Ken Burns | Current

Like the rest of Burns’ oeuvre, ‘Country Music’ offers ‘an opportunity to understand who we are’

Premiering on PBS Sept. 15, the documentarian’s latest film follows the evolution of country music from 1923 to the mid-1990s.

The site’s name, Unum, is taken from the U.S. motto “e pluribus unum” — from many, one.

Stations are staging local events and creating original content tied to the 18-hour Ken Burns series, debuting Sep. 17.

“There is no plan B” to replace federal funding, Paula Kerger told TV critics during her executive session at the Summer Press Tour.

With examinations of Vietnam and the Great War, the documentarians are focusing on stories to help younger viewers understand today’s conflicts.

PBS President Paula Kerger assures critics that stations are communicating with members of Congress about the importance of CPB funding.

Kerger said PBS’s handling of its broadcast of the annual Fourth of July fireworks on Washington’s National Mall was contrary to policy.

Burns weaved anecdotes from his upbringing with a larger argument about the persistent legacy of racial divisions.

The filmmaker and PBS host engaged in a wide-ranging discussion in Washington, D.C.