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This week, amidst a wave of controversy, Senate majority leader Trent Lott announced his resignation from the leadership role. Lott's inflammatory remarks were intitially ignored and it was only days later that the story came under mainstream scrutiny. But according to New York post Columnist John Podhoretz, the comments were not ignored by bloggers-amateurs and professional pundits with their own websites. Brooke speaks with John Podhoretz.
Media consolidation was a big theme in 2002-and it looks like it will be again in 2003. Popular cable channels are up for grabs, and media giants look like they're getting ready to move in for the kill. Most of the cable channels being eyed for purchase are niche channels, such as Comedy Central, USA, and the Sci-Fi Channel. But according to OTM regular Max Robbins of TV Guide, new ownership could mean big changes in content.
Bill Arkin, Michael Moore, "Green Onion," and hip hop pronunciation: Brooke shares listeners' letters.
Now there's a new way for activists to register their complaints against a company that does business with dictators or - like Dow Chemical, does not take responsibility for the Bhopal disaster in India back in 1984. A software program called ReamWeaver allows users to replicate and make subtle alterations to corporate websites with results that are designed to enrage the corporate victims while educating the readers. Brooke speaks with a creator of a couple of the most inflammatory sites (fake site, real site), Hampshire college sophomore Paul Hardwin.
Australia's high court has ruled that prominent businessman Joseph Gutnick can sue Dow Jones & Company for defamation in an October 2000 article published in Barron's. The decision has left media lawyers in the U.S. in disbelief. Why? Because the Australian court has ruled that Gutnick can sue in his home state of Victoria, Australia…even though Barron's is based in New York. Brooke speaks with Sandy Barron of the Libel Defense Resource Center in New York.
The Internet sparks a wide range of disputes, but it also has the power to resolve them. Right now, the Internet is home to about 40 websites devoted to alternative dispute brokering. Now, the technology is catching the attention of law schools. This month, law students from around the world began "online-international-alternative-dispute-resolution-moot-court." OTM's Susan Kaplan offers a translation of the legal jargon.
Smart mobs. Text messaging is transforming us into hive-style animals. Mobs of hundreds, even thousands, controlled by no single person yet with a mind of its own, are communicating and changing the way we transmit news. Whether it's the whereabouts of Prince William in his Scottish college town or political demonstrations in the Philippines, smart mobs are the result of communication information on an unprecedented scale. Writer Clive Thompson discusses the phenomenon of smart mobs with OTM.
On a given morning, 40 percent of secondary schools in the U.S. are watching Channel One, a daily TV news program targeted at a student audience. In return for piping Channel One into their classrooms, schools receive free video equipment. But opponents say that the schools are not appropriate venues for the network's commercials, which account for two out of twelve minutes on Channel One's broadcast. OTM's Paul Ingles reports.
Tabloid papers like the New York Post depend on big, splashy headlines to push newsstand sales. And there's a real science to crafting them. Which headlines work better than others? Michael Shain and Mike Pearl, both veteran tabloid journalists, have created a card game called "Man Bites Dog," bringing the lurid world of the tabloids to living rooms all over the country. Bob Garfield speaks with Michael Shain.
Highlights from Past ShowsLast year, Secretary of State Donald Rumsfeld unveiled a plan to create an Office of Strategic Influence-the purpose of which was to create and disseminate disinformation. Rumsfeld sidestepped the onslaught of criticism he received by claiming it was all a big misunderstanding and that the idea had been scrapped. But L.A. Times military analyst and critic Bill Arkin recently wrote that the Office of Strategic Influence was not dead. Brooke speaks with Bill Arkin.
The day before Thanksgiving, Henry Kissinger was appointed by President Bush to lead an investigation into possible intelligence failures leading up to the events of September 11th 2001. On the Media checks in with Scott Armstrong, Washington journalist and founder of the National Security Archive about media coverage, or lack thereof - of the controversial appointment.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
