Zoom-in Online

Lots of us who value news have come to hate broadcast journalism and even (sometimes) broadcast journalists. Blame cable's highly competitive 24 hour news cycle, the endless elective surgery, the celebrity devotion, tabloid style or the obsession with sensationalism. All of this has been part of the media landscape since television's inception, of course. But in recent years, when so many valid stories have been largely overlooked --stories with deep enduring consequences for us all-- it's become more than a subject of passing criticism and moved into the category of national crisis.

Fortunately, Bill Moyers is not only critical of the current state of broadcast journalism (and the Whitehouse press corp in particular), he's made a show about why it's broken and started a podcast and blog to discuss how we may be able to fix it. His new show, Bill Moyers Journal, is deceivingly humble in its title. It airs Fridays on PBS at 9pm, beginning April 27. (Check local listings.)

Moyers, who is now 73, began his career as a journalist at age 16; he has made a lifelong commitment to politics and journalism, and the pride he takes in his work is evident in every project he's produced. He also has a crackerjack production team that put this series together, including editor Alison Amron, producer Kathleen Hughes and longtime collaborator Judy Doctorow.

To get a sense of what point of views may be expressed, you can turn to the "retirement" words he shared with the AP News Service in 2004. They quote Moyers as saying:

"I'm going out telling the story that I think is the biggest story of our time: how the right-wing media has become a partisan propaganda arm of the Republican National Committee. We have an ideological press that's interested in the election of Republicans, and a mainstream press that's interested in the bottom line. Therefore, we don't have a vigilant, independent press whose interest is the American people."

As is the trend in all TV programming today, BILL MOYERS JOURNAL "is supported by an extensive companion Web site at pbs.org/moyers where visitors can interact, give feedback and sign up for the Moyers podcast, which was listed in iTunes Best of 2006 People's Choice top 100 new podcasts."

So if you miss it on television, forgot to TIVO it, and didn't want to wait for the DVD on Netflix, you can view each full episode immediately online. The Web site is produced by Kristin Miller.