Editing WNET (section)

===Board member influence on programming===
In November 2012, WNET was scheduled to air [[Alex Gibney]]'s film ''[[Park Avenue: Money, Power and the American Dream]]'' produced by [[Independent Lens]].<ref>{{cite web|last1=Gibney|first1=Alex|title=Park Avenue: Money, Power & the American Dream|url=https://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/park-avenue-money-power-the-american-dream-2/|website=Independent Lens|publisher=PBS|access-date=July 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170720203933/http://www.pbs.org/independentlens/videos/park-avenue-money-power-the-american-dream-2/|archive-date=July 20, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> The film compared the [[Economic inequality|wealth gap]] between the New York residents of [[Park Avenue]] in the [[Bronx]] and the wealthy residents of an exclusive [[Manhattan]] apartment block at [[740 Park Avenue]], including [[David Koch]], a billionaire businessman and political activist.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Fuchs|first1=Cynthia|title=Park Avenue Money, Power and the American Dream|url=http://www.popmatters.com/review/165397-park-avenue-money-power-and-the-american-dream/|website=PopMatters|date=November 13, 2012|access-date=July 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170719044745/http://www.popmatters.com/review/165397-park-avenue-money-power-and-the-american-dream/|archive-date=July 19, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> At the time Koch was a board member of WNET and was planning on making "a seven-figure donation—maybe more" to WNET.<ref name= PublicTVDavidKoch>{{cite magazine|last1=Mayer|first1=Jane|title=A Word from Our Sponsor: Public television's attempts to placate David Koch.|url=http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/27/a-word-from-our-sponsor|magazine=The New Yorker|date=May 20, 2013|access-date=July 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170716181134/http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/05/27/a-word-from-our-sponsor|archive-date=July 16, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> A furor erupted<ref>{{cite web|last1=Bloomfield|first1=Aubrey|title=Citizen Koch: PBS Kills Koch Brothers-Critical Documentary For Fear Of Offending Them|url=https://mic.com/articles/43793/citizen-koch-pbs-kills-koch-brothers-critical-documentary-for-fear-of-offending-them#.u9SU4qVkc|website=MIC|date=May 22, 2013 |publisher=MIC Network, Inc.|access-date=July 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150424111603/http://mic.com/articles/43793/citizen-koch-pbs-kills-koch-brothers-critical-documentary-for-fear-of-offending-them#.u9SU4qVkc|archive-date=April 24, 2015|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last1=Weigel|first1=David|title=The Best Flacking the Kochs Can Buy?|url=http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/05/20/the_best_flacking_the_kochs_can_buy.html|website=Slate|date=May 20, 2013|publisher=Weigel|access-date=July 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807030132/http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2013/05/20/the_best_flacking_the_kochs_can_buy.html|archive-date=August 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref><ref name=WNETPushDocs>{{cite web|last1=Rainey|first1=James|title=Filmmakers Fight WNET Plan to Push Aside Documentaries|url=https://variety.com/2015/tv/news/filmmakers-fight-wnet-plan-to-push-aside-documentaries-exclusive-1201424227/|website=Variety (US Edition)|date=February 6, 2015|publisher=Variety Media LLC|access-date=July 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170629110204/http://variety.com/2015/tv/news/filmmakers-fight-wnet-plan-to-push-aside-documentaries-exclusive-1201424227/|archive-date=June 29, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref> when ''The New Yorker'' revealed in May 2013 that to appease Koch, the president of WNET, [[Neal Shapiro]], called Koch offering him the opportunity to screen Gibney's film before broadcast and rebut it after it aired with a written statement. Shapiro said to ''The New Yorker'' that he "just called David Koch. He's on our board. He's the biggest main character. No one else, just David Koch. Because he's a trustee. It's a courtesy. I can't remember doing anything like this [before]".<ref name="PublicTVDavidKoch" /> WNET replaced the film's introduction by [[Stanley Tucci]] with a new introduction calling the film "controversial" and "provocative". Immediately after the broadcast, they aired a statement from [[Koch Industries]] criticizing the film as "disappointing and divisive", although a Koch spokesperson said David Koch had only watched the trailer. WNET followed the statement with an on-air round-table discussion where the moderator repeatedly mentioned that Koch's philanthropic contributions totaled a billion dollars.<ref name="PublicTVDavidKoch" /> Gibney was not invited to appear at the round-table and was quoted as saying, "Why is WNET offering Mr. Koch special favors? And why did the station allow Koch to offer a critique of a film he hadn't even seen? Money. Money talks. They tried to undercut the credibility of the film, and I had no opportunity to defend it."<ref name="PublicTVDavidKoch" /> Koch did not make the large donation to WNET and resigned from their board on May 16, 2013.<ref name="PublicTVDavidKoch" /><ref>{{cite web|last1=Sefton|first1=dru|title=Was resignation of billionaire Koch from WNET Board related to controversial doc?|url=https://current.org/2013/05/was-resignation-of-billionaire-koch-from-wnet-board-related-to-controversial-doc/|website=Current.org|date=May 20, 2013 |publisher=American University School of Communication|access-date=July 10, 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170807022228/https://current.org/2013/05/was-resignation-of-billionaire-koch-from-wnet-board-related-to-controversial-doc/|archive-date=August 7, 2017|url-status=live}}</ref>