A Public Voice...'92

The sound bite has come to PBS. In 58 minutes, A Public Voice...'92 sets out to gauge the opinions of the public, government and media on foreign policy, energy, and freedom of speech. That it fails spectacularly is almost beside the point; one has to wonder what minds(?) decided to make and then air this McNewshour. The format is as simple as the material: at the National Press Club, press and politicians watch video­tapes of town meetings devoted to the three issues on the table and then comment on what they've seen. The program is precisely broken into thirds and features five or so minutes of sound bites from the public meetings, followed by 15 minutes of hashing over the remarks by the attendees at the National Press Club. I was able to glean the following which I'll pass along and save you the $39.95--The Public: on foreign policy (more pressing problems at home), energy (better start being more environmentally conscious), and freedom of speech (yes); Politicians and Press: on everything (gee, the public is sure a lot smarter than they're given credit for...they've got their finger on the pulse...with their support we could change...blah,blah,blah). PBS is arguably the last bastion of intelligent discourse left on television, and they continue to bring us some of the most thought-provoking cultural and political documentaries available. Occasionally, however, they get silly and need to be reminded that if we wanted McPolls we would read our McPapers (USA Today). Not recommended. (See LISTENING TO AMERICA: THE POLITICS OF TREES for availability.)