This comment arrived in response to a Florida reader’s complaint:
I work at WFSU in Tallahassee and your comments that PBS has partnered with Jeb Bush’s Foundation just floored me. Where did you get that idea and in what way do you mean? I know for us we work hard to help local teachers have access to resources whether PBS Learning Media and its repository of content or how to use our children’s programs with teachers and parents so that children are ready for school. This hatred of PBS just shocks me knowing how hard we work to support educators. Yes we fight hard for our funding that is constantly threatened. Two years ago all of our funding was cut in FL and we fought back and it was put back in the budget but not after a lot of hard work including a statewide reading research project proved our effectiveness. If the blog isn’t posting ideas that appeal to you, please make suggestions offering other topics. Kim Kelling, director of content and engagement at WFSU.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
Education is not a-political. If one googles PBS and education reform, here are a few of the stories that come up.
http://jerseyjazzman.blogspot.com/2014/04/corporate-education-reform-buys-public.html
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/need-to-know/culture/fixing-public-schools-davis-guggenheim-on-waiting-for-superman/4288/
and this seemingly fair and balanced report that is laid out as a, he said/she said story.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/education/education-of-michelle-rhee/the-battle-over-education-reform/
Kim. If you have other links to share that show how PBS supports public schools, and the teachers and students that have been adversely affected by the privatization movement, please share.
Glad you are not a front for FEE which is by far the funniest acronym of truth ever for a privatization movement. Here is Peter’s take on FEE. I think it lists plenty of possible topics. http://curmudgucation.blogspot.com/2014/06/fee-floridian-trip-through-reformster.html. But to start you off you can discuss how testing retaining 3rd grader for reading is not working in the long run, expanding charter schools has not given your parents actual choice and how VAM is not guaranteeing you better teacher, just wasting a ton of money better spent toward smaller class sizes, the arts, and well prepared experienced teachers.
In covering education issues, the press very often seems to “forget” to present the other side, or “forgets” that rewriting press releases is not admirable journalism. (Or, more likely, makes a token nod to presenting the other side that almost serves to discredit it, leaving the other side actually voiceless.) This other side that’s left voiceless always happens to be the side that isn’t linked with right-wing billionaires and so-called think tanks, hedge funders, tech titans and so on.
When PBS does this, the “forgetting” often does seem to somehow help polish the image of the policies pushed by its funders. That inherently makes PBS reporting subject to accusations of deliberate bias in trying to please its funders.
Happily, there’s a solution! Make sure that all reporting gives a thorough, thoughtful, non-token airing to the side that is not affiliated with corporate education “reform,” And never rewrite press releases. Make doubly and triply sure of that. Accusations headed off and problem solved. You’re welcome!
Disclosure that I’m in San Francisco and am not familiar with WFSU, and also that I work in mainstream media myself.
I will be happy to answer the charge that I made all of this up out of whole cloth. The readers of this blog can draw their own conclusions.
WFSU is not the only public radio station in the state of Florida. There is a website called “State Impact Florida: Putting Education Reform to the Test” which also touts itself as “a reporting project of NPR member stations”,
This website says its partners are WLRN Miami and WUSF Tampa, the two largest urban areas and arguably the most populous in the state.
The other two states participating in this ‘reporting’ are Indiana and Ohio. So, you have 3 of the most prominent states in the union in the field of corporate school reform, all controlled by conservative Republican governors and legislatures, all of which are hotbeds of reformist experimentation and ALEC-sponsored legislation designed to expand corporate influence over education, crush teachers’ unions, expand vouchers, charter, and privatization, and end democratically-controlled public education altogether.
Perhaps this is all a coincidence? Perhaps that fact that all three states’ education departments and legislative agendas have been steered, managed, and largely controlled by ‘graduates’ of Jeb Bush’s anti-public school initiatives is also a coincidence.
Let’s click on that little button up at the top right hand corner of the homepage, shall we? The one that says “View All Topics >>>”
“Charter Schools” has 105 entries. “Public Schools” has 6 entires. Interesting balance, wouldn’t you say?
“Jeb Bush” who hasn’t been governor for 9 years has 75 entries. Here is his bio written by NPR:
“BACKGROUND
Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush pioneered many of the education reforms the rest of the country is now discussing, including data-based school and teacher assessments, school choice and charter schools. Florida student standardized test scores improved after Bush took office in 1999. The federal Race To The Top grant program takes its cue from Florida.
Bush’s plan is based on six pillars:
Grading schools on a simple A through F scale based on student standardized test scores.
High-stakes testing.
Requiring students to meet grade standards before promotion to a higher grade.
Paying teachers based on student performance.
New methods to credential teachers.
Adding charter schools, private school vouchers (since struck down by a court) and online schools to offer parents more choices.
Critics, such as a June 2011 report from the National Education Policy Institute, argue there is no evidence that the reforms Bush supported led to improvement by Florida students. Still, the Foundation for Excellence in Education that Bush founded is a national advocate for education reform and Bush is the chief face of Republican-favored proposals — increasingly embraced by Democrats — many states are now considering.”
Hardly critical or showing reportorial agnosticism, is it?
“Rick Scott, beginning his 2nd term as governor has 19 and “Charlie Christ” who preceded him has 10 entered. “Diane Ravitch” has 6 entries. Another coincidence that Jeb Bush, who is NOT a partner, is featured at such a higher rate than the last 2 governors and the leading educational historian in the nation? “Common Core” has 255 entries even though we supposedly have the new Florida standards instead of Common Core now.
