I know, you might be thinking, who is Stephen Talbot and why should I care what he thinks of the TV news biz? Well, Talbot is a producer and writer for PBS' Frontline (his new episode, News War, debuted earlier this week), but that's not why I'm posting this. I'll explain that after the jump. In the meantime, go read the chat he has at The Washington Post's site and look at his picture closely. Where have you seen him before?

Talbot has a lot of interesting things to say about the news industry. He likes local news, but doesn't like it when they focus on just local stories, fears that people will just wake up one day and wonder why the only news they get is stuff about Anna Nicole and Britney, and he explains why Connie Chung gave up her great reporting career to do...well, whatever the hell she's doing now.

Oh, where have you seen him before?

PBS is getting into the coffee game by joining with Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and creating the PBS Blend. The coffee will be organic, and will be "offered in whole bean, 10 oz. packages, and single serve K-cups for use in Keurig Single-Cup brewers."

But the PBS ombudsman column above raises an interesting question: how can PBS get into the for-profit business of selling coffee and other commercial endeavors and still get taxpayer support? Whatever side you happen to fall on, the column probably answers any questions you might have and is well worth reading.

I wonder if they'll do it for certain shows. Maybe a Sesame Street Hazelnut or a Bill Moyers Vanilla Bean. Though I don't really want to know what a McLaughlin Group-flavored coffee would taste like.

[via Romenesko]