


Programs including "PBS NewsHour," "Frontline" and "Washington Week With Gwen Ifill" will be part of the initiative. The science series "Nova" will air a documentary on violence and the brain.


PBS' "After Newtown" initiative airs Feb. 18-22 (check local listings for times).


"PBS is not where you go for breaking news. Where we can add to the conversation is to step back … and say, 'OK, where are the big issues and where does this take us?' " Kerger said.

In moments of tragedy, "there's a lot of fascination with the event itself," she said, while PBS asks about meaning and consequences and includes both the national and local impact.



She said she expects the program, being done in collaboration with the Hartford Courant, will tell a compelling story.


"It certainly fits into the way we think about what's in front of kids" and the images they see on PBS children's shows, she said. As for prime time, "the kind of programming you're talking about has not found its home on public television."