Ken Burns’ ‘Lewis And Clark’ Wins Huge Audience

Ken Burns remains the most valuable producer in the history of public television, judging by the ratings.

That was proved again last week, when Burns’ latest film, “Lewis and Clark and the Journey of Discovery,” scored the highest rating for any program on PBS since a 1991 interview with Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf during the Gulf war. For more than one night, only Burns’ own “Civil War” series in 1990 had a higher rating.

The rating for “Lewis and Clark” in the United States’ 38 biggest cities was good enough to beat about a dozen shows on the commercial broadcast networks. In some cities, notably in the Far West, the show was a smash. In Portland, for example, it beat all competition.

Burns said Tuesday that he was “completely blown away and thrilled” by the huge audience. And he was excited for another reason. The night before, President Clinton had invited him to show clips from the film at a reception in the East Room of the White House, the same place, Burns pointed out, “where Meriwether Lewis got down on the floor with Thomas Jefferson and spread out the maps from his journey.”