Colorado PBS promotes health quackery

In My Humble Opinion
1

Colorado’s Channel 12, during its current pledge drive, is running what amounts to an infomercial for an “alternative” Texas cancer clinic run by Stanislaw Burzynski (who’s raked in millions of dollars for unapproved and unproven cancer treatments). Burzynski has frequently been at odds (and in trouble with) regulators from the Texas Medical Board to the FDA over his treatments as well as other interesting legal entanglements.

It appears that this isn’t the first time that this PBS affiliate has promoted “maverick” health care, and its current excuse is that viewers can decide for themselves what to believe (an argument I doubt they’d be making if (for example), a “white pride” group wanted to run a video on race relations during the station’s fund drive).

This type of behavior gives PBS in general a black eye, but if you think PBS officials care about what garbage their affiliates promote, you’d be wrong.

If my local PBS affiliate tried to pull stunts like this I suspect there’d be an uproar, but it looks like woo-friendly audiences in some locales are far more “tolerant”. :dubious:

2

The Orlando PBS station would also pull out Intention-based woo (one step removed from The Secret) around pledge drive time. It was quite puzzling. I’d rather hear the Pink Floyd marathon where they bleeped out Money.

3

Seems like an excellent cause for your local skeptic’s group, if there is one. Organize a call-in campaign complaining about (and refusing to pledge unless they pull) the bullshit. Works best if you’ve got actual current/former members, of course.

4

Sadly, I doubt the station will be any more receptive on this issue than it was over the airing of a 9/11 Truther movie during a previous fund drive. Too many of its viewers apparently go for this crapola.

Here are the station’s justifications for its behavior. Note the similarity with the “teach the controversy” excuses that evolution deniers use.

5

Well, it is part of the “public” broadcasting system, not “factual” broadcasting system… And a large segment of the public subscribes to that kind of stuff. Sounds like good marketing.