the movie.
I suggested that we ask Crystal Streiloff to see if she can get
Dominique some videos from her case. I think that anything from Wendy
Titelmans or Idelle Clarks cases would be great examples. These were
just my first thoughts because these are cases I know a lot about and
worry a lot about all the time, but I know there are thousands going on
all around the country and each of you knows at least ten others who
you could forward this email to or suggest that I get in contact with.
Please do so!
Anyone who has the videos of their children's MDIC Interview where
the child discloses about the abuse should send Dominique a copy of
that.
Also, anyone who has audiotapes of conversations with their kids on
the phone where the kids are pleading to be protected from the abuse
or telling about the abuse should send these in too. Shelly and
Manya's conversation like this in the Breaking the Silence Movie was
probably the most compelling part.
In my experience many Protective Parents have videotaped child
visitation exchanges and have footage of children screaming and
pleading not to be forced to go with the abuser. This kind of footage
is so powerful! I have seen the tape of Idelle's daughter in this
situation and it made me come completely unglued.
Also, some children left in the custody of their abusers stop eating
and become anorexic. Before and after photographs of victim children
in this type of situation would be very visually compelling. Amy
Neustein, Crystal Streiloff, do you have these? Anyone else? Send
them in!
Make sure that each tape or photograph is clearly marked with the
Protective Parent's Name and contact information, and whether or not
the face of the child or mom must be blurred out by Dominique in
order to protect their identity. Clearly, if the tape they send is
their only copy and they need it back, they should either get a copy
made first and mail that, or include a letter saying by when it must
be returned to them, in which case Dominique would need them to also
give him permission to make a copy for him to use. He said it does not
matter if the quality of the tapes is bad, that this is just a
reality of the way they are made and will not affect their impact.
I want to start compiling a master list of who are all the current
Protective Parents so that we can be sure that we ask everyone to
participate, both in this project and in the California Protective
Parents Association's Protective Parent Survey, which so far has only
had 157 respondents! You seem to be the ones with the most contact
with moms, so would you be willing to help us get the moms going on
this filming project?
Please forward this email to all the Protective Parents you can think
of, and urge them to email me their name, email address, phone
number, mailing address, and if they would be willing to participate
in sending information in to Dominique or at least in filling out the
two page questionnaire for the Protective Parent Survey Research, or
if they would simply like to be included on the list of Protective
Parents so that they can network with each other or get support from
each other or get group emails about Family Court reform initiatives
that Child Abuse Solutions, Inc. is working on.
Time is of the essence on this one, since there will be a swell of
interest starting on Thursday evening when the movie first airs on
PBS, and Dominique would like to capitalize on that media interest to
start marketing the idea to the stations he thinks a series on this
topic would be best suited for. Will you please help me help him get
this information together? I am willing to be the one to receive all
the tapes and photos and keep them organized for Dominique. Please
send everything to me at:
Meera Fox
Executive Director
Child Abuse Solutions, Inc.
2625 Alcatraz Ave. #607
Berkeley, CA 94705
Call me with any questions at: 510-521-0438
and have all the Protective Parents you can think of anywhere in the
country email me at abusesolutions@aol.com to get on the master list
of Protective Parents!
Make sure everyone knows about the incredible new book available from
Barnes and Noble entitled "From Madness to Mutiny: Why Mothers are
Running from the Family Courts--and What Can Be Done About It" by
Amy Neustein and Michael Lesher. If every one of us sent one copy of
this book to our local Family Law Judge we would see a huge change
in how these cases are handled. I sent one copy to one judge who cares,
and he sent 25 copies to 25 other judges, on his own steam and at
his own expense! Please try this.
Note that Dominique is working on getting permission to distribute
copies of the movie. Child Abuse Solutions, Inc. is planning to
purchase the first 250 copies to include in a mailing going out to
all family court judges in California about the devastating effects
the PAS fad has had on abused children and their Protective Parents.
I have volunteered my web site, www.childabusesolutions.com, as a
place where Dominique can make the Breaking The Silence: Children's
Stories documentary available for sale in the future.
Please note that Garland Waller's excellent documentary "Small
Justice" is available from Intermedia, and would be an excellent gift
for your local family law judge as well.
