Buster Update

After I sent them this e-mail, my local PBS station shot back a form e-mail saying basically that they were reviewing the Buster situation and would make a decision soon. Today they sent me a follow-up, excerpted below:

The [Sugartime] episode has been criticized in some quarters by those who feel it would inappropriately expose children to information about non-traditional families with same-sex partners in parental roles. We acknowledge that the topic of same-sex couples is a sensitive one for some people, but after screening this episode we are comfortable that it addresses the issue in an age-appropriate way for the viewers that we serve. Just as in other episodes of the series, parents’ lives in “Sugartime” are included only as a backdrop to the kids’ lives; the focus is on Buster's visits to a sugar house and a dairy farm.

KCTS has not rushed into this decision. We have taken the time to review the program, compare it to other episodes in the series and discuss the issue internally. We also received helpful feedback from a member of our Advisory Board’s Education Committee, and were contacted by many viewers, most of whom advocated for the broadcast of the program. Ultimately, however, the decision to air the program was rooted in our belief that KCTS and KYVE serve diverse communities which are comprised of many different kinds of families, and that it is healthy for children to learn about that diversity in appropriate ways.

We encourage our viewers to watch the program, and then to tell us what they think about it.

Isn't that nice? It's airing February 11th at 4:30. We're going to tape it.