PBS Panel Discussion: Armenian Genocide: Exploring the Issues

"Armenian Genocide: Exploring the Issues" was filmed as a panel discussion to follow the original airing the documentary film "The Armenian Genocide" on PBS on April 17, 2006.

The panel discussion, hosted by NPR's Scott Simon, featured Colgate University English professor Peter Balakian, an adviser on the documentary, and University of Minnesota professor Taner Akcam who supported the film's view while University of Louisville professor Justin McCarthy, a renowned denialist of the Armenian Genocide, and Turkish historian Omer Turan offered a revisionist perspective.

The decision by PBS to air the panel discussion generated a flood of viewer e-mails and petitions of protest from members of Congress and the public in one of the largest organized protests of a PBS program. While the documentary aired in nine of the top 10 markets, only two — Chicago and Houston — showed the follow-up panel discussion. The program and panel created a greater public consciousness for the need for Armenian Genocide recognition and its implications today.

While "The Armenian Genocide" documentary has been aired in countries around the world, there have been no known airings of the PBS Panel outside of the United States. The PBS panel was available unofficially for viewing online by global audiences.

See also

• Two Cats Productions: The Armenian Genocide
• Boycott PBS Stations that Air "Balancing" Panel on Genocide : By Harut Sassounian
• PBS Acknowledges Armenian Genocide In Response to Petition and E-mails: By Harut Sassounian
• World Media Reports Outrage Of 10,000 Viewers Against PBS: By Harut Sassounian

External links

• Clips from PBS Panel Discussion
• Petition Against the Armenian Genocide Panel Discussion on PBS
• Currnet.org: Panel show riles rather than soothes genocide furor
• Washington Post: PBS Panel on Armenian Genocide Stirs Protest
• PBS Ombudsman: Documenting and Debating a 'Genocide'
• NYTimes: A PBS Documentary Makes Its Case for the Armenian Genocide, With or Without a Debate