All comes down to ONE thing...
Mr O'Brien,
If you are indeed associated with the PBS program "Frontline," my congratulations, as it is the absolute pinnacle of investigative reporting in the United States.
If ANY serious investigation of the aviation industry is to take place, the first, second, last and ONLY thing that matters is MONEY. The situation at Colgan (commuters who cannot afford to live in the cities in which they are based, low-time, inexperienced first officers who have never seen icing before, the lack of training in simulated icing and/or stall conditions, etc, etc, etc..) is no different at many other carriers, including the most famous in the world.
Can you imagine someone who has never flown a 747 going from ZERO training in the aircraft to being required to complete his aircraft systems exam within FIVE days of training beginning? It happens EVERY DAY in the United States.
If you have ANY peripheral interest at all in this training/experience/cost equation, simply look around THIS website at the amount of "pay to play" training, which is now often required by prospective employers and check out the amount of contract training and hiring that is taking place across the globe.
I wish you the very best of luck in your quest for the truth of this subject, as it will provide me a very good gauge on whether I should "trust" Frontline as much as I do. Nothing solidifies one's perspective on reporting as much watching/listening to that reporting on a subject on which one considers oneself an SME.