January 28, 2005
Damn those dykes: PBS caves under pressure
A cartoon character visiting a farm is apparently too controversial for the corporate overseers at PBS. PBS won't distribute kids' show featuring lesbian couple
A number of local public television stations may run an episode of the animated series Postcards From Buster featuring a family headed by a lesbian couple, despite a decision by PBS not to distribute the program.Posted by Norwood at January 28, 2005 05:06 AMPBS said its unusual decision to drop the episode was made independently, not because of pressure from the U.S. Department of Education's new secretary, Margaret Spellings.
Spellings on Tuesday wrote to PBS President Pat Mitchell asking the network to consider removing the department's logo and returning the public money spent on the episode.
"Many parents would not want their young children exposed to the lifestyles portrayed in this episode," she wrote.
PBS arrived at its decision not to distribute the episode the same day, but not because of the letter, said John Wilson, senior vice president of programming.
PBS member stations are autonomous and may choose which programs to air in their communities, but when PBS supplies a program, it appears in TV guides and schedules and many stations feel compelled to run it, Wilson said.
The series, designed for children ages 6 to 8, shows the animated bunny Buster visiting real children across the United States.
"This is a show about kids learning from other kids," said Jeanne Hopkins of WGBH-TV in Boston, which produced the program. "We've visited kids who are Muslim, Mormon, Eastern Orthodox, Pentecostal, kids rurally, kids in cities, kids whose fathers and mothers are heterosexual, single parent, living with grandparents."
