In his November 16, 2006 column, PBS Ombudsman Michael Getler wrote:

On Nov. 10, Jim Lehrer, the host of PBS's nightly "NewsHour," was a featured speaker at the dedication of the new National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Va. Also present was President Bush, who also spoke, the Marine Corps brass, and a crowd estimated at more than 15,000.

It is, to say the least, rare — and maybe even unprecedented, although I don't like using that word — for a journalist to get such an invitation. But is it news? The "NewsHour" that night devoted some nine minutes of its report to presenting Lehrer's full speech, as delivered.

Almost everybody who wrote to me or telephoned said, in one way or another, that they were deeply touched by Lehrer's speech and wanted him to know it. A sampling of their e-mails and, in some cases, phone messages follows. But there were also one or two who objected, who said this was, indeed, not news and that PBS erred in covering such a speech by one of its own.

I must admit that I, too, winced when the coverage kept going and I realized that, aside from reporting on the dedication, this was to be a long segment presenting the Jim Lehrer speech in full on the "NewsHour with Jim Lehrer....

Click here to read the full column by Getler on the PBS website.

What do you think? Did PBS do the right thing by airing Lehrer's speech? Why or why not?
Have you been confronted by similar situations in your newsrooms? How were they handled?