A new documentary produced and directed by Roger Aronoff, a media analyst and documentary producer with Accuracy in Media, will be debuting this weekend on many PBS stations across the country.

The documentary is titled “Fighting Words: A Tale of How Liberals Created Neo-Conservatism,” and is based on Ben Wattenberg’s political memoir of the same title. The documentary recently won the top prize at the WorldFest International Film Festival in Houston, in the category of Politics / International Issues.

The documentary will be shown in two parts, beginning this weekend, on a special edition of the weekly show “Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg.” In Washington D.C., Part 1 will air on Sunday, May 10, at 10 a.m. on WETA, Channel 26, and in New York on WNET, Channel 13, on Saturday, May 9, at 9 a.m.  Part 2 will air the following weekend, same time, same station. The full-length version of the documentary will air on a number of PBS stations later in the year.

If you are not in New York or Washington, you can visit this website, http://www.pbs.org/thinktank/where_watch.html to find out if the PBS station in your market carries Think Tank, and if so, what day and time.

Ben Wattenberg was a speechwriter for LBJ, and was later involved in the presidential campaigns of Washington Senator Henry “Scoop” Jackson. Ben has authored or co-authored a dozen books, and has been the host of PBS’s “Think Tank with Ben Wattenberg” for the past 15 years. As of this year, Aronoff also produces the weekly version of Think Tank.

In a review of Ben’s book, Herb London, president of the Hudson Institute, wrote that:

Ben’s transition from liberal to neo-con came incrementally. He resisted the left wing orthodoxy that emerged in the Academy. He resisted the claim the war in Iraq was inspired by neo-cons, indicating that President Clinton said Saddam Hussein had to be removed and recalling that Congress approved a bombing of Iraq in 1998.

There is probably no one in the last four decades who has had a better grasp of how Washington works and who are the characters that make it work. Through his “Think Tank” program Ben toured the field from Jesse Jackson to Newt Gingrich. And the more he toured, the more it became evident that he didn’t leave the party (he still describes himself as a Democrat) but the party left him. It is not coincidental that Ronald Reagan described Ben as his favorite Democrat.

The documentary includes interviews with Patrick Buchanan, Midge Decter, E.J. Dionne, Francis Fukuyama, Christopher Hitchens, Joshua Muravchik, James Q. Wilson and James Woolsey.

Don Wilson produced and co-directed the documentary. Andrew Walworth is the Executive Producer. It was produced by Grace Creek Media. 

Aronoff also wrote and directed the award-winning documentaries, “Confronting Iraq: Conflict and Hope” and “TWA 800: The Search for the Truth,” as well as “The Clinton Legacy,” all for Accuracy in Media.

To arrange an interview with AIM media analyst Roger Aronoff, contact Sarah Schaerr Norton at (202) 364-4401 ext. 107 or (JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).

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