By — Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Leave your feedback Share Copy URL https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/viewer-mail-prompted-judy-woodruff-get-poetic Email Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Pinterest Tumblr Share on Facebook Share on Twitter This viewer mail prompted Judy Woodruff to get poetic Arts Oct 9, 2015 3:05 PM EDT At the PBS NewsHour, we get a lot of people writing in to share their thoughts on the show. Sometimes they tell us how much a particular segment means to them, or how much they learned. Sometimes they are more critical, expressing disapproval on a particular segment (or guest) or the way we reported on it. Either way, we always appreciate the feedback. Every now and then, though, we get a message that is just a little bit different from all the others. That was the case with this message, a poem we received a couple weeks ago from from viewer Christopher Armitage, called “On Watching the PBS Nightly Newshour”: Judy and Gwen, complementary pair, guide us smoothly as they come on air bringing the day’s news, tale sad to tell: Assad and ISIL make Syria hell and much of Africa runs it close; Afghanistan proves a lost cause — the Taliban are sneaking back, and Iraq’s still writhing on the rack. At North and South Poles ice is melting so it is in vain that bears go sealing. Power companies plot rate increases and bank executives scheme to fleece us. O brave new world with Facebook and Twitter, what’s the cure to make the news less bitter? The e-mail began circling around the staff and finally ended up on Judy Woodruff’s desk. She loved it, and crafted this response: Dear Professor Armitage: Seldom do we open our viewer mail And find such an aptly-worded tale. I clearly don’t have a way with verse So I’ll simply keep this terse And say: your poem has made us smarter And it will spur us on to work even harder! With gratitude, Judy Woodruff So please, continue to send us your compliments, your complaints, and even your more imaginative messages. We’ll continue reading. By — Margaret Sessa-Hawkins Margaret Sessa-Hawkins
At the PBS NewsHour, we get a lot of people writing in to share their thoughts on the show. Sometimes they tell us how much a particular segment means to them, or how much they learned. Sometimes they are more critical, expressing disapproval on a particular segment (or guest) or the way we reported on it. Either way, we always appreciate the feedback. Every now and then, though, we get a message that is just a little bit different from all the others. That was the case with this message, a poem we received a couple weeks ago from from viewer Christopher Armitage, called “On Watching the PBS Nightly Newshour”: Judy and Gwen, complementary pair, guide us smoothly as they come on air bringing the day’s news, tale sad to tell: Assad and ISIL make Syria hell and much of Africa runs it close; Afghanistan proves a lost cause — the Taliban are sneaking back, and Iraq’s still writhing on the rack. At North and South Poles ice is melting so it is in vain that bears go sealing. Power companies plot rate increases and bank executives scheme to fleece us. O brave new world with Facebook and Twitter, what’s the cure to make the news less bitter? The e-mail began circling around the staff and finally ended up on Judy Woodruff’s desk. She loved it, and crafted this response: Dear Professor Armitage: Seldom do we open our viewer mail And find such an aptly-worded tale. I clearly don’t have a way with verse So I’ll simply keep this terse And say: your poem has made us smarter And it will spur us on to work even harder! With gratitude, Judy Woodruff So please, continue to send us your compliments, your complaints, and even your more imaginative messages. We’ll continue reading.