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Lobbyists for CBS, NBC and Fox have descend on Washington, armed with new data from a poll by Republican pollster Frank Luntz that says the public doesn't mind media consolidation. Their first move was to place ads in two Washington-insider papers: Roll Call and The Hill with the slogan: "America Says: Don't get between me and my TV." NBC vice president and chief lobbyist Robert Okun lays out the network's case for Brooke.
For Californians across the state who are bracing themselves for a barrage of campaign ads from Arnold, Gary and company in the recall race, it may be a relief to learn that radio stations owned by two media giants, Viacom and Clear Channel, are limiting or outright rejecting candidate advertising. Of course, for Californians that believe in political discourse, this is not especially good news. TV Week's Wayne Freedmanspeaks with Bob.
This Sunday, in time to mark the anniversary of 9-11, the Showtime cable channel is offering a docudrama called "DC 9-11," which purports to be an intimate look of the first nine days of the tragedy, from inside the White House. Two solid hours of resolute, unwavering leadership. Brooke talks to the film's writer and producer, Lionel Chetwynd.
Three states and roughly 150 localities have passed resolutions resisting what they regard as the excesses of the Patriot Act, passed in the wake of 9-11 to give the government broader powers to wiretap, search, and detain. There has been broad opposition to the act and this month Attorney General John Ashcroft went on a barnstorming tour of America to defend it. Earlier this year Bob deconstructed the changes to our civil liberties that have come to pass since September 11th 2001. NSA
Media reporter Michael Wolff just came back from the International Television Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland and as he reports in this week's New York Magazine, in the ongoing battle between Tony Blair and the BBC there's a third player...Rupert Murdoch. Michael Wolff speaks with Brooke about the strange relationship between the Prime Minister and the media magnate.
Murdoch's media empire keeps expanding. Two months ago he acquired Direct TV, our largest satellite platform. Last week, he launched a 24 hour news channel in Italy, Sky Italia. And earlier this year, Murdoch also launched an entertainment channel in China, Starry Sky. He's long had his finger on the Indian market, second only to China in size of potential audience -- with many fewer government restrictions on program content. In April, Murdoch's Star India launched a news channel in India's national language, Hindi. From New Delhi, Miranda Kennedy reports.
Highlights from Past ShowsOn New Year’s Day, the New York Times reported that Democrats felt outflanked by media pundits on the right. There’s no shortage of conservative firebreathers on radio and TV, but where are their liberal counterparts? Why no Rush Limbaugh of the left? Bob speaks with Alan Colmes, the designated liberal on Fox News Channel’s nightly show Hannity & Colmes, also humorist Al Franken, who thinks the trick is not to be bombastic, but to be credible.
It's been a week of troubling news out of the Middle East. 23 people were killed in a bomb blast at the UN Headquarters in Baghdad, and violence escalated again between the Palestinians and Israelis. World Press Review Contributing Editor Peter Valenti gives Bob a view of the events from the Arab press.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
