The ethics of editorial judgement, however, began to go though a sea change during the late 1970s and '80s when the Carter and Reagan Administrations de-regulated the television industry.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
Back in 1975, we were making all the decisions about what people were going to watch.
I do think that television, in its early years, played a significant role in that standard-setting, enforcing a certain decency among people. They took their role seriously, and the people behind the camera took their role seriously, too.
I don't think any industry was ever as closely scrutinized and written about and constantly in the public eye as television.
Even when I started in 1970, I knew that television was having a negative effect on our society.
The journalistic code of ethics governing the broadcasts requires that opposing views be presented, and that journalists' personal opinions or judgments be left out of factual reporting.
PBS was not a left-wing ideology. I mean, Air America was, but PBS was not. But anybody who tells the truth is now branded and marginalized. The devolution of the American press began in 1986 when Ronald Reagan abolished the fairness doctrine.
I believe our editorial decisions reflected our constant desire to make sure that we fully cover and analyze any issue and give our viewers all the information they need.
I think the media needs a little criticizing now, as it did in the '80s, don't you?
But having said that, there's also a sea change in attitude towards media.
There's been a sea change in our focus on corporate ethics. We've made more progress in the last three years than the previous 30.