Brian Westley

Senior Counsel, Standards & Practices | Adjunct Instructor

Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) | American University

Brian Westley is an adjunct instructor at American University. He is also Senior Counsel, Standards & Practices, at Public Broadcasting Service (PBS). At PBS Westley provides pre-broadcast counseling and legal advice on a variety of issues, including compliance with FCC regulations. He also manages and implements PBS’s editorial standards and funding standards, and advises senior leadership on potential conflicts of interest and other ethical issues related to programming. Prior to joining PBS, Westley was an attorney at a large intellectual property law firm in Washington. Before law school he spent nearly a decade as a journalist, including seven years at The Associated Press in Washington.

Participating Sessions

WHERE’S THE ACCOUNTABILITY IN DOCUMENTARY?

In the “golden age” of documentary, who’s watching the standards, practices and ethics of the industry? Did Morgan Neville’s casual dismissal of any issue with his choice to recreate the voice of Anthony Bourdain in Roadrunner reflect today’s industry? This session reveals the latest Center for Media & Social Impact study, The State of Journalism on the Documentary Filmmaking Scene, detailing the absence of commonly agreed standards of transparency and...