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Over the past couple of years the satellite TV network Al-Jazeera has often been criticized by U.S. government and military officials. But the network's critics include Arabs as well - among them the Abdul Rahman Al-Rashed, Editor-in-Chief of the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat. He joins Brooke to discuss what he saw to be Al-Jazeera's skewed coverage of the war in Iraq.
The U.S. war in Iraq began long before any bombs fell on Baghdad. The weapons-of-choice were covert radio signals beamed in from neighboring countries. Nick Grace of ClandestineRadio.com tells Brooke about the variety of CIA-backed radio stations that until recently could be heard in Iraq.
During the war, Iraqis were deluged by a variety of American-sponsored broadcasts. On one of the radio stations thought to be backed by the CIA, it was possible to hear a parody of the gangsta-rap hit "Gangsta's Paradise." The M.C., who raps in a combination of English and Arabic, is none other than…the Dictataaaaa.
Last week, Knight Ridder Newspapers reported that according to hospital records, at least 1100 civilians died in the battle for Baghdad. The estimate was one of only a few to surface in the media so far, and some say that the media should be paying more attention to the story. But military analyst and L.A. Times columnist Bill Arkin tells Brooke that it's not necessarily the media's role to count civilian deaths.
Even in a totalitarian regime that seeks to control people's minds, people are not immune to books. Iranian literary critic and educator Azar Nafisi wrote about teaching and reading the Western canon in her new memoir, "Reading Lolita in Tehran."
This week, 161 transcripts of Senator Joseph McCarthy's closed-door Senate hearings were de-classified. These were the dress rehearsals for the infamous televised hearings, and demonstrated McCarthy's strategy of picking on the weakest, or at least the weakest-looking suspects. Brooke reflects on the first reality TV show, set in the halls of Congress.
When the producer of a new CBS miniseries about Hitler made public remarks comparing the Third Reich to post-9/11 America, he was summarily fired. But that's not keeping CBS from airing the show. NY Observer columnist Ron Rosenbaum tells Brooke that even though he thinks the comparison was inappropriate the firing was completely hypocritical.
When it comes to criticizing the soap-operafication of Hitler, we at OTM dare not cast the first stone. In this hypothetical sketch written by Comedy Central's Jon Stewart, the evil one himself bares all as a guest on Larry King's show. Mike O'Meara plays King, and Stewart is the voice of Hitler.
Artificial laughter has been peppering sitcoms since 1953, when the "Laff Box" was invented. Last month, the inventor of the uproarious technology, Charles Douglass, passed away at the age of 93. Claes Andreasson of Swedish National Public Radio evaluates the legacy of the "Laff Box."
Highlights from Past ShowsWith the Bush Administration's declaration of victory in Iraq, the unveiling of a new peace plan for Israel and the Palestine, and the imminent withdrawal of US forces from Saudi Arabia, it was a busy week for political restructuring in the Middle East. World Press Review contributing editor Peter Valenti fills Bob in on the Arab press' response to the week's events.
Last time Brooke spoke with NPR's John Burnett, he had just arrived in Baghdad and was about to leave his military assignment. Since then, he's finally had the chance to speak with ordinary Iraqis, and get a different perspective on the war. On the eve of his departure to the U.S., Brooke checks in with John for one last assessment of the "embed experiment."
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
