Yesterday we reported on PBS’s somewhat scathing report detailing their internal investigation as to whether journalistic integrity had been compromised on the genealogy show Finding Your Roots. It came out during the Sony hack that Ben Affleck had petitioned executive producer and star, professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr., to remove clips referencing his slave-owning ancestor. Gates instead focused on other ancestors in Affleck’s past, which removed the common theme throughout the episode of race and slavery. (Affleck didn’t ask for the changes until 6 months after his part was taped, when production was presumably close enough to completion that they couldn’t move his segment to a more relevant episode.)

PBS found that Gates’s edit, which he did not inform PBS about, did violate standards. As a result they suspended production of the show and delayed the release of the third season, pending the appointment of additional staff members to fact check the genealogy findings. It’s possible that Finding Your Roots could be canceled if standards for journalistic integrity fall short of PBS’s expectations.

This story has been picked up by the NY Times, and they did a good job recapping the background. The relevant part to me is that Gates has commented, he basically repeated the same statement he made previously that this was an editorial decision that did not compromise standards, and that Affleck refused comment. The article was titled “A PBS Show, a Frustrated Ben Affleck, and a Loss of Face.” Damn.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Mr. Gates said he regretted not informing PBS about his conversations with Mr. Affleck. He did not apologize for omitting the detail in the broadcast. Mr. Gates said in April that other relatives of Mr. Affleck’s were more interesting, such as an occult enthusiast and a relative from the Revolutionary War.

Mr. Gates still contends the omission was an editorial decision, his spokesman said on Thursday. That assertion is in stark contrast to opinions he expressed in emails to Mr. Lynton last July, in which he expressed exasperation over how Mr. Affleck “asked us to edit something about one of his ancestors — the fact that he owned slaves.” He said that it was in “violation of PBS rules” and that “once we open the door to censorship, we lose control of the brand.”

If it became known that he cut that part of the interview with Mr. Affleck, Mr. Gates wrote, it would embarrass Mr. Affleck and “compromise our integrity.” Mr. Affleck said in a Facebook post in April that he was embarrassed to learn about his relative and that he “lobbied” Mr. Gates, who also goes by Skip, about what should go into the show. He said it was Mr. Gates’s decision alone.

“To clarify, because I see this story being framed as ‘censorship’ on some sites, when I told Skip I was uneasy about the slave owner, he told me he had not included it in his preliminary cut because there wasn’t much detail — a name and no details, so he wasn’t going with it to begin with,” Mr. Affleck wrote on Facebook.

While PBS treated this as a violation of standards, Mr. Affleck was quick to point out in April that the program “isn’t a news program” and that the celebrities voluntarily provide information about their family history.

Mr. Affleck declined to comment on Thursday. PBS also declined to comment further. The investigation that it conducted will remain private, a spokeswoman for PBS said.

The show has featured other celebrities who have had slave-owning ancestors, including Derek Jeter, Ken Burns and Anderson Cooper.

In a statement released Wednesday, PBS’s chief programming executive and general manager, Beth Hoppe, said that “improved editorial and production processes will ensure that all future projects will adhere to PBS’ editorial guidelines.”

[From The NY Times]

Make no mistake, this is a HUGE blow to Affleck’s ego. This is not TMZ or a handful of gossip blogs complaining that he’s an arrogant diva, this is PBS and the NY Times reporting the facts. Affleck just compromised the future of a highly regarded show run by a fastidious academic who bent the rules for him. Affleck refused comment to the NY Times because he realized that he made it worse last time by sounding defensive and then changing his story. The Times picked up on that and worked it into their coverage.

I want to mention something related. Today is the last Friday before Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner’s tenth anniversary. You gossip sleuths know what I mean.

Update: Thank you to Elfie for pointing out a glaring inaccuracy in Affleck’s profile on Finding Your Roots. The episode emphasized that Affleck’s mother was a Freedom Rider during the historic Freedom Summer of 1964. While it’s true that she was active in the Civil Rights Movement, Affleck’s mother has clarified to The Daily Mail that “she was not a Freedom Rider – and was not in the South in 1964, but a year later.” Chris Affleck (nee Boldt) told The Mail “I supported what [The Freedom Riders] did. People have incorrectly said I was a member which embarrasses me because I wasn’t as good as they were.”