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Two Towns of Jasper (2003)

By Whitney Dow and Marco Williams

In this Case Study
Introduction
Promotion
Outreach
Website
Viewer Response

Introduction

With support from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, PBS's acclaimed independent documentary series, P.O.V. concluded its 15th season with an unprecedented partnership with ABC News Nightline for a series of programs around Two Towns of Jasper. Carried over three nights — January 21-23 — the partnership generated the largest audience ever for P.O.V., with accolades from critics and viewers. Focusing on the notorious 1998 dragging death of James Byrd, Jr., in Jasper, Texas and its aftermath, the joint venture included a preview of the documentary and an extensive interview with the filmmakers Whitney Dow and Marco Williams on ABC News Nightline and culminated in a live town hall meeting anchored by Ted Koppel from Jasper broadcast on PBS, with an edited repeat broadcast later on ABC. The week-long slate of programs drew an estimated total of 32 million viewers into a nationwide discussion on race in America.

Two Towns of Jasper featured segregated production crews — one black and one white — each filming the white and black communities of Jasper, Texas, the site of one of the most notorious racially-motivated murders in recent memory. The January 22 broadcast premiere garnered the largest audience in P.O.V.'s history, with a 2.1 rating representing six million viewers cumulatively. The audience represents a 31 percent increase over PBS's season-to-date primetime average. The following night, on January 23, over five million viewers tuned in for the broadcast of America in Black and White: Jasper, Texas, a live town hall meeting hosted by Ted Koppel which featured a diverse cross-section of Jasper citizens, many of whom were featured in the P.O.V. documentary. This was the first time Ted Koppel had been released by ABC to appear on PBS.

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