Pbs Program Topic Report
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January 2006 PBS PROGRAM TOPIC REPORT ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QPTR Category: Abortion ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOLA Code: NOWD 000202C1 Series Title: NOW Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/13/2006 7:30:00 PM Length: 30 Big brother? Did the president break the law by ordering domestic spying? NOW investigates in THE WATCHERS. Judging the judge. As confirmation hearings of Judge Alito end this week, MARY KAY CULP, executive director of Kansans for Life, says what it means to her to have him confirmed. A David Brancaccio interview. NOLA Code: MLNH 008444C1 Series Title: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/18/2006 6:00:00 PM Length: 60 Segment: 00:07:31 Format: Interview/Discussion/Review; News The U.S. Supreme Court resurrected a New Hampshire abortion law Wednesday and declared that at least one part of it is "intolerably vague," and then sent the entire case back to the lower court. Gwen Ifill discusses implications of the court's unanimous decision and comments by retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor's that could affect the future of abortion rulings with Marcia Coyle, Washington bureau chief and Supreme Court correspondent for The National Law Journal. QPTR Category: Aging ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOLA Code: MLNH 008442C1 Series Title: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/16/2006 6:00:00 PM Length: 60 Segment: 00:07:56 Format: Interview/Discussion/Review; News More than two weeks after the new Medicare prescription drug program took affect, many seniors are still reporting a series of problems stemming from the challenges of transmitting data among computer systems of the government, private drug plans, other information processors and pharmacies. Health correspondent Susan Dentzer reports on the problems. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QPTR Category: Alcohol, Drug Abuse/Addiction ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOLA Code: MLNH 008432C1 Series Title: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/2/2006 6:00:00 PM Length: 60 Segment: 00:08:31 Format: Interview/Discussion/Review; News Recent studies indicate that more than 70 percent of youth between the ages of 10 and 17 gambled in the past year, up from 45 percent in 1988. Almost one in three high school students gamble on a regular basis, according to the National Academy of Sciences. Lee Hochberg of Oregon Public Broadcasting reports on the rising number of teenage gambling addicts. NOLA Code: MLNH 008451C1 Series Title: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/27/2006 6:00:00 PM Length: 60 Segment: 00:09:33 Oprah Winfrey brought author James Frey back on her program Thursday to answer charges that he lied to her and his readers in his book, "A Million Little Pieces." The book, a memoir of addiction and recovery, became controversial when claims surfaced that the author fabricated much of the story. Jim Lehrer discusses the controversy with cultural historian Robert Thompson, director of Syracuse University's Center for the Study of Popular Television. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QPTR Category: American History/Biography ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOLA Code: AMEX 001007K7 Series Title: American Experience Program Title: Reagan Episode Title: AN AMERICAN CRUSADE Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/2/2006 8:00:00 PM Length: 150 Format: Documentary; Other When Ronald Reagan's first term reached its halfway point, he was challenged with tremendous economic strife, the recession and unemployment had battered Reaganomics. As the Pentagon spent $34 million per hour on building up U.S. military forces and nuclear weapons, the deficit increased. However, an economic transformation in 1983 and the slow return of Americans to work secured a second term for Reagan -- a term that would afford him his greatest triumphs and his most difficult blows. "The American Experience" chronicles Reagan's last four years in office -- from the loss of his closest advisors and the Iran-Contra scandal, to the dawning of the fall of Communism in Europe. NOLA Code: MLNH 008432C1 Series Title: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/2/2006 6:00:00 PM Length: 60 Segment: 00:12:12 Format: Interview/Discussion/Review; News The recent furor over President Bush's domestic intelligence program is the latest skirmish in a centuries-old battle over presidential powers in times of war. By letting government agents eavesdrop without court oversight, Mr. Bush joined a long list of presidents who've tested the limits of their war-ti me authority. For a