PBS: The Audience is Intelligent

A friend sent me a web link showing the launch of the Space Shuttle Endeavor that blasted off yesterday morning.  It was a remarkable and fascinating thing to watch not only because of the very thing that was happening but because the announcer was so adept at interpreting the action and giving analogies to compare sizes, volumes and speeds as they were shown.

It was remarkable because so little of what is shown on television today is presented this way.  That is, for intelligent viewers whose curiosity and ability to think does not require dumbing down of information and for whom journalists have some degree of respect.

Respect for an audience's good taste and intelligence is often missing, replaced by fear of losing the audience's attention and that the material will be boring.

The launch was not presented as anything but what it was:  A rocket-powered jet launching into outer space with five human beings strapped into it.  And what it was not:  Entertainment.

I do not need the space shuttle launch to include a bikini-clad blonde with breast implants and veneered teeth to pose beside it to make it awe-inspiring.  I do not need loud thumping music and beer commercials sold at $6 million dollars per 30-second spot to rivet my attention.  And I do not need to be shown in 10-second sound bites that it went off well.  None of those things were remotely represented in this television coverage and yet my heart was pounding and my mind locked onto the scene and the details that were announced.  It was brilliant and I applaud PBS for what they did.

I only want to be informed of the event and given information that's accurate and unbiased.  When a space shuttle blasts off, a lot of things need to go right and go right very rapidly in the correct order.  Huge amounts of fuel are burned at a rate that is inconceivable to we who drive cars that get 24 miles per gallon.  In a matter of 10 seconds, the shuttle had traveled a distance that would take a regular old jet an hour to go.  The space shuttle is now circling the earth every couple of hours, replete with its five busy human beings carrying out tasks and deploying equipment as they streak through space.

There are a few hundred thousand citizens of this country who are intellectually curious and interested in any number of topics.  They and I do not want pandering to, nor do I want loud-mouthed opinions spouting from people with axes to grind and agendas to keep.  I want news and information that's real and possibly very complicated so I can think and be informed.  For the launch of the space shuttle, I got it, thanks to PBS.