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Rhetorical jabs at the war-reluctant French were surfacing in the American press this week, with "cheese-eating surrender monkeys" among the choicest barbs. Surprisingly, the response from French papers has been calm. As the clock ticks down to a potential war in Iraq, Martin Walker of United Press International surveys headlines from around the world.
Twenty years ago, war reporters were able to move across battle lines with relative ease. And with a relative safety, thanks to the shared desire by both sides to have their stories told. But the murder of Daniel Pearl showed that the shield of journalistic objectivity is no longer adequate protection. Veteran war correspondent Scott Anderson talks with Brooke about the recent changes in war reporting.
Ron Ziegler, the notorious Press Secretary for Watergate-era Richard Nixon, died this week at the age of 63. He will go down in history as perhaps the worst-regarded spokesman of the late 20th century. Brooke reflects on Ziegler's place in history, and on the point at which loyalty becomes a liability.
Last week, an unknown satellite channel scooped the rest of the world's media when it taped the first interview Saddam Hussein had granted in more than a decade. The brand-new channel - Arab Television - is the latest player to emerge from the Arab world's increasingly competitive media landscape. Veteran journalist and ATV mastermind Ron McKay joins Bob to discuss the new project.
"Choose Life" is a familiar slogan within the abortion debate. But recently, it has begun turning up in an unlikely setting: official state license plates. Specialty tags are nothing new, but the constitutionality of this particular specialty is being widely challenged. Brooke hashes out some of the first amendment issues with Kent Willis, executive director of the ACLU in Virginia, which could become the ninth state to issue the "Choose Life" plate
Before the internet and e-mail, there were the interstate and vanity plates. Vanity plates have been used not only as a personal expression of individuality, but also as a bizarre means of interstate communication. Bob looks into the evolution of this "mass medium."
Is the Internet the key that will unlock the door to democracy in totalitarian States? Ronald Reagan, among others, thought so. But a new study from the Carnegie Endowment complicates this popular notion of the Internet. Author Shanthi Kalathil joins Bob to discuss some of the ways in which authoritarian regimes use technical tools to control the flow of information in the digital age.
If fruitless Internet searching has ever left you praying for divine intercession, well, you're not alone. A group of Catholic bishops in Italy has taken up a poll to nominate an official Patron Saint of the Internet, and thousands of religious web-surfers are weighing in. To whom will Catholics eventually pray when their modem is on the fritz? Brooke speculates with Monsignor James P. Moroney.
The nationwide multiplication of multiplexes has left little screen-space for films designed solely to shock and disgust. But once upon a time, movies with names like "Barbed Wire Dolls" and "Nude on the Moon" were featured daily in theaters along the Great White Way. OTM's Rex Doane fondly remembers the golden age of Exploitation Cinema.
Highlights from Past ShowsQuick response to disaster, like the crash of the space shuttle Columbia last week, is a mainstay of the news industry. Radio is especially relied upon by some communities for news and information from the outside world. More and more though, radio stations are automated so that they can neither effectively report breaking news nor disseminate important safety information to their listeners. Brooke's report compares local coverage of various disasters and questions the role of media consolidation in the process.
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.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
