More Fallout from the Car Industry: Ken Burns
Posted on March 10th, 2009 by Jerome Weeks
After 22 years of funding Ken Burns’ Emmy Award-winning PBS documentaries, General Motors is withdrawing its support. GM began underwriting Burns’ work with The Civil Wars and continued through his newest, The National Parks: America’s Best Idea, a six-parter that will air this fall. But the need to cutback during the car company’s current crisis doomed the funding.
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GM is not “withdrawing its support.” The current 10 year deal between Ken and GM is concluding this year and GM is honoring that. GM has chosen not to renew. Big difference. Typical media sensationalizing and not reporting the facts correctly.
Typical media sensationalism? Hmmmm. The difference would seem to be between “withdrawing its support” and “not renewing its support.” I agree they’re not the same and I should have been more precise. But “withdrawing its support” is not exactly a screaming tabloid headline, and Ken Burns still ends up without GM’s financial backing after this project.
For what it’s worth: My younger brother has worked for GM for a decade. He’s a clay modeler there. My father worked for Chrysler for 25 years. I grew up in Detroit, my family still lives there. I feel no need to exacerbate that city’s troubles.
Certainly Ken Burns and PBS will find alternate funding. I’ve just finished a review of The Civil War – A Film by Ken Burns for Amazon, and I’ve watched all of his documentaries. He is terrific and another company not experiencing the problems of GM will pick him up.