[2005/01/04] PBS Station Bans Science Documentary on Intelligent Design Theory
PBS Station Bans Science Documentary on Intelligent Design Theory 01/04/2005
KNME, a local PBS station in Albuquerque New
Mexico, has banned "Unlocking the Mystery of Life," a science
documentary about intelligent design. According to KNME's website the
program was originally scheduled to air Friday, Jan. 7 at 9pm, and
it was still listed there on Monday afternoon.
According to
New Mexico scientist Phil Robinson who worked with KNME staff to
arrange for the documentary to air, Monday morning he found out by
accident that the show had been pulled and newspaper advertising for
it had been cancelled, just four days before it was to air.
"It is simply astounding that a public television station
would engage in this sort of politically-correct censorship,"
said
Rob Crowther, director of communications for Discovery Institute's
Center for Science and Culture. "Public television usually prides
itself in exploring new ideas, not suppressing them. Doesn't anyone
at KNME believe in free speech?"
Crowther noted that
the film KNME censored is currently for sale on PBS's national
website, and to date "Unlocking" has aired in almost every top-20
media market in the country, including PBS stations in California,
Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Michigan, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
Texas, Washington state and Washington, DC. The documentary was made
available to PBS affiliates across the nation in April of 2003. The
program was up-linked by a satellite feed offered and coordinated by
the National Educational Telecommunications Association
(NETA).
"The real losers here are New Mexico viewers who will
be denied the chance to see a fascinating documentary that public
television viewers in other states have already had the opportunity
to see," Crowther added. "I guess if New Mexico viewers want to learn
more about intelligent design, they will have to go the national PBS
website"
"Unlocking the Mystery of Life" is a 58-minute
program exploring what DNA reveals about the origin of life and
documents how some scientists are skeptical about naturalistic
explanations for the origin of genetic information and looking to
theories of design instead. Employing state of the art computer
animation and other visuals, the documentary follows the development
of intelligent design theory through interviews with key design
scientists such as biochemistry professor Michael Behe of Lehigh
University, biologist Dean Kenyon of San Francisco State University,
mathematician William Dembski of Baylor University, microbiologist
Scott Minnich of the University of Idaho, and Cambridge-trained
philosopher of science Stephen Meyer.
[2005/01/04] PBS Station Bans Science Documentary on Intelligent Design Theory