historical look at how executive powers have been wielded and its impact on governance, we're joined by Richard Norton Smith, director of the Abraham Lincoln Presidential Library and Museum in Springfield, Ill.; Ellen Fitzpatrick, a professor of history at the University of New Hampshire; and Andrew Rudalevige, professor of political science at Dickinson College and author of "The New Imperial Presidency: Renewing Presidential Power after Watergate". NOLA Code: MLNH 008436C1 Series Title: The NewsHour with Jim Lehrer Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/6/2006 6:00:00 PM Length: 60 Format: Interview/Discussion/Review; News Rhythm and Blues singer Lou Rawls died Friday at the age of 72. NOLA Code: AMEX 001201W2 Series Title: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Program Title: ELEANOR ROOSEVELT Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/16/2006 8:00:00 PM Length: 150 Format: Documentary She was the nation's conscience, a tireless advocate for the disadvantaged, a woman who influenced American social policies for decades and pushed through the first international charter on human rights. Eleanor Roosevelt survived a painful childhood and a difficult marriage to become one of the most admired women in America. Going beyond her public achievements, this intimate biography explores the secretive and surprising private life of a controversial American figure. NOLA Code: AMEX 001805W1 Series Title: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Program Title: John and Abigail Adams Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/23/2006 8:00:00 PM Length: 120 Format: Documentary; Feature Film/Video Drama John Adams was brilliant, argumentative, sometimes irascible. Abigail Adams was a savvy observer of the tumultuous political scene, not afraid to speak her mind in an age when women were excluded from politics. Together they forged one of the greatest partnerships in American history. In the tradition of its award-winning Presidents series, American Experience's John & Abigail Adams chronicles both an inspiring political marriage and the birth of a nation. Under the direction of Peter Jones (Bataan Rescue, The Great Transatlantic Cable), two formidable actors -- Simon Russell Beale (John Adams), recipient of the 2003 Laurence Olivier Theatre Best Actor Award for his performance in "Uncle Vanya," and Linda Emond (Abigail Adams), an accomplished stage actress who previously portrayed Abigail in the Broadway rendition of "1776" -- bring the couple to life. Historians, including David McCullough, author of the bestselling John Adams and the recent 1776, Joanne Freeman, and Joseph Ellis, provide insight on the couple and their legacy. A visionary and gifted political thinker, Adams moved a reluctant colonial Congress to declare independence from England, and single-handedly secured millions of dollars in loans to keep the American army from collapse. He penned the Massachusetts constitution, which served as the basis for the U.S. Constitution. He was the nation's first ambassador to England, its first vice president, and its second president. Through it all, Abigail remained his most trusted political advisor and confidante. NOLA Code: AMEX 001806W1 Series Title: THE AMERICAN EXPERIENCE Program Title: The Nuremberg Trials Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/30/2006 8:00:00 PM Length: 60 Format: Documentary One journalist described it as a chance "to see justice catch up with evil." On November 20, 1945, the twenty-two surviving representatives of the Nazi elite stood before an international military tribunal at the Palace of Justice in Nuremberg, Germany; they were charged with the systematic murder of millions of people. The ensuing trial pitted US Chief Prosecutor and Supreme Court Judge Robert Jackson against Hermann Goering, the former head of the Nazi air force whom Hitler had once named to be his successor. Jackson hoped that the trial would make a statement that crimes against humanity would never again go unpunished. Proving the guilt of the defendants, however, was more difficult than Jackson anticipated. This AMERICAN EXPERIENCE production draws upon rare archival material and eyewitness accounts to recreate the dramatic tribunal that defines trial procedure for state criminals to this day. NOLA Code: CASP 000000K2 Series Title: The Canteen Spirit Distributor: PBS Release Date: 1/30/2006 9:00:00 PM Length: 60 Format: Documentary Trains carrying six million G.I.'s stopped briefly in North Platte, Nebraska, during World War II. Through photos and interviews, Canteen Spirit recalls the moving story of the North Platte Canteen, where residents of 125 Nebraska towns gathered to offer sandwiches, cookies, doughnuts, beverages, cigarettes, magazines and more importantly, an