Six minutes into the newest episode of PBS’s weekly public affairs show Firing Line came a surprising admission from guest Sam Tanenhaus, whose 1,000-page authorized biography of conservative icon William F. Buckley has been published after a long gestation period. Buckley, who died in 2008, famously founded and hosted Firing Line between 1966 and 1999. The program was relaunched in 2018 featuring host Margaret Hoover, the great-granddaughter of President Herbert Hoover.
Tanenhaus edited the New York Times Book Review between 2004 and 2013 and was a fierce and misleading critic of conservatism. That dubious history makes his unbidden criticism of his former employer all the more surprising: Who would have thought the phrase “peaceful protest” would have even been uttered as part of a media critique by a liberal on PBS?
