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This week, public hearings were held on the West Virginia Sago mine disaster that gripped the country back in January. It turned out 12 of 13 miners died after first having been reported saved. The risks associated with mining rarely catch the attention of journalists – until, that is, something goes horribly wrong. Brooke speaks with Ellen Smith, editor of Mine Safety and Health News, about the response to Sago.
Big Tobacco agreed, as part of its 1998 settlement, to fund the American Legacy Foundation and its anti-smoking truth® campaign. The deal stipulates, however, that the Legacy ads cannot "vilify" or "personally attack” the tobacco companies. But Lorillard – which makes Newport, Kent and other brands – argues in a lawsuit that truth® crossed the line. William Sorrell, Chairman of the Board of Legacy, tells Bob that it can't be vilification if it's the truth.
Once on the fringes, the alternative weekly has become an institution. Between its pages are investigative reports; close coverage of the cultural avant-garde; and sharp commentary. The granddaddy of alt-weeklies is The Village Voice, which for 50 years has proffered its downtown view to New Yorkers and the world. Last November, The Voice was acquired by the New Times chain of alt-weeklies. Bob reports on the ensuing turmoil that raises questions about the future of the form.
Sigmund Freud was born 150 years ago this weekend. He’s certainly pop culture’s most-cited psychoanalyst, but his influence on media doesn’t end there – Freud’s ideas are cinema staples: flashbacks, projection, not to mention the sexual stuff. Brooke speaks with Andrea Sabbadini, a psychoanalyst and chairman of the European Psychoanalytical Film Festival.
While the experts may assert that psychoanalysis can’t really be portrayed on film, this hasn’t stopped filmmakers from trying. A few years back, OTM asked Sara Fishko to assemble some of the more memorable attempts to put the unconscious on the big screen.
Harper’s Magazine is not known for shunning controversy. But, an article in the March issue ignited a blaze of condemnation when it gave an uncritical platform to HIV skeptics, who contend that drugs cause AIDS, not HIV. In response, AIDS researchers issued a flurry of rebuttals. Brooke speaks with Harper’s editor Roger Hodge about the strong reaction to the article and how journalists should proceed when discrediting hard-won scientific research.
Gary Schwitzer, of the University of Minnesota's Health Journalism Program, believes that faulty health reporting can actually make the public less healthy. And so he created a website that rates – on a scale from one to five – health news stories from the country’s major media outlets. Schwitzer tells Bob how his new site will up the quality of health reporting.
Gary Schwitzer, of the University of Minnesota's Health Journalism Program, believes that faulty health reporting can actually make the public less healthy. And so he created a website that rates – on a scale from one to five – health news stories from the country’s major media outlets. Schwitzer tells Bob how his new site will up the quality of health reporting.
Comedy Central's Stephen Colbert emceed the White House Correspondent Dinner, giving a 20 minute irony-drenched jab at the president (who happened to be sitting next to him). Bob gives his take on Colbert sticking it to both the president and the press corps.
Highlights from Past ShowsWith a new mayoral candidate poised to unseat New Orleans mayor Ray Nagin, there’s been much talk about the extent to which Hurricane Katrina changed the complexion of the city. But the floods also wrought deep changes to the decades-old contours of the local newspaper and broadcasting scenes. Last week, Brooke and OTM producer Jamie York visited New Orleans, and brought back this report about a vastly transformed media landscape.
This week, White House press secretary Scott McClellan told reporters something they didn’t know. To wit: he will soon be stepping down, for good, from the podium. Reporters might have seldom gotten what they wanted from his daily briefings. But taken as a whole, his tenure speaks volumes about the state of the presidency. At least it does to Bob.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
