Like a definitive, clarifying exclamation point coming after a week of hit-or-miss doc
umentaries in the "America at a Crossroads" series, "Bill Moyers' Journal" (CPTV, 9 p.m.) returns to public television after a 13-year absence with a devastating look at press failures in the run-up to the war in Iraq.The shameful ground has been covered elsewhere, in the "Frontline" series "News War" and in books such as Frank Rich's "The Greatest Story Ever Sold." But Moyers has a way of zeroing in on his topic and getting to its essence.
His authority allows him to get former CBS colleagues Dan Rather and Bob Simon to speak candidly about their pre-war reports. (Rather was caught up in the post-9/11 fervor; Simon said he could only comment on the selling of the war as a lighter piece on "60 Minutes.")Later, Moyers asks young pundits like Peter Beinart of The New Republic what gave them credibility as outspoken early supporters of war."Had you been to Iraq?" Moyers asks him. Moyers breaks real news when he has Phil Donahue reveal that his bosses at MSNBC insisted on two pro-war spokesmen on his show for every one against it.There are bright spots, as in a couple of reporters from McClatchy (formerly Knight-Ridder) who were virtually alone in questioning the war. But their scoops were generally ignored because their reports weren't carried in Washington.Moyers' return is reassuring after the meddling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its "America at a Crossroads" series. He is the strong, independent voice he has always been, surviving the witch hunt that ended with CPB chief Kenneth Y. Tomlinson's resigning in disgrace."Bill Moyers' Journal" settles into its regular time slot Friday at 9 p.m. on most PBS stations.Also On TonightAfter years of being TV's No. 1 show, "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m.) finally uses its muscle to attract star power and charity money with a quasi-telethon "Idol Gives Back."The unusual departure means the business of elimination is stretched to two hours as the episode shifts to a concert hosted by Ellen DeGeneres at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, with Celine Dion, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Annie Lennox, Josh Groban and others. Bono will also appear, interacting with the cast and getting them to sing one of his songs, "American Prayer."For the first time, you can call in on a Wednesday, but only to pledge money to help alleviate extreme poverty in America and Africa. Then, almost as an afterthought, someone is eliminated.It's one of the smaller mysteries on "Lost" (ABC, 10 p.m.), but Sun learns the identity of the father of her unborn child after she is examined by the suspicious Juliet.
umentaries in the "America at a Crossroads" series, "Bill Moyers' Journal" (CPTV, 9 p.m.) returns to public television after a 13-year absence with a devastating look at press failures in the run-up to the war in Iraq.The shameful ground has been covered elsewhere, in the "Frontline" series "News War" and in books such as Frank Rich's "The Greatest Story Ever Sold." But Moyers has a way of zeroing in on his topic and getting to its essence.His authority allows him to get former CBS colleagues Dan Rather and Bob Simon to speak candidly about their pre-war reports. (Rather was caught up in the post-9/11 fervor; Simon said he could only comment on the selling of the war as a lighter piece on "60 Minutes.")Later, Moyers asks young pundits like Peter Beinart of The New Republic what gave them credibility as outspoken early supporters of war."Had you been to Iraq?" Moyers asks him. Moyers breaks real news when he has Phil Donahue reveal that his bosses at MSNBC insisted on two pro-war spokesmen on his show for every one against it.There are bright spots, as in a couple of reporters from McClatchy (formerly Knight-Ridder) who were virtually alone in questioning the war. But their scoops were generally ignored because their reports weren't carried in Washington.Moyers' return is reassuring after the meddling of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and its "America at a Crossroads" series. He is the strong, independent voice he has always been, surviving the witch hunt that ended with CPB chief Kenneth Y. Tomlinson's resigning in disgrace."Bill Moyers' Journal" settles into its regular time slot Friday at 9 p.m. on most PBS stations.Also On TonightAfter years of being TV's No. 1 show, "American Idol" (Fox, 8 p.m.) finally uses its muscle to attract star power and charity money with a quasi-telethon "Idol Gives Back."The unusual departure means the business of elimination is stretched to two hours as the episode shifts to a concert hosted by Ellen DeGeneres at the Walt Disney Concert Hall, with Celine Dion, Pink, Gwen Stefani, Annie Lennox, Josh Groban and others. Bono will also appear, interacting with the cast and getting them to sing one of his songs, "American Prayer."For the first time, you can call in on a Wednesday, but only to pledge money to help alleviate extreme poverty in America and Africa. Then, almost as an afterthought, someone is eliminated.It's one of the smaller mysteries on "Lost" (ABC, 10 p.m.), but Sun learns the identity of the father of her unborn child after she is examined by the suspicious Juliet.
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