Negative propaganda film on pensions pulled off air
Following an outcry that a PBS documentary was promoting the idea that public pensions are bankrupting our cities and towns and was funded by ex-Enron Trader and pension theft advocate John Arnold – WNET in New York City announced that it would return Arnold’s $3.5 million donation and take the program off the air.
According to news reports, WNET pitched the series, “Pension Peril,” to Arnold’s foundation and listed the group online as the sole donor, without mentioning its activities during the show. The group, founded by former Enron trader John Arnold, has dedicated itself to aggressively lobbying for public employee pensions to be cut across the country.
Watch to see the executive director of the Council on Public Employee Retirement Systems, expose the real goals of PBS and the John and Laura Arnold Foundation.
The series will reportedly go on hiatus while WNET reaffirmed its plans to continue reporting on the sustainability of pensions for public employees. In a joint statement released with PBS, WNET said it was returning the Arnolds’ donation “in order to eliminate any perception on the part of the public, our viewers, and donors that the foundation’s interests influenced the editorial integrity of the reporting for this program.”