PBS Introduces New Television Channel in Britain

As Britain takes its news media to task, an American import, the Public Broadcasting Service, hopes to make a name for itself by offering a sober antidote to the tales of tabloid newspaper excesses that have been leading the news bulletins of late.

This month, as a public inquiry delves into the intrusive Fleet Street reporting techniques that have shocked many Britons, PBS introduced a new channel in Britain, its first international television venture. Does Britain, home to the BBC, one of the most respected broadcasters in the world, really need to import serious television from the United States? When many Britons think of American television, they imagine silly sitcoms or the “fair and balanced” output of Fox News — owned by the same company, News Corporation, whose newspapers are first in the firing line in the investigation into the hacking of celebrities’ mobile phones. “It’s very different from people’s perception of what an American TV channel is like,” said Richard Kingsbury, general manager of the new channel, called PBS UK.