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Two years after being conspicuously passed over for the top job at the New York Times, Bill Keller was named Executive Editor of the paper this week. He replaces Howell Raines, who resigned in disgrace last month in the wake of the Jayson Blair scandal, but who maintains that he was just trying to do what was best for the paper. Brooke speaks with Keller about the job that lies ahead.
The Times isn't the only major news organization with a new chief. Last month, Tom Curley took over as President and C.E.O. of the Associated Press. Curley comes to the A.P. from USA Today, where he served as the paper's President and Publisher. He tells Bob how things are going so far in his new position.
What's wrong with trying to introduce a fair and balanced perspective into school textbooks? Nothing, argues Diane Ravitch, author of The Language Police. But somewhere along the line, admirable intentions devolved into widespread self-censorship on the part of textbook authors, who have found themselves under increasing pressure from interest groups on both ends of the political spectrum. Ravitch joins Bob to give her assessment of the problems ailing American education.
Who penned the words you are reading now - a man, or a woman? With the help of a newly developed computer algorithm, you'd have a good chance of guessing correctly. The program analyzes a writer's use of simple words like "you," "the," and "with" - and has an 80 percent rate of accuracy. Brooke talks to technology writer Clive Thompson about the so-called gender-detector.
Would it be possible to create a family tree consisting of friends rather than relatives? What would it look like? The growing ranks of people registered on social networking websites like Friendster.com are getting a glimpse. Friendster maps out the connections within groups of friends, and in doing so provides a graphic representation of the highly inscrutable social movements of homo sapiens. Jad Abumrad reports.
For many years, the government and the media have regarded each other with mutual distrust. But the antagonism reached a new high with the Watergate scandal, and many say that the wounded relationship has never really recovered. Brooke brings us back in time to the early 1970's, to the years in which the press and the executive branch went mano a mano in full view of the entire country.
Thirty years ago this summer, millions of Americans tuned in to daily congressional hearings, and watched the Watergate plot unfold like a Perry Mason trial. The role of Perry Mason was played by Sam Dash, Chief Counsel to the Senate Watergate Committee. He tells Brooke that the drama of the hearings was no accident. It was carefully scripted - by him - for television.
Highlights from Past ShowsEven as President Bush took a goodwill spin around Africa this week, his Administration came under increasing fire at home. There was concern about the mounting death toll of Americans in Iraq, and nagging questions about the elusive WMDs and discredited evidence of Saddam's nuclear threat. Former presidential advisor and journalist David Gergen talks to Bob about whether the Administration is losing control of its war message.
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.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
