Programmers find ways to 'balance' Mr. Darwin Originally published in Current, Sept. 10, 2001 By Geneva Collins Stations across the country hope to quell conservative criticism of the eight-hour PBS-distributed documentary Evolution by airing programming by or about anti-Darwinists. Idaho PTV and North Dakota's Prairie Public Broadcasting, among others, will air films produced by Earth Science Associates, a Knoxville, Tenn.-based organization run by Robert Gentry. Gentry, a physicist and former guest scientist at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory, says his two documentaries, The Young Age of the Earth and Fingerprints of Creation, provide scientific evidence that the Earth is only about 6,000 years old — not 4.6 billion years, as most scientists believe. At least 14 stations are planning to run Voices for Creation, a 1992 documentary by WNMU in Marquette, Mich., that is described by its distributor, Continental Program Marketing, as "a point-of-view documentary produced in response to increasing criticism of public television for its perceived pro-evolution stance." Others will broadcast a two-parter made by WTTW, Chicago, a few years ago, In the Beginning: The Creationist Controversy, in which a Barnard College religion professor examines efforts to introduce creationism into school curricula; a WNET, New York-produced debate among physicists and philosophers called Faith and Reason, and Bill Moyers' Genesis conversations. Evolution, produced by WGBH, Boston, and the independent producer Clear Blue Sky Productions, will kick off the PBS fall season when it airs Sept. 24-27. WGBH's publicists have been predicting for months that the big-budget series will generate a firestorm of controversy, although the biggest brouhaha raised by Evolution critics at the July press tour in Pasadena was not over content but the fact that Clear Blue Sky (owned by Microsoft co-founder Paul G. Allen) financed the entire production. "We are broadcasting Young Age of the Earth because we thought it would be illustrative, helpful, to our audience to see a different viewpoint of evolution," said Ron Pisaneschi, director of broadcasting for Idaho PTV. "It is our plan to introduce this program as the views of the creationist community, and it's not for the public at large to assume that it has undergone the same rigorous journalistic standards that the PBS program has." Idaho PTV, which was one of 11 stations or state networks to receive $10,000 grants from WGBH to develop local initiatives, is also producing a viewer call-in program that will air before <I>Evolution<I>'s seventh episode, which addresses the religious controversy. Wichita's KPTS, in contrast, is not airing any of the documentaries on creationism, despite Kansas' reputation as ground zero for the creationist movement, said David Brewer, director of programming. The station is producing a live town hall debate to air Oct. 5. "We're steeling ourselves for phone calls, mail. …We're standing behind the show. Having seen most of it, I don't see any reason to balance anything. How do you balance science?" Other Evolution-related activities include: Religion & Ethics Newsweekly, the PBS magazine show from WNET, will air a special report on the pros and cons of teaching creation science. Prairie Public Broadcasting is co-sponsoring an academic symposium with North Dakota State University on evolution. KQED, San Francisco, will screen Evolution highlights at an open house at UC-Berkeley's natural history museum. Nebraska ETV, Seattle's KCTS and others are addressing the evolution debate in their weekly newsmagazines and current affairs shows. KIXE in Redding, Calif., will devote almost an entire day's programming on Nov. 4 to creationist proponents. It will air the Earth Science Associates films, the WTTW and WNMU documentaries, additional programming, and an interview with Robert Gentry's son David on a public affairs show, said Brad Fay, director of programming. WGBH publicist Andrea McQuay, asked whether pro-creationist programming tarnishes the message of Evolution, responded, "Whatever the local station thinks will enhance and foster dialogue around the scientific topic, we're for it."

The Young Age of the Earth says most scientists are 4 billion years off. Pictured: Bob Gentry analyzing isotopes.

 

 

	.	To Current's home page
	.	Earlier news: Evolution producers anticipated a reaction from religious conservatives.
	.	Outside link: Series website.

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