The New York Times has created a new, post-Jayson Blair, ombudsman-esque position that they call Public Editor. Daniel Okrent is the first up to bat in taking on this brand new role. He talks with Brooke about being the voice of the people at the paper of record.
Amid reports of escalating hostility towards the U.S. around the Arab world, the State Department continues to mount new offensives in its “hearts and minds” campaign. One of the latest is “Hi” magazine, which hit news racks across the Middle East in July. Chris Toensing, editor of Middle East Report, joins Bob to discuss the apolitical nature of Hi Magazine. Following their conversation, Bob speaks with Richard Creighton, Hi Magazine’s executive editor who says that while “Hi” is not perfect, it is having an impact.
“The Bookseller of Kabul,” is the best-selling non-fiction book in the history of Norway, where it was first published last fall. It has been translated into 17 languages and is selling briskly everywhere. When journalist Asne Seierstad approached the bookseller with her idea for a book, he let her into his home, to sleep on mats with his family, share their meals and chronicle their every move for four months. The book just came out in English, and the bookseller has read it. He hates it, and he’s hired a lawyer. Brooke gets the bookseller’s accusations and then talks with Seierstad about the experience, the book, and her host turned adversary.
Zombies have tromped around the big screen throughout cinema history. OTM’s senior producer Arun Rath, probes the broader significance of the walking dead genre, why it has packed the house for decades, and what zombies say about the rest of us. Eeek!
Up until the mid-‘70s, late-night TV was a haven for zombies. Dozens of markets aired locally-produced weekly fright shows each featuring their own uniquely crafted horror host. Performers with names like Jeepers Creepers, Sir Graves Ghastly and Dr. Shock All, became local legends. OTM’s Rex Doane takes a look back on TV’s old horror show hosts and says “Fangs for the Memories.”
Highlights from Past Shows
As President Bush bounced through East Asia this week, the international media was abuzz with reactions to Malaysian Prime Minister's assertion that Jews rule the world by proxy. But across the Arab world, a parallel scandal was roiling editorial pages, as journalists chewed over revelations that U.S. Army Lieutenant General William Boykin saw the War on Terror as a clash between Christians and Satan. UPI Chief Correspondent Martin Walker gives Bob a glimpse from the world press.
The Chinese government's penchant for secrecy is no secret. As the People's Republic counted down to the liftoff of its first manned space voyage this week, the government was eager to tout proof of China's technological advances but at the last minute officials decided not to broadcast the liftoff live. Now that the astronaut has landed safely, the country has been awash in exultant coverage. Brooke discusses the tension between secrecy and national pride in China with Orville Schell, Dean of the Graduate School of Journalism at the University of California at Berkeley.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
