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PBS whitewashes anti-dad biasLast November, I wrote about the controversy about the Public Broadcasting Service documentary, Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories, which claimed that male batterers and child abusers frequently gain custody of their children in divorce cases after the mothers' claims of abuse are disbelieved by the courts. The film caused an outcry from fathers' rights groups. In response to these protests, PBS announced a 30-day review to determine whether the film met the editorial guidelines for fairness and accuracy.Unfortunately, it seems that the review amounted to little more than a whitewash.On December 21, PBS issued a statement acknowledging...

Ombudsman Slams Documentary, Despite PBS Whitewash PRESS RELEASE January 9, 2006 Contact: Mark B. Rosenthal, 781-956-1034, mbr@arlsoft.com WASHINGTON – Ombudsman Ken Bode has charged PBS with violating its own editorial standards in airing the program, Breaking the Silence. In his January 4 report, Bode concluded, “I found the program to be so totally unbalanced as to fall outside the boundaries of PBS editorial standards on fairness and balance.” [http://www.cpb.org/ombudsmen/060104bode.html] In a previous statement, Bode, who works as ombudsman for the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, criticized producer Dominique Lasseur for not interviewing any fathers for the program: “Simply put, that amounts...

... It was precisely the lack of balance and fairness that caused so many viewers to contact PBS and CPB. That was also the main thrust of my report. Lasseur now says that was intentional. Simply put, that amounts to a plea of guilty to violating the fairness and balance standards of PBS. ... I agree with everything Getler says, to a point. He allows that PBS editorial guidelines for fairness and objectivity were "bumped up against and maybe breached," but does not assert they were clearly breached. I think it is worse than that. There was no alternative point...

In October, PBS released a scandalous documentary about domestic violence titled “Breaking the Silence”. Despite studied science on the issue, the producers of the show intentionally censored all information contrary to their partisan mission, which we know now was to go to extraordinary lengths portraying fathers as batterers who take custody of children as the final act of abuse.

CPTV Show Earns A Rebuke PBS Ombudsman Criticizes Child-Support Documentary December 14, 2005 By ROGER CATLIN, Courant TV Critic The new ombudsman for PBS wasn't going to start his work until later this month. But criticism of a nationally distributed documentary, co-produced by Connecticut Public Television this fall, got him started early. "Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories," which aired in October, "was a flawed presentation," Michael Getler concluded in his first report as Public Broadcasting Service ombudsman Dec. 2. He hadn't intended to write his first report until Dec. 20 but he wanted to respond "while the events are still...

I’ve never heard of a Public Broadcasting Service documentary being slammed by two ombudsmen in the space of one week. But that’s exactly what happened to PBS’ ill-fated program, Breaking the Silence. The program, billed as an exposé of divorce courts, said that custody of abused children is often awarded to the abusing parent. Government reports reveal that mothers are more likely than dads to abuse and neglect their children [http://faq.acf.hhs.gov/cgi-bin/acfrightnow.cfg/php/enduser/std_adp.php?p_faqid=70], and that mothers in fact are awarded child custody about 85% of the time – so the documentary producers did have a point. But the ombudsmen peered behind the...

PBSgate November 30, 2005 by Gordon E. Finley, Ph.D. In airing Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories, PBS tragically has chosen to play the Dan Rather role in tonight's performance of "How to Lose the Public Trust." The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) web site states that "in selecting programs and other content for its services, PBS seeks the highest quality available. Selection decisions require professional judgments about many different aspects of content quality, including but not limited to excellence, creativity, artistry, accuracy, balance, fairness, timeliness, innovation, boldness, thoroughness, credibility, and technical virtuosity." Over the years, PBS has aired many wonderful programs,...

"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...

"Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories" November 29, 2005Ken A. Bode 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...

BREAKING NEWS: Corporation for Public Broadcasting Slams PBS's Breaking the Silence November 30, 2005 Some of you have contacted me concerning donations to our PBS campaign. It is certainly true that this campaign has been costly both in terms of money and time. If you'd like to donate to support our efforts, click here. Thanks to those of you who have already donated. To learn more about our campaign, click here. To learn more about the way Breaking the Silence portrays a known child abuser as a heroic mom, click here. Corporation for Public Broadcasting Report: 'No Hint of Balance...

Wednesday, November 30, 2005 Corporation for Public Broadcasting Report: 'No Hint of Balance in Breaking the Silence' CPB notes: it had no role in reviewing research, production or content; CPB ombudsmen involved only post-broadcast. MND NEWSWIRE - The Corporation for Public Broadcasting released a report Tuesday which endorsed the central charges made by fatherhood advocates protesting PBS's film Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories. CPB Ombudsman Ken A. Bode declared that there is "no hint of balance in Breaking the Silence." Bode noted: "The father's point of view is ignored as are new strategies for lessening the damage to children in...