Finally, encourage everyone you know to watch Dominique Lasseur and
Catherine Tatge's PBS documentary this Thursday night: Breaking The
Silence: Children's Stories. Please let Dominique know if you have
any connections to individuals or corporations who would be willing
to provide funding to get this new series on Family Court Failure
project going. Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation has generously
underwritten both Breaking the Silence Documentaries, but this new
project will need similar support from other organizations or
companies or people who care. If we all put our creative thinking
heads together, I know we can help him. Please let him know any ideas
or leads in this regard. I can forward his email to anyone who wants to
contact him directly about any of these issues.
Thank you!
For any Protective Parents or concerned professionals receiving this
email as forwarded from one of the original people I sent it out to
who do not know me or of me, I have included my bio, and I encourage
you to visit my website at www.childabusesolutions.com.
Meera Fox, J.D.:
[Before becoming a successful sole practitioner representing
Protective Parents of sexually abused children in Family Court
custody proceedings, Meera Fox worked for attorneys Richard Ducote
and for Alan Rosenfeld, helping Protective Parents in Family Courts
all over the country. She also represented juvenile wards of the
Dependency court as an attorney for Children's Law Offices. After a
three-year stint as director of new programs at the Child Abuse
Forensic Institute, working with Seth Goldstein, Ms. Fox now serves
as the Executive Director of Child Abuse Solutions, Inc. Ms. Fox
regularly speaks at conferences, testifies before the California
legislature on child protection bills, and trains court professionals
on various aspects of child abuse and the law. Meera Fox is a proud
member of the Family Court Reform Coalition.
Child Abuse Solutions, Inc. is a non-profit educational organization
committed to training Family Court and other related professionals to
be responsive to the needs of abused children. It offers workshops,
training, consultation, advice, referrals and resources to judges,
evaluators, mediators, and attorneys. Its education focuses on best
practices in child custody evaluation, litigation and adjudication
involving allegations of child abuse, sexual abuse, and domestic
violence.]
http://tinyurl.com/ckphb
"Breaking the Silence: Journeys of Hope," the compelling PBS documentary underwritten by the Mary Kay Ash Charitable Foundation and Mary Kay Inc., first aired fall of 2001 nationwide. Still airing in many markets, this sensitively crafted program raises awareness about domestic violence - focusing on women of strength and their journeys from victim to survivor. And now, you can order video copies through the American Bar Association, along with facilitator guides, for just $10.00, plus applicable tax and $3.95 handling.
http://www.mkacf.org/BreakTheSilence/JourneysOfHope/images/Models.jpg
Tatge/Lasseur Productions and its principals Catherine Tatge and Dominique Lasseur (the husband and wife team)
Taking away battered women's kids
By Sara Catania
July 1, 2005
snip
While there are a growing number of courts responsive to the specific needs of domestic violence victims (see Order in the Court), most family violence cases bounce women from court to court in a judicial system that takes no account of their unique circumstance. The scenario Tatge and Lasseur encountered time and again goes like this: A woman separates from her abuser and files for divorce. The father, who has shown little prior interest in the children, decides he wants joint or sole custody. The judge, seeing no link between spousal battering and child abuse, grants the request. "The abuser files motion after motion to slowly gain more custody of the kids," says Lasseur, who first became aware of the issue while working on a documentary about victims of domestic violence five years ago. "In some cases he gains full legal and physical custody of the kids."
The problem, Lasseur says, is that studies have shown that in cases where the father chooses to seek some form of custody over the motherís objections, there is a high probability that he has either battered the mother, abused the children or both. However, if the mother accuses the father of child abuse in court, the judge could suspect she is motivated by revenge and to reject the accusation as false.
Lasseur attributes this pervasive misperception to what he calls "an anti-woman bias in court" and to a theory called parental alienation. First introduced by Connecticut psychologist Richard Gardner in the mid-1980's, the theory states that women will concoct stories of physical and sexual child abuse out of vindictiveness toward their former partners. Though the theory has been denounced as junk science, it has caught on among batterer's defense attorneys and father's rights groups, as well as in the courts. "When they get to court, what does the judge see? The abuser usually has the better job, owns the house, has more money, and like all abusers, has a great talent to be together and likeable," Lasseur says. "The woman is upset, emotional, she comes undone. Itís like, wow, a crazy woman."
