Viewer Response to PBS's Judgment Day

Last week, PBS aired an episode of NOVA called Judgment Day: Intelligent Design on Trial, which covered the Kitzmiller v. Dover trial. I haven't had a chance to watch the program yet, so I cannot not say anything about it's content or quality, but I've had a blast reading the viewer response.

As expected, there is a lot of negative feedback. The funniest part to me are the accusations of bias. Here's a hint to anyone watching the show, NOVA is a science show, so they are going to be biased in favor of science. Intelligent design in is not science. It makes no testable claims, so, by definition, it can't be science. There is one letter in particular that I want to address more thoroughly (emphasis mine).

Last night I stumbled upon the PBS broadcast regarding the debate between evolution and creationism. Mr. Getler, responsible journalism is supposed to be about balance — presenting both sides of the argument in a fair and unbiased fashion, and I feel that this program fell miserably short of that standard...

Andrew Robbins, Edinburgh, IN

No, responsible journalism is supposed to eliminate personal bias, it is not necessarily supposed to be balanced. Are they supposed to present "balanced" coverage of a serial rapists crime spree? Are they supposed to examine whether the victims were really asking for it? If the unbiased truth is that the person is evil, and the journalist says so, what is your opinion on that? Is it balanced? No. Is it unjournalistic? Absolutely not. If a science show lambastes an unscientific idea as ludicrous are they being balanced? No. Are they being unjournalistic? Absolutely not.

A certain kind of bias is necessary in journalism. Journalists should always exhibit a clear bias toward the truth. In the post-Fox News world, it's harder and harder to find a journalist with the integrity to stand up for this ideal. Now, it's all about making everyone happy by "showing both sides of the controversy," whatever the "controversy" may be, and whether it even exists at all. I'm happy to see that some journalistic sources still have the balls to fly in the face of modern thinking and maintain the integrity of their profession. I'm looking more forward to seeing this show now than ever.