The FCC wanted advice on broadcast indecency, so it put a Christian crusader on the payroll. Plus, The Daily Show's endless search for chumps
Don't Drop the Anchor
The news media took time out this week to honor one of its own. As news organizations pondered the life and legacy of Peter Jennings, there seemed to be one especially recurrent theme. Jennings was the last of the big three, we were told, and with him passes the Era ...
Color Me Normal
Another giant of journalism died this week - John H. Johnson. The founder of the pioneering magazines Jet and Ebony will be remembered not only as a self-made media mogul, but also as the creator of a mirror for a segment of African Americans previously relegated to the fringes of ...
Calling All Watchdogs
Nick Sophocleous was staying at his girlfriend's flat in North Kensington last month when he realized that a full-scale bust of the London bombing suspects was in progress across the way. He captured the arrest on video, and sold it to the media for 60 thousand pounds. Now, you too ...
Son of Justice Sunday
This Sunday, leaders of the Christian Right will gather at a Nashville church to stage a live televised rally in support of Supreme Court nominee John Roberts. The event is known as "Justice Sunday II: God Save the United States and this Honorable Court!" and features such luminaries as James ...
Decency Docent
Those concerned about indecency on the airwaves have a new ally in the innermost halls of broadcast regulation. Penny Nance has been hired by the FCC as an advisor on indecency issues. Nance is a former board member for Concerned Women for America, a group dedicated to "helping…to bring Biblical ...
The Silence Next Time
Last month, ABC's Nightline aired an interview with self-described "terrorist" and Chechen separatist leader Shamil Basayev. In response, Russia revoked its accreditations for all ABC journalists. It's not the first time a government has tried to curtail the speech of its enemies. For years, the British government waged a similar ...
Guide Goes Glossy
Time was when TV Guide was a kind of Bible. If you wanted to know which "Bat Channel" to tune into, it was right there in those weekly listings. But the magazine recently decided to transform into itself a full-sized glossy, with pared down listings and more emphasis on celebrity. ...
Reality's Pen
Reality shows offer a glimpse of real life, unmediated by script-writers or story boards. Right? Wrong, says Daniel Petrie, Jr., president of the Writers Guild of America, west. According to Petrie, reality show editors serve the same function as traditional writers, piecing together story arcs out of hundreds of hours ...
Free Stooges
Fans of the enormously popular The Daily Show are by now quite familiar with the conceit of fake journalists asking inane questions of real subjects. And so you'd think that by now, the show would have run out of unsuspecting interview guests. Not so. Co-executive producer Stewart Bailey tells Bob ...
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A Week of Scandals, Catholic Whistleblowers, and More
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Conservative Bloggers Vindicated, Advice for Leakers, and More
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An 11-year-old and his 3D printer
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Who’s gonna pay for this stuff?
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OTM Staff Picks, Volume 52
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Brooke Gladstone + Cyndi Lauper
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The Totally Legal Subpoena
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A Journalistic Civil War Odyssey
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A New Incentive for Cord Cutters
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A Source for Sources
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