Peabody Awards recognize independent public television producers

This year's Peabody Awards hold special places of honor for independent producers, just as critics charge PBS is trying to marginalize them. Operating with far fewer resources than the PBS network, independent producers won four awards, while their wealthier PBS colleagues won three. The series "Independent Lens" was the only television program honored with two Peabodys, both for documentaries – one award went to "Bhutto," on the life of Benazir Bhutto, described by ITVS as "an epic tale of Shakespearean dimension. It's the story of the first Muslim woman elected in history to lead an Islamic nation: Pakistan." She was……

PBS President says no major retooling needed for public TV, but mulls adding pay-TV service

PBS President Paula Kerger said today she disagreed with Bill Moyers' call for a national meeting to reconsider and re-define U.S. public broadcasting. Moyers called for a "constitutional convention" to spur a "rebirth" of public television and radio, in a speech this month to public TV executives. "The core problem," said Moyers, "is that we still don't have an expansive national vision of what we're about, where we want to go and what we want to become. Until we are able to say clearly and comprehensively what it is we really want to do, how much it will cost, and……