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Presidential Adviser Karl Rove announced this week that he would be stepping down at the end of the month. Portrayed as everything from genius to puppet-master, in the end the press seemed mostly in awe of his political cunning. We take a look back at the man affectionately known as... Turd Blossom.
A year and a half ago OTM took a trip to New Orleans to see what effect Hurricane Katrina had had on the city’s media. What we found was a city where nearly every aspect of the news was being reconsidered. With the 2nd anniversary of the storm approaching we check back in with David Walker, television critic for the Times-Picayune and Ernesto Schweikert, Spanish-language broadcaster.
Lolis Eric Elie is a native New Orlinean and metro columnist for the Times Picayune. His beat now extends to covering the New Orleans diaspora and so he’s also seen the post-Katrina story from the outside in. He explains why the narrative of Big Easy rebuilding is not what it appears to be.
If you want to be president you have to have a story to tell, or more especially one that reporters can tell about you. Paul Waldman of Media Matters for America discusses the three-part campaign narrative – from Jimmy Carter in 1976 to Barack Obama today.
As a born-again Christian, L.A. Times reporter Bill Lobdell was frustrated by media coverage of religious people. So he lobbied his editors and prayed for the religion beat. He eventually got his wish, only to lose his faith in the church and in God after eight years on the job.
No longer content to silently disavow religion, the so-called New Atheists are on the offensive. Borrowing tactics from the faithful, nonbelievers have taken to proselytizing in books and in the media. And yes, they’re even in foxholes.
Highlights from Past Shows
This summer, Presidential candidates on both sides of the aisle have been debating the use of nuclear weapons. Mostly, though, they've argued about whether to keep the option "on the table." MIT research associate James Walsh discusses the rhetoric.
Rupert Murdoch added the Wall Street Journal to his media empire this week. While many scramble to determine if this is good or bad news for journalism, Mark Jurkowitz, Associate Director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, explains that Murdoch has a surprisingly varied track record in the U.S. newspaper industry.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
