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Seeking prime airtime, the Anti-War Video Fund created a 30-second issue ad to be broadcast on CNN before and after the State of the Union address. Unfortunately for the activists, the ad did not air. It was rejected at the last minute by the mega cable company, Comcast. Outraged anti-war advocates are crying censorship. Alicia Mundy from Cableworld magazine returns this week to talk with Brooke about the controversy.
The American press has been buzzing all week about the state of the union and the state of the U.S. war message, now we’ll find out how the speech figured into European headlines. Bill Falk, editor in chief of The Week magazine, has been monitoring the papers, and he tells Bob that the overseas headlines suggest a greater concern with appearances than with war.
Last October Americans were gripped by the search for the sniper and the string of murders that left Washington D.C. area residents terrorized. The story was followed closely by the media, whose aggressive coverage was criticized by members of the investigation team after the case was solved. British free-lance producer Mary-Jane Robinson has made this the subject of her latest documentary. Mary Jane Robinson talks with Brooke about watching the American media frenzy through the eyes Montgomery County Police Chief Charles Moose.
Cable news has dedicated a lot of time this week to making a spectacle of Scott Peterson, whose pregnant wife has been missing since Christmas eve. The Abrams Report is leading the media mob; Dan Abrams tells Bob why he won’t leave this story alone.
The New York Herald Tribune died in 1965, but the European edition survived and was jointly produced by The Washington Post and The New York Times… until now. After a bitter internal struggle between the two heavyweights, the Times beat out the Post and took sole ownership of the 115-year old publication. As Frank Browning reports, the troubled story of the Trib reveals much about both America’s romance with Paris, and the new reality of global branding in the media.
This week, a long delayed and very expensive part of Boston’s Big Dig opened to the public. The Massachusetts Turnpike Authority has created a virtual tour of the underground roadways on their website. The technology used to create the online roadmap also helped engineers design the exit signs for what is being called the most complicated tunnel network in the world. On the Media’s Susan Kaplan reports on the progress.
This week the Library of Congress inaugurated a National Recording Registry and named the first 50 recordings that will be permanently preserved. The selections range from President Roosevelt’s fireside chats, to Ray Charles’ smooth soul, to nineteenth century Passamaquoddy Indian song. Librarian of Congress James Billington talks with Bob about the milestones in our audio heritage and the importance of preservation.
AT&T used the phrase “Freedom of Expression” as a slogan in a print ad campaign and in doing so gave Kembrew McLeod an opportunity he couldn’t pass up. Asserting that readers might link the AT&T campaign to his long running anti-corporate publication called “Freedom of Expression”, McCloud sent a “cease and desist” letter to AT&T. He has the phrase trademarked, and his trademark certificate is part of an art exhibit called, “Illegal Art: Freedom of Expression in the Corporate Age”. Kembrew McLeod joins Brooke to discuss the art exhibit that may prove that artists can still make good use of fair use.
Highlights from Past ShowsThe Congressional leadership swap returned veteran lawmaker John McCain to the helm of the Senate Commerce Committee. What will Senator McCain's chairmanship mean for the contentious future of media regulation? Brooke speculates with Cable World reporter Alicia Mundy.
After only 18 months at the helm of CNN, Walter Isaacson is stepping down to take a job at a Colorado think-tank. On the eve of his departure, Isaacson chats with Bob about his tumultuous tenure at the cable giant, and reflects on the current state of television news.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