The anti-battered-woman phenomenon in child custody battles was first explored in Small Justice, a 2002 documentary by Garland Waller. Since then it has become a major battleground for the battered women's movement. "What's happening is threatening to undo the past 20 years of progress," Lasseur says. "Now you have police officers who explicitly tell women, if you are in a custody battle and you donít want to lose your kids, donít mention sexual abuse or domestic violence."
http://tinyurl.com/9los3
Gee, what a surprise!
Battered Women, Abused Children, and Child Custody: A NATIONAL CRISIS
Third National Battered Mother's Custody Conference January 6-8, 2006
Siena College, Loudonville, NY (two miles north of Albany)
2006 CONFERENCE PRESENTERS
DOMINIQUE LASSEUR CATHERINE TATGE
Producers, PBS documentary "Breaking The Silence: Children's Stories"
Husband-and-wife team Dominique Lasseur and Catherine Tatge
Lasseur is a veteran of French TV and Tatge is most known for directing the 1988 production of Joseph Campbell and the Power of Myth with Bill Moyers.
Executive Producer Michael Sullivan formerly worked on Frontline, PBS’s investigative documentary series.
PBS' "Breaking the Silence" Not Ready for Prime Time
October 16, 2005 | Carey Roberts
http://tinyurl.com/d2jg3
To lend the veneer of scientific respectability, the producers brought in Joan Meier, a law professor at George Washington University. But Meier brings her own set of credibility problems. In a recent interview, she made this claim from left field: “batterers are twice as likely to contest as non-batterers. And they often win sole or joint custody.” [www.washingtontimes.com/familytimes/20050709-104258-3244r.htm]
Maybe Meier was suffering from a brain cramp that day. Or perhaps she was thinking of Clara Harris, the Texas woman who fatally battered her husband by driving over him with her car. Just seven months after her murder conviction, Harris was granted custody of her two five-year-old boys.
PBS Internal Memo Tells Affiliates to Stonewall Protesters
A source at PBS sent us this confidential internal memo on Friday. The memo is an instruction sheet that PBS's national office has dispensed to their affiliates to instruct them as to how to deal with the thousands of people who have called or written them to protest the anti-father documentary Breaking the Silence. As you'll notice, the common theme of this memo is to stonewall protesters.
As you may know, a men's and fathers' issues columnist named Glenn Sacks has asked his readers to contact PBS and member stations regarding BREAKING THE SILENCE, which is scheduled to air tomorrow, October 20. Mr. Sacks believes that this documentary on domestic violence is unfair to fathers. His call to action can be found at http://www.glennsacks.com/pbs/.
In order to prepare you for any phone calls, letters or email you might receive, we have provided in this document an array of materials. We will also put it in Connect, in System-wide Information and in Communicate/Promote – under Announcements and Viewer Services. Please do not hesitate to contact me if you need anything further.
snip
Phone Call Message Points
We recommend not trying to convince the callers of the program’s validity, but simply to listen to their complaints and assure them that they’re comments are being taken seriously and will be shared. Some basic responses are below.
If they ask for contact information for the producers, they can email director Catherine Tatge at tatgeprod@tatgeprod.com.
* PBS stands by the broadcast of this program, which is an independent film that provides insight on various aspects of this very complicated and emotional topic.
* The purpose of the film was to chronicle the impact of domestic violence and children and the recurring failings of family courts across the country to protect the children they are meant to serve.
* We appreciate your taking the time to call us about your concerns. I will forward your comments to our President and CEO [or GM], programming executives as well as the filmmakers themselves.
Viewer Response Letter:
Thank you for taking the time to write to PBS about your concerns regarding BREAKING THE SILENCE: CHILDREN’S STORIES. Comments from our viewers - both positive and negative – are the best guides we have to make future programming decisions.
We have forwarded your observations to the filmmakers - producer Dominique Lasseur and director Catherine Tatge - who have asked us to share their thoughts about the documentary with you.
snip
http://tinyurl.com/e47tv
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