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Ever since the FCC voted to relax media ownership rules, congressional opponents of deregulation have been working to reverse the changes. But because the leader of a key House committee opposed the effort, nobody thought it would get very far. Undaunted, deregulation opponents took an alternative tack, and were vindicated this week in a vote by the full House. Cable World Senior Editor Alicia Mundy fills Bob in on the latest in the FCC saga.
For weeks, a dispute has been raging in Britain over who-knew-what about Iraq’s weapons program. And the dispute was ratcheted up a notch when the BBC’s alleged source was found dead near his home. The death of government scientist David Kelly has been ruled a suicide, but commentators in the Arab press aren’t so sure. World Press Review Contributing Editor Peter Valenti reads to Bob from a sampling of the Arab papers.
When L.A. Times editorial cartoonist Michael Ramirez got a call from the Secret Service this week, he figured the call was a prank. But the men in black were soon at his door, with some questions about one of his cartoons. The irony might have been lost on the President’s men, but not on Ramirez. As he tells Brooke, the cartoon portrayed Bush with a gun to his head, but was actually gesture of support for the Prez.
Apparently, it’s no longer enough to watch what you write. In times such as these, it’s also wise to watch what you read. This week, FBI agents paid a visit to Atlantan Marc Shultz after being tipped off about suspicious behavior. Eventually, Shultz realized his offense –reading an article called “Weapons of Mass Stupidity” in public. He tells all to Brooke.
Experts agree that the so-called “dirty bomb” is the most overrated weapon in the terrorist arsenal. But the release of even a small amount of radiation in the air would likely cause significant fallout in the form of widespread panic. So why haven’t the media done more to educate the public about the potential terrorist threat? OTM’s John Solomon investigates.
What happens when cameras are added to the landscape of wireless communications technology? A revolution in the way news is reported and distributed, according to sociologist Howard Rheingold, author of “Smart Mobs, the Next Social Revolution.” He joins Brooke to discuss the great (un)wired future of information technology.
For some time, much has been made about the murky line separating fact from fiction on the Internet. But when it comes to online journalism, might the boundary between the reporter and his or her audience also be breaking down? Journalist/Blogger Dan Gillmor thinks so. He talks with Brooke about the advent of what he calls “we journalism.”
On Monday, it will be one year since nine miners were rescued from a flooded mine in Western Pennsylvania. The resulting media frenzy eventually took its toll on some of the rescued and their rescuers. It can be hard to predict which events will capture the nation’s imagination, but history tells us that the public will always respond to stories about people stuck in holes. Mike Pesca looks back on the media magic created when a person is trapped underground.
Highlights from Past ShowsTwo 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.
Even 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.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
