WASHINGTON: NBC News last week aired its controversial investigative program, and after much controversy about both the subject and one of its directors (who was fired from the CIA for failing to inform them of his ties to Israel), reviewers condemned the show, calling it: “scorned by critics and snubbed by viewers.”
“The Wanted,” which premiered July 20, tosses together, according to Friday’s edition of The Washington Post: “specialists in counter-terrorism, foreign intelligence, war crimes and investigative journalism” to profile suspected international terrorists.
“We hope this program sheds light on an overlooked story,” David Corvo, executive producer at NBC News told The Post. “It is surprising how many people with serious accusations against them are living openly and avoiding any sort of judicial process.”
“It’s like nothing you’ve ever seen on TV before,” promised executive producers Charlie Ebersol and Adam Ciralsky in a statement. “The pairing of rigorous investigative journalism with high-end production values has resulted in a fast-paced show, which we hope will leave viewers wanting more.” But some experts question the “rigorous investigative journalism” description, as some media ethicists doubt such dramatic flourishes in what is being billed as a news program. “If you’ve got a journalist who is essentially playing the role of an action-adventure figure, if it looks like a post-9/11 ‘A-Team,’ then you would be further stretching the already flexible boundaries between journalism and entertainment,” Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, said. “There have to be some traditional journalistic values. And journalists pay fealty to getting the sequence of things correct, of not manipulating fact for effect.”
Such an example could be when producer Charlie Ebersol gave an unusual assignment to the crew members, telling them they had to watch “The Bourne Supremacy” and “The Bourne Ultimatum” to figure out how to re-create that slick cinematic style. “Bourne” director Paul Greengrass would “probably accuse me of homage,” Ebersol said. “We want it to look and feel like a Friday night movie, but we are held by the standards of news,” he said.
The show has also drawn criticism from government officials who say it could interfere with ongoing criminal investigations. Human rights advocates, meanwhile, voiced concern the program would make false accusations.
NBC News officials insist the program adheres to news standards. And its young producer is unapologetic about infusing entertainment into “The Wanted,” in which Adam Ciralsky leads a team searching for purported terrorists living openly in the US and Europe.
“I will face criticism for what my show looks like, but my belief is kids my age want to see production value,” said Ebersol, the 26-year-old son of NBC Sports Chairman Dick Ebersol.
Critiques have been harsh.
“Journalism it doesn’t quite qualify (here). Not one person who disagrees with their open and shut assessment of Mullah Krekar is ever allowed on camera. Who needs a trial? These guys have already found him guilty,” wrote TV critic Roger Catlin in his column “TV Eye” in the Hartford Current. “‘The Wanted’ not only fails as hokey reality-style entertainment, it doesn’t come close to journalism. It may also be recklessly damaging to the US diplomatic mission,” wrote Catlin.
Another of the show’s problem is that it turns out that Ciralsky also has been in the news, when, in the late 1990’s, he lost his job as CIA lawyer after accused of ties with Israel he had failed to disclose.
