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For months the news in Iraq has been of bombings and beheadings, ambushes and assassinations – a guerilla war defined by the guerillas. And then suddenly it was war once again – American style, or at least American media style. When the name of the siege of Fallujah was changed from Operation Phantom Fury to Operation Al-Fajr (or “New Dawn”), it became clear to Bob that the information warfare was going to be as fierce as the street.
For 40 years the father of the Palestinian independence movement, Yasir Arafat carefully cultivated – some might say crafted – an effective image as the face and symbol of his people’s struggle. If everything is controversial when it comes to Arafat, it is also contradictory. Depending on which Arafat you choose to focus on, he is either terrorist or pacifist, fanatic or negotiator, murderer or martyr. Brooke examines the evolving media portrait of an iconic and inscrutable figure.
Could the election have been stolen? Since Kerry conceded, the blogosphere has been abuzz with reports of polling irregularities, and allegations of all-out fraud. Over the course of the week, new organizations’ inboxes were deluged by emails demanding answers. And gradually, the mainstream media began to pick up the strands. By week’s end the big question was in the big papers, even if it was only raised to be debunked. Brooke looks at the media’s handling of a hot potato.
"Open source" intelligence is, roughly speaking, the sea of public information we swim in – things like news reports, academic studies, and scientific research. And it plays an increasing role in plans to restructure U.S. intelligence agencies. The 9/11 Commission report recommended creating a new agency to better use "open source" intelligence. Bills in Congress are pushing for the same thing. Policy analyst Charles Cameron tells Bob that anyone can be a spy in this brave new "open source" world.
This week, John Ashcroft tendered his resignation as Attorney General of the United States. From his fractious confirmation, through September 11th and the passage of the Patriot Act, he has left a lasting legal legacy. Goodbyes are never easy, but as Ashcroft sings his swan song, Bob takes the opportunity to look back at the times we’ve shared.
Readers weigh in on our retrospective of Bush administration secrecy, as well as our story on the dirtiest word in the English language.
Sick and tired of the mindless pap that constitutes campaign coverage, New York Press columnist Matt Taibbi finally decided to take action. This year, he launched the First Quadrennial Election Hack Invitational. The goal of the tournament was to determine America’s worst political reporter, the wretch who truly deserves the scorn of the masses. Taibbi tells Brooke why he chose to fight fire with fire.
This month, the legendary Jimmy Breslin retired from writing his thrice weekly column for Newsday. For over forty years, his column entertained and infuriated readers with tales of colorful New York City characters, and the occasional bombshell investigative story. Jon Kalish compiled this profile of a man famous for his legwork.
Highlights from Past ShowsIt was the most important election, we were told, of our lifetimes. And as we anxiously watched the news anchors on Tuesday evening, they watched the exit polls with just as much anticipation. But unlike 2000, when the networks barged through the night to a premature declaration of victory for Gore, this time the watchword was caution. Bob sizes up the real-time coverage and assesses the lessons learned.
On Monday, The New York Times broke a story suggesting that Bush administration war planners failed to secure an enormous stockpile of explosives in post-Saddam Iraq. The story was immediately consumed in the campaign inferno, and the candidates spent their final days on the stump trading accusations, even as the details of the story continued to shift under them. Brooke reviews the coverage with Talking Points Memo mastermind Josh Marshall.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
