News

Published:
September 23, 2011

“Pantzke” in the Press

“Educating Sgt. Pantzke,” FRONTLINE’s investigative report about the for-profit college industry’s recruitment of veterans, is cited in a Sept. 23 New York Times op-ed and Time Magazine blog post for exposing the worst of these colleges’ marketing tactics.

The issues raised by “Educating Sgt. Pantzke” are currently the subject of Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearings. In his opening statement to the committee on Sept. 22, Ted L. Daywalt, CEO and President of VetJobs, said that the film “highlighted the problem veterans’ face when attending predatory for-profit educational institutions.”

In the Times, op-ed author Hollister K. Petraeus, assistant director for service member affairs at the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (and wife of general David Petraeus), argues that “personnel and their families are finding themselves under siege from for-profit colleges,” who use deception and sometimes outright lies to win veterans’ hard-earned tuition stipends. In particular, she mentions an incident, recounted on FRONTLINE, in which a college recruiter at the Marine barracks at Camp Lejeune, N.C. worked to recruit veterans suffering from significant brain injuries.

On Time’s Battleland blog, Ron Capps, a 25-year military veteran and current director of the Veterans Writing Project, discusses the lack of support networks at these colleges for veterans troubled by PTSD, TBI and other combat-related ailments explored in “Pantzke.”

For a news update on the Senate hearings, please visit Gretchen Gavett’s report on FRONTLINE’s webpage. Click here to watch “Educating Sergeant Pantzke.”

Published:
September 13, 2011

The Interrogator

The Interrogator is the story of a former FBI Agent who has decided to blow the whistle on “the war on terror.” Ali Soufan interrogated some of the most high-ranking Al Qaeda operatives around the world. He gives FRONTLINE an insider’s view of why the attacks on the World Trade Center could have been prevented and how the use of coercive interrogations failed to produce actionable intelligence. Also in this hour: Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest investigates the terrorism-industrial complex that grew up in the wake of 9/11. Against a backdrop of recent mail bomb threats from Al Qaeda in Yemen and growing concerns about homegrown terrorists, Priest explores the growing reach of homeland security, fusion centers, battlefield technologies, and data-collecting into the lives of ordinary Americans.

Published:
September 9, 2011

Broadcast Tuesday, September 13 on PBS FRONTLINE: “The Interrogator”

The Interrogator is the story of a former FBI Agent who has decided to blow the whistle on “the war on terror.” Ali Soufan interrogated  some of the most high-ranking Al Qaeda operatives around the world.  He gives FRONTLINE an insider’s view of why the attacks on the World Trade Center could have been prevented and how the use of coercive interrogations failed to produce actionable intelligence.    Also in this hour: Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington Post reporter Dana Priest investigates the terrorism-industrial complex that grew up in the wake of 9/11.  Against a backdrop of recent mail bomb threats from Al Qaeda in Yemen and growing concerns about homegrown terrorists, Priest explores the growing reach of homeland security, fusion centers, battlefield technologies, and data-collecting into the lives of ordinary Americans.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Published:
June 28, 2011

Educating Sgt. Pantzke

As troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, spending on veterans’ education will more than double to $9.5 billion this year. In a follow-up to College, Inc., correspondent Martin Smith investigates how for-profit schools are recruiting the largest number of our newest veterans and making big money in the process.

Published:
May 24, 2011

WikiSecrets

In the spring of 2010,  Army intelligence analyst Private First Class Bradley E. Manning purportedly handed over the largest cache ever of classified documents to the internet activist and hacker, Julian Assange.  Private Manning allegedly leaked the trove hoping to incite “worldwide discussion, debates, and reforms.”    In WikiSecrets, FRONTLINE follows the trail of both Manning and Assange to uncover the truth behind the leaks. Veteran Correspondent Martin Smith also talks to the major players in the case and explores the issues at stake–from free speech to cyber security, and reports on the U.S. government’s struggle to protect national security information and the dilemma posed by the need to increase information-sharing in a post 9-11 world.

Published:
May 24, 2011

Watch FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith on Morning Joe

Correspondent Martin Smith discusses our upcoming documentary, WikiSecrets, which airs tonight at 9 p.m. on PBS FRONTLINE

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

You can also see Smith discuss the program on Charlie Rose and PBS News Hour.

Published:
May 19, 2011

Broadcast Tuesday, May 24 on PBS FRONTLINE: “WikiSecrets”

It’s the biggest intelligence breach in U.S. history—the leaking of more than half-a-million classified documents on the WikiLeaks website in the spring of 2010. Behind it all, stand two very different men: Julian Assange, the Internet activist and hacker who published the documents, and an Army intelligence analyst named Bradley E. Manning, who’s currently charged with handing them over. Private Manning allegedly leaked the secret cables—along with a controversial video—in the hope of inciting “worldwide discussion, debates and reforms.” Assange’s stated mission has been to force the U.S. and other governments into maximum transparency through his whistle-blowing website. Through in-depth interviews with Manning’s father, Assange, and others close to the case, veteran FRONTLINE correspondent Martin Smith tells the full story behind the leaks. He also reports on the U.S. government’s struggle to protect national security information in a post 9/11 world.

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Published:
May 6, 2011

Private Life of Bradley Manning, The

A profile of the early years of the young soldier now accused of leaking more than half a million classified U.S. government documents.

Published:
May 3, 2011

Broadcast on PBS FRONTLINE: “The Secret War”

FRONTLINE crosses the border into Pakistan, where correspondents Stephen Grey and Martin Smith go inside The Secret War against the militants. They uncover new details of a CIA “private army” of militiamen launching kill raids against al Qaeda and the Taliban inside Pakistan. They also find new evidence of covert support for elements of the Taliban by the Pakistani military and its intelligence service, the ISI. At a safe-house not far from where bin Laden was killed, they make contact with one mid-level Taliban commander who tells FRONTLINE, “If they really wanted to, [the Pakistanis] could arrest us all in an hour.”

Watch the full episode. See more FRONTLINE.

Published:
April 27, 2011

Airing this spring on PBS FRONTLINE: “Educating Sgt. Pantzke”

As troops return from Iraq and Afghanistan, U.S. government spending on veterans’ education will more than double to $9.5 billion this year, and a growing percentage of this money has been ending up in the pockets of for-profit colleges. In a follow-up to FRONTLINE’s College, Inc., correspondent Martin Smith investigates how the for-profit schools are aggressively recruiting huge numbers of new veterans with educational promises that many now question whether they can keep.

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