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A federal judge recently ordered the Defense Department to release a second batch of photos from Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. But the Pentagon maintains that the pictures will only inflame Anti-Americanism and endanger soldiers overseas. Bob discusses the FOIA case with Senator John McCain, sponsor of a new measure that would standardize policies for military interrogation techniques.
This week, Pentagon analyst Larry Franklin pled guilty to charges of leaking classified defense information to a couple of D.C. lobbyists. But the feds aren't only targeting the leaker, they're also going after the leakees. National security correspondent Eli Lake has written that prosecuting non-governmental employees for leaking is unprecedented. He tells Bob why the case doesn't bode well for investigative journalism.
On her recent trip to the Middle East, State Department Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes was angling for positive press coverage there. But her reviews on this side of the pond were mixed, at best. One critic suggested Hughes take a lesson from Vladimir Posner, the former Soviet spokesman who was a frequent guest on American TV in the 1980's. Brooke speaks with Posner about his views on public diplomacy and propaganda, 20 years later.
Last month, we reported that Robert Bork bore the distinction of being the only person in recent times to have a verb named after him. But our listeners could think of a few other examples, and weren't shy about sharing.
Practically every week brings new stories about the terminal condition of the newspaper industry. Last month brought especially bad news for ink-stained wretches, as some of the nation's biggest dailies announced hundreds of newsroom job cuts. Bob discusses the causes of the industry's ills and its prognosis with financial analyst John Morton.
Every so often, purveyors of live TV confront one of the biggest perils of the enterprise: foul-mouthed talent. During a football game between Navy and Duke last weekend, it happened again. Appalled by a referee call, NPR contributor and Naval Academy football commentator John Feinstein forgot where he was and uttered exactly what was on his mind. Which at the moment, happened to be the f-word. He chats with Bob about the lapse.
Pornography is a form rife with easily-recognizable tropes. Strategic lighting, hokey music, and close-up camera angles all are a part of creating the aspirational and idealized world of porn. In October's Harper's Magazine, Frederick Kaufman takes a closer look at the cable channel he thinks is the most pornographic of all - The Food Network. Kaufman explains to Brooke how peach-pitting is made tantamount to foreplay.
Highlights from Past ShowsAfter September 11th, The New York Times created "Portraits of Grief," biographical sketches containing personal anecdotes supplied by the victim's family. The full accounting of casualties from Hurricane Katrina will likely be months away, but for writers of the New Orleans Times-Picayune the process of reckoning with the dead has already begun. Editor Jim Amoss talks with Brooke about how to portray the lives lost.
Even as the death toll from Katrina continued to climb, TV news by Monday was already focused on Rita. The catastrophe of three weeks earlier infused the new Technicolor swirls with a sickening menace. But with or without Katrina, those satellite images were already well fixed in the TV lexicon. Bob discusses the history of hurricane reporting with weather historian David Laskin.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
