Documentary

Investigative reporter Lowell Bergman is the producer of the new documentary, News War: Secrets, Spin and the Future of the News. The series is about the mainstream news media and the political, legal and economic forces at play.

TV critic David Bianculli has some thoughts on the Sept. 11 anniversary coverage.

Bill Moyers has a new PBS series about death and dying, but the focus isn't just on dying; it's on trying to live a decent life in the face of death and on the movement to improve care at the end of life, such as new approaches to pain relief and hospice care. The series also examines some of the difficult personal and medical choices faced by people who are dying and their loved ones. The series is called "On Our Own Terms." It premieres Sunday evening on most PBS stations and continues over the next three consecutive nights.

Violinist Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg. Born in Russia, she emigrated to Philadelphia with her family when she was eight so that she could attend the Curtis Institute. Later her unorthodox playing, and unconventional attire on stage earned her a reputation as the "bad girl" of classical violin. In 1994 she nearly sliced the tip of her finger off chopping onions, and after surgery and painful practicing, she returned to the stage. Sonnenberg has played with just about every major orchestra and has recorded 15 albums.

Executive producer, James Redford, of the new HBO documentary, "The Kindness of Strangers." The film tells the story of four organ transplant patients, and the donors and their families.. It premieres on HBO Sept 23rd. Redford, himself, underwent two liver transplants. He's also the son of actor Robert Redford. And he founded The James Redford Institute for Transplant Awareness in Los Angeles (www.jrifilms.org) (THIS INTERVIEW CONTINUES THRU THE END OF THE SHOW).

Documentary filmmaker Robert Weide ("WHY-dee"). He's made his reputation making films about comedy and comediennes. His films include: "The Marx Brothers In a Nutshell" (PBS), "The Great Standups" (HBO), and the Emmy Award winning "W.C. Fields Straight Up." His latest project is the HBO documentary "Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth" (on HBO). It premiered on HBO August 9th.

Documentary filmmaker Robert Weide ("WHY-dee"). He's made his reputation making films about comedy and comediennes. His films include: "The Marx Brothers In a Nutshell" (PBS), "The Great Standups" (HBO), and the Emmy Award winning "W.C. Fields Straight Up." His latest project is the HBO documentary "Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth" (on HBO). It premiered on HBO August 9th.

TV critic David Bianculli previews the new HBO documentary that premiers tonight: "Lenny Bruce: Swear to Tell the Truth."

Classical music critic Lloyd Schwartz reviews a new PBS documentary "Uncommon Visionary" about the 20th century Polish-Jewish harpsicord prodigy Wanda Landowska (VAN-da lan-DOV-ska).

This Monday, 2/8/99, PBS will air the documentary "The Black Press: Soldiers Without Swords." This is the first documentary to provide an in-depth examination of the history of African-American newspapers. We'll hear from the film's producer, Stanley Nelson and from Vernon Jarrett, a black journalist featured in the project.

Hampton is best known for his PBS series "Eyes on the Prize" about the civil rights movement. He said his intention was to tell the story in a way in which blacks were not the "victims." HIs other highly acclaimed documentaries were "America's War on Poverty" and "The Great Depression." HAMPTON had struggled since 1990 with lung cancer. He was 58. (REBROADCAST from 2/1/90)

TV critic David Bianculli reviews a new documentary devoted to the making of a single episode of the cop show "Homicide.' Despite the unusual premise, he thinks PBS should make more programs like this.

Peter L. Stein is producer, director and writer of the documentary "The Castro." It will air nationally on PBS this Friday, June 12. "The Castro" is the name of a San Francisco neighborhood that is at the heart of the city's gay community. His film recently won a Peabody Award. He serves as Executive Producer of KQED's series Neighborhoods: The Hidden Cities of San Francisco. AND We'll also hear from Cleve Jones who lived in the Castro district where he became involved in the gay-rights movement. He is featured in Stein's film.

A 1995 study by the American Psychiatric Association reports that families play a significant part in the recovery of depressed people. Mary Wallace and Rose Styron are the wives of journalist Mike Wallace and writer William Styron, who both suffered from bouts of depression. They'll talk about what it was like to help their husbands thru depression. Mike Wallace and William Styron will appear in the upcoming documentary "Dead Blue: Surviving Depression"

Rock historian and writer Robert Palmer died yesterday at the age of 52. He was the New York Times's first full-time rock critic writing from 1981-1988, and was a contributing editor at Rolling Stone magazine since the 1970s. He's wrote several books on blues and rock and roll, and was the writer and music director for the award-winning documentary films, "The World According to John Coltrane," and "Deep Blues." He was chief advisor to the 1995 ten-part PBS documentary, "Rock & Roll: An Unruly History,".

Filmmaker Ken Burns is the director of "The Civil War" and "Baseball," the hit documentaries on PBS. The former was the network's highest rated series. Burns' newest project is the three-hour documentary, "Thomas Jefferson" about our third president, narrated by Ossie Davis.

Fortune Magazine's senior editor Joe Nocera and Ron Chernow. They can both be seen in the new Frontline documentary "Betting on the Market." The documentary is based in part on Nocera's 1994 book, "A Piece of the Action: How the Middle Class Joined the Money Class." It traces America's obsession with Wall Street, and looks at the consequences. Nocera serves as correspondent in the film. Chernow is the author of "The House of Morgan," which received a National Book Award in 1990.

We'll hear from Norma Storch and June Cross, who are featured in this week's Frontline program entitled "Secret Daughter." Storch, who is white, gave up her half black child to a black couple. We'll hear from both mother and daughter as they reflect back. Norma Storch (mother) is married to actor Larry Storh who starred in the TV comedy F-Troop in the mid 1960's. June Cross (daughter) is a television producer for the PBS series "Frontline."

Documentary film producer Paul Stekler. He co-produced the new film series, "Vote for Me - Politics in America," a look at how American culture is reflected in local politics. This PBS series examines the various things candidates will do in their campaigns to be elected. Also interviewed was Maggie Lauterer, the subject of one "Vote for Me" episode. She's a former journalist and first-time candidate who ran for Congress in North Carolina, and lost.