What the fireworks really looked like. (Photo by Mark Andre)
The air was clear last night in D.C. as fireworks lit the night’s sky… or at least that’s what you could have believed if you were watching PBS’s coverage of the District’s annual fireworks show on the National Mall. The Public Broadcasting Service caught flack after including portions of previous shows, instead of just showing live footage of yesterday’s fireworks that would have displayed the day’s gloomy weather as a backdrop.
Shortly after the annual lights show began, people began tweeting suspicions that PBS’ annual A Capitol Fourth broadcast didn’t reflect the rain or fog that dominated the city all day.
PBS is so totally faking most of those fireworks. Holy crap.
— Dennis Mersereau (@wxdam) July 5, 2016
Are you showing old fireworks @PBS?! What happened to the clouds and fog?
— Lauryn Ricketts (@laurynricketts) July 5, 2016
The PBS broadcast of the DC fireworks is a LIE! This is what it really looks like tonight. pic.twitter.com/uFPI7uBvhy
— Gus Cunningham (@AugustinesGhost) July 5, 2016
About 15 minutes later, PBS addressed the concerns on Twitter, saying that officials decided to include past coverage with this year’s fireworks because patriotism.
We showed a combination of the best fireworks from this year and previous years. It was the patriotic thing to do. #July4thPBS
— A Capitol Fourth (@July4thPBS) July 5, 2016
While some viewers were understanding of the dilemma, others pushed back about the “scandal”.
@July4thPBS How is using stock video patriotic? If I wanted that, I’d watch YouTube. #fake #July4thPBS
— Thomas Rainer (@ThomasRainerDC) July 5, 2016
PBS tweeted again about the confusion around 1:30 a.m. this morning, saying that the network’s officials are proud of their decision to give audiences “the best possible television viewing experience.”
— A Capitol Fourth (@July4thPBS) July 5, 2016
The entire broadcast of this year’s A Capitol Fourth features four hours of performances and concludes with the live edited lights show.
