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In yet another attempt to circumvent what it sees as the media's endless doting on "bad news" from Iraq, the Bush administration is developing what it calls "C-Span Baghdad." The network will feature a constant stream of whatever the US government wants Americans to see: press conferences, briefings, and in all likelihood, very little coverage of downed helicopters. Bob speaks with New York Observer reporter Joe Hagan, who recently wrote about the project.
After the Taliban were driven from power in Afghanistan, all forms of media rushed in to fill the cultural vacuum that had existed for years. A number of the publications that have surfaced so far are being funded by a new organization called the Open Media Fund for Afghanistan. Waheed Warasta manages the day-to-day operations of the OMFA in Kabul, and joined Brooke to discuss the group's work.
After the FCC decided this summer that media companies would be allowed to reach 45% of the national TV audience, many lawmakers objected, insisting that the cap should remain at 35%. This week, Congress and the White House agreed on a compromise ownership limit of 39%. But many critics, including Center for Digital Democracy Executive Director Jeff Chester, say the deal is a giveaway, not a compromise. He makes his case for Bob.
If you grew up in small-town America during the forties or fifties, there's a good chance that your first exposure to cinematic taboo came in the guise of the sex-hygiene film. And most exploitation aficionados will agree that "Mom & Dad" was the king of the genre. Exploitation historian Joe Bob Briggs describes the show as "part biology lesson, part sideshow, part morality play, part medical shock footage." He describes the phenomenon to Brooke.
This year, Playboy Magazine celebrates its 50th birthday. In 1972, author Gay Talese wrote about Playboy's impact on American society in his book "Thy Neighbor's Wife." He joins Bob to discuss the ways the magazine has shaped American values and furthered the cause of press freedom.
From its initial publication in Hugh Hefner's Chicago kitchen, to its current status as the world's premiere men's magazine, Playboy has become a permanent part of our cultural landscape. Brooke speaks with creator Hugh Hefner about feminism, the sexual revolution, and how Playboy factors into it all, fifty years later.
In many ways, pornography plays a pivotal role in the development of communications technology. Brooke ties it all together, and discusses the history of pornography as an engine of technological progress.
Highlights from Past ShowsOn Thursday, the cable news networks were manic with breaking news. Anchors stoically yanked viewers from one story to another, alternately reporting on twin bombings in Istanbul, street protests in Miami, President Bush's visit to London, and Michael Jackson's impending surrender to California authorities. But the networks' schizophrenia couldn't last, and by afternoon one story had emerged as the clear winner of America's wall-to-wall attention. Brooke and Bob meditate on the world according to cable news.
The daily casualty count from combat in Iraq shows no sign of abating, and this week the commander of U.S. forces in Iraq characterized the conflict as "war." Meanwhile, hostility between the military and the media in Iraq is also mounting, with increasing incidents of abuse, detentions and confiscation of equipment. NPR's Deborah Amos recently returned from Iraq, and shares some of her latest impressions with Brooke.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