A documentary's negative picture of fathers Child custody battles are always wrenching, particularly when there are allegations of abuse. For years fathers' rights groups have complained that men face a pervasive bias in family courts, while many feminists have countercharged that the real bias is against women. The latest round of this debate is being waged over a documentary, Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories, which has been airing on Public Broadcasting Service affiliates in the past month.The film's point is simple: Children in America are routinely ripped from their mothers and given to fathers who are batterers or molesters. The...

The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is being accused of portraying a known child abuser as a heroic mom. That has one national radio host comparing the situation to the "Rathergate" scandal at CBS News. The controversial PBS film Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories features mothers who have purportedly lost custody of their children in divorce to physically abusive husbands. However, it has been revealed that one of the moms featured in the film has a rap sheet for child abuse. Los Angeles-based newspaper columnist Glenn Sacks has uncovered documents showing PBS chose to ignore the fact that, in 1998, a...

Propaganda pieces normally contain an indisputable kernel of truth, which is then artfully embellished with innuendo, distortions, and half-truths. By that standard, the upcoming PBS program, Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories, doesn’t even qualify as good fiction. The program is so larded with Leftist fantasies and sweeping stereotypes you begin to wonder if producers Dominique Lasseur and Catherine Tatge thought they were doing a special for Sesame Street. A nice bedtime story wouldn’t be so bad, except this tale targets fathers and families. Breaking the Silence leads off with this whopper: “One-third of mothers lose custody to abusive husbands.” That...

Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories, airing on PBS affiliates throughout the country on Thursday, October 20, is a direct assault on fatherhood. The film portrays fathers as batterers and child molesters who steal children from their mothers. Breaking the Silence aims to reverse the minimal, hard-won gains shared parenting advocates have made in protecting children’s right to have both parents in their lives after divorce or separation. The film is extremely one-sided, and presents aharmful and inaccurate view of divorce and child custody cases. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -...

WorldNetDaily Thursday, October 20, 2005 PBS declares war on dads Posted: October 20, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern By Jeffery M. Leving and Glenn Sacks The 4-year-old boy is jumping up and down with joy. "Daddy! Daddy!" Dad gets out of the car. "Daddy's here! Daddy's here!" The boy is behind a locked screen door. He tries to open it. "Daddy's here! Mommy, look, daddy's here!" Dad knows he shouldn't open the door. He waits for his ex-wife to open the door. She doesn't do it. "This is my visitation time," Dad says, waving a court document. Mom still won't open...

MND EXCLUSIVE The following is an *exclusive* advanced copy of a letter sent to Pat Mitchell, the President and CEO of PBS. The letter, signed by 20 interested individuals and organizations, confronts PBS on its recent broadcast of "Breaking the Silence." November 2, 2005 Pat MitchellPresident & Chief Executive OfficerPublic Broadcasting Service1320 Braddock PlaceAlexandria, VA 22314 Dear Ms. Mitchell: PBS at one time enjoyed a well-deserved reputation for accurate and high-quality documentary programming. It is therefore not only sad but shocking to see a respected media outlet lower itself and journalistic standards with “Breaking the Silence: Children’s Stories.” This...

People say they love the truth, but in reality they want to believe that which they love is true. - Robert J. Ringer I am an instructor of criminal justice courses for Quincy College at Plymouth, MA. Central to each and every class is the concept of “critical thinking.” Critical thinking is necessary to analyze controversial issues and is central to our ongoing understanding of society and ourselves. The process of critical thinking entails putting three questions to each proposition. 1. Bias. Why was it done, written, etc? Locate the author in the social or political structure. Consider what the...

Over 2,000 Protesters Call, Write PBS over Anti-Father Film Breaking the Silence Within the first 48 hours of our new campaign, over 2,000 people called or wrote PBS to protest their anti-father film Breaking the Silence: Children's Stories. The film, which aired on some PBS affiliates on October 20 and will air on many others in the coming weeks, is a direct assault on fatherhood. The film portrays fathers as batterers and child molesters who steal children from their mothers.

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...

Current day societal prodding asks … no, demands our polite silence when it comes to honestly addressing the difficult matters of homosexual behavior.  Further, it strongly suggests that we should stand idle while victim class marketers ride rough-shod over our common sensibilities and undermine our most basic of rights.  We are to feign acceptance of lifestyles that we cannot conscientiously accept, and willingly remove ourselves from public debate and discourse on the matter.  I am, of course, talking about the meticulously planned and coordinated effort to promote and force the acceptance of homosexual behavior on society in general and on...