via pbs.org
The above report is another reason why I am saddened tonight because the excellent PBS newsmagazine show "Now" has folded its tent after 8 years of bringing us stories like this one. I started watching Now right from its first episode 8 years ago, marking the return of Bill Moyers as well as responsible, intelligent, mature, and truly hard-hitting journalism, to American television. Coming in the midst of the Dubya presidency, it was such a breath of fresh air - even when it was depressing as hell by pointing out the hell being wrought on earth. The show made enough people in power uncomfortable enough that Moyers got pushed out (until he was able to come back with his Journal) and the show was cut down to half its original length. But it continued to do a remarkable job of giving us a window into important issues in the world with David Brancaccio at the helm. And didn't hesitate to criticize those in power, even after presidential power changed hands in this country - as you can see in the above report from a couple of months ago.
One can only hope that whatever new shows are replacing Now and Bill Moyers' Journal (which also aired its last episode tonight), have the clear perspective and the honest drive to keep holding the powerful to account for what they are doing to the powerless; and keep holding up the mirror to all of us so we can see what is being done by us, or in our name, in this global world.
Meanwhile, we have the complete archives of both shows on their PBS websites!! I will keep drawing upon it from time to time, I'm sure, to remind myself of some of the important issues of our times that keep getting short shrift in the rest of the mainstream media, and are too often brushed under the carpet amid the press of more imminent crises, or the myriad distractions of global consumerism.
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