On The Media is produced by:
In Britain, the growing scandal over the missing WMD's has a clear target - Prime Minister Tony Blair. The most scathing criticism has come from a BBC reporter named Andrew Gilligan. He says Blair exaggerated the Iraqi threat with help from his Director of Communications, Alistair Campbell. Now, Campbell is firing back. Bob reviews the dispute with Trevor Butterworth, a research fellow at the Center for Media and Public Affairs.
The Israeli government has long charged the BBC with having a pro-Palestinian bias, but this week Israel took the accusations one step further, and cut its formal ties with the network. The final straw, as Danny Seaman of the Israeli Government Press Office tells Brooke, was the BBC's re-broadcast of a documentary about Israel's unconventional weapons program.
Criticizing the FCC's recent loosening media ownership regulations has become something of a new sport recently. The Senate Commerce Committee is getting into the act, proposing legislation to essentially undo the FCC's ruling. The bill has earned praise, but whether it has any chance of passing is another story. Bob talks to Cable World Senior Editor Alicia Mundy.
The hydrogen economy that President Bush has embraced is getting mixed reviews from both industry groups and environmentalists, making it very difficult for energy consumers to get the straight story. But it may be discrepancies between the science and the policy that are polluting the reporting. Brooke speaks to Dr. Daniel Kamman about energizing the coverage of the hydrogen debate.
One baseball tradition that has stood the test of time is bad advertising during radio broadcasts. After all, who isn't compelled to buy batteries when Energizer mentions second base in its commercial? Well Bob isn't, for one. He vents here about his slowly growing irritation over a lifetime of listening to play-by-play.
Depending on who you ask, Al-Jazeera is either the Middle East's most objective news source or the most influential voice of anti-Americanism. The first program in this season's PBS series "Wide Angle" goes behind-the-scenes of Al-Jazeera's war coverage in Iraq, as the network came under fire - sometimes literally - from almost every government involved. Brooke speaks with the documentary's Executive Producer, David Belton, about "Exclusive to Al Jazeera."
Corporate anthems, like national anthems, are created to instill pride and loyalty in listeners. But corporate anthems are geared towards company staff, not citizens, and the objects of pride are not nations, but soft drinks and spark plugs. On the Media's Rex Doane reports.
Bob and Brooke lead the On The Media chorus in a rousing recital of the OTM Anthem, written and composed by On The Media's Mike Pesca.
Highlights from Past ShowsIt was another week of eyebrow-raising for New York Times-watchers, after Washington Post columnist Howard Kurtz raised serious questions about the war reporting of the NYT's Judith Miller. According to Kurtz's sources, Miller wielded so much power as an embed that she actually influenced the military decision-making process. Brooke talks to Slate columnist Jack Schafer about Kurtz's expose.
Since September 11th, the White House has done its best to keep secret the names of some 1200 people detained in the so-called 'War on Terrorism.' This week a Federal Appeals Court agreed with the Administration's argument that the secrecy is essential to national security. Jane Kirtley, the Director of the Silha Center at the University of Minnesota, joins Brooke to discuss the ruling.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