I have found the ‘reporting’ of NPR to be consistently supportive or, at most, benignly neutral towards all of the Florida reforms and generally silent or dismissive of critics if they are included in the articles and broadcasts at all.
Your mileage may vary. Since NPR seeks funding from the state governments on which they are reporting and they are now pursuing cop orate sponsorships that have impacted what is reported and how it is reported I think that I am justified in my doubts.
Here’s an example from Alternet about how other NPR ‘reporting’ has magically mirrored corporate propaganda:
http://www.alternet.org/media/how-planet-money-american-life-and-npr-have-become-key-players-bankers-propaganda-war-whats
and more from the NSFWcorp website:
https://www.nsfwcorp.com/dispatch/unfit-to-report/
I supported NPR for years. When Jesse Helms went after them I gave more money. Since then things have changed a lot.
I stand by my original post: “Don’t trust them!”
Don’t confuse us with facts. 🙂
My mind goes numb when trying to recall what I read and where, but I recall something recently on PBS about public schools, and it was funded by Bill Gates, and it wasn’t remotely about public schools at all. I’m sure someone here can find out what that was, and many more biased examples that are programs purported to discuss supporting public education on PBS that do the exact opposite.
Like those “grass roots” parent/student non-profits that are funded by the billionaires where their leaders are paid $500,000 annually to spread propaganda–sometimes its hard to tell what is grass root and what is astroturf, but eventually the truth comes out.
Anyhow, that is my 2cents on the subject. This is tiring, but I love me some Diane Ravitch, and everyone that stands behind her, and with her, for students, parents and teacher.
Chris, I typically take your word for most things in FL since you have and are currently living it. Though at times you may get negative and even occasionally sound like you lose all hope, you have not lied or misrepresented anyone intentionally. Thanks for the explanation. I will be interested in seeing if you get a response.
“The meaning of partner”
The meaning of “partner”, like meaning of “is”
Depends on you’re viewpoint, and also you’re biz
If sexual “partner” depends on one’s view
Then policy “partner” depends on it too
oops should be “your viewpoint” and “your biz”
WFSU management could read David Sirota’s article, Feb. 13, 2014, “When Did PBS Become the Plutocratic Broadcasting System”. The article explains the bias process.
Second option, (1) express outrage at the allegation (2) imply the complaint is the only one they’ve received (3) appear to show patience, when faced with viewer ignorance/impertinence and, (4) conclude with a statement of willingness, in the unlikely event there is any possible evidence to the contrary, to correct the “perceived” problem.
Where’s the 5th step, “We’re sorry, if you were offended”?
Textbook PR, constructed with an intrinsic vice.
The New York PBS station, Sirota described, even after being forced to return Arnold’s money, refused to acknowledge a substantive problem.
PBS and NPR have been rather silent about Concept charter schools, Harmony charter schools and other Hizmet inspired chains. The FBI raiding the headquarters of the Concept charter school chain along with a number of the schools in the chain would appear to be news. The Chicago Sun Times has extensively covered this. The perception is that public media do not give much coverage to charter school scandals since you don’t want to offend Koch brothers, Bill Gates, Walton charter school supporters. I agree with John Stossel’s perception of PBS not covering things that underwriters don’t want covered.
Another example of one-sided reporting by pbs: http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/education-july-dec13-education_12-24/
They have a long way to go before they can claim real “help”. I do think Ms. Kelling is sincere in her comments, but until public schools are treated more fairly by hers and other media teachers are going to need more and more “help”.
“Sincere”
NPR station managers could show intellectual curiosity and Google search “NPR bias education”. They would find Yasha Levine’s May 9, 2013 article, “NPR’s Education Coverage Funded by Pro-Privatization Billionaires”.
They could also show a little intellectual honesty once in a while
But the standard operating procedure for NPR and its member stations is instead to deny and obfuscate, like Alicia Shepard (former NPR ombudsman) did when NPR was called out for running a pro-fracking series while America’s Natural Gas Alliance was running ads (excuse me, underwriter announcements) on the very same web page on which the text for the series appeared.
They have played the game time and again (on the big bank bailouts, for example)
The worst part is not that NPR is biased, it is that NPR has become a fundamentally dishonest organization.
Pretty much on a weekly basis on NPR I hear stories that are supportive of Common Core which you cannot untether from the standardized tests that go with it, that show that 70% of NYC kiddos are “failures”.
Why hasn’t NPR ever done a story about how the cut scores are mapped and how “proficient” on the NAEP is a high level of achievement?
I can’t believe that they are so shamefacedly denying the schilling for Gates: so dishonest. We are not dumb. I used to respect NPR.
It is a great relief to come here and see that some people are aware of what PBS is up to. They’re horrible on any number of issues. For example, they’ll offer breathless reports on how technology is transforming agriculture. Such pieces are virtual advertisements falsely presented as journalism. One thing I’ve learned from years of observing educational reporting is that news organizations are actors, not observers.
Regarding Kim Kelling’s comment that, “this hatred of PBS just shocks me….” I think the proper word would be “disgust,” not “hatred.” By labeling a reasoned critique of their methods of practicing journalism as “hatred” she manages to dismiss it as blind, unreasoning emotion. On the contrary, many people are disgusted with PBS’s practices and rank conflict of interest with very good reason. This expression of “shock” is telling. The people at PBS can’t really seem to fathom that anyone would dare examine their methods critically. Unquestioning acceptance and gratitude would appear to be the expected response. That isn’t how democracy works.