PBS Censors Jill Stein on the NewsHour

Matt Orfalea
End the Two-Party System
4 min readAug 25, 2016

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PBS finally had their 1st interview with this year’s Green Party presidential nominee, Dr. Jill Stein. And it was great. Except they cut out the most important parts in their TV broadcast and Youtube channel. PBS cut out nearly two-thirds of Jill Steins answer to the last question! Here’s Jill’s full response from the livestream. Parts edited out by PBS are in bold.

Judy Woodruff: You made it clear you both every Clinton and Donald Trump would be terrible president for the country so are you saying you think literally that Hillary Clinton is every bit as bad for the country as is Donald Trump?

Jill Stein: I wouldn’t say there are no differences but the differences are not enough to save your job because Hillary Clinton and now her transition director Ken Salazar — You know they’re big proponents of the Trans-Pacific Partnership. Which is basically NAFTA on steroids. and most observers believe that it will send our jobs overseas. As well as undermine American sovereignty by bringing in these international tribunals that get to pass judgment on our laws, on our public health protections, on our worker protections. So we can’t count on saving our jobs, saving our lives. 1 in 3 Americans now cannot afford Healthcare under Obamacare. Or saving the planet because Hillary has been a big proponent of fracking as is Ken Salazar, her transition director. So we feel that in this election we’re not just deciding what kind of a world we’re going to have but whether we’re going to have a world or not going forward. And knowing that the majority of America is unhappy with these two party choices, this is the time for us to open up. Americans have not only a right to vote, but a right to know who we can vote for. So we’re pushing for opening up the debates, and then let’s see how the chips fall.

Judy Woodruff: Dr. Jill Stein, with the Green Party, we thank you.

Jill Stein: Thank you, Judy.

After cutting out all mention of the TPP, all criticism of Clinton, PBS also cut Jill’s eloquent line, “Americans have not only a right to vote, but a right to know who we can vote for.”

Apparently, PBS disagrees.

It’s common for TV to be cut for time. But where and what they cut shows what the narrative is that they’re trying to push. I’m glad PBS live-streamed the full interview on their Facebook (despite it’s horrendous unwatchable quality). But the Facebook livestream does not show up in internet searches. Therefore, if someone searched for the interview, they’d end up watching the censored version. So not only did PBS’s TV & Youtube viewers not actually hear what Jill had to say, even worse, they were left that the impression that they did.

Please complain about it on PBS’s Facebook and Twitter. I’d tell you to complain in a comment on PBS’s Youtube channel also. But they have disabled comments on nearly all of their videos. I find it especially messed up that even though PBS is publicly funded, they don’t allow comments, aka public discussion, on their Youtube videos. But I do. So please leave a comment with your thoughts. And verify for yourself:

PBS’s edited TV and YT broadcast:

Note the cut after “but the differences are not enough to save your job” — @ 7:30

The unedited livestream:

The livestream quality is nearly unwatchable. But listen to the audio.

*UPDATE: My video exposing PBS’s blatant censorship has now been censored itself by Facebook.

UPDATE: PBS Responds

In a response to my video, PBS Ombudsman, Michael Getler, concluded,

Michael Getler: “in a 55-minute broadcast it would seem to me to have been worth finding those seconds somewhere else so as not to cut the first and perhaps only interview with Dr. Stein and to let her finish answering — and let NewsHour television viewers see and hear — one of the more provocative questions Woodruff asked.”

Later in an email he declined my request to interview him and wrote,

Michael Getler: “You made an important catch on the Stein interview and handled it well, and you also were very good at laying out what happened on social media afterward; much better than I did. My guess is that your work embarrassed the NewsHour, and they should be. You have good instincts and a good, accessible and authoritative way of presenting and backing up your material. So, onwards.”

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