On The Media

Debate Club

Media were awash with charges this week that ABC News hosted little more than a gossipy game-show masquerading as a debate. Or maybe co-moderator George Stephanopoulos posed important questions that cut to the heart of electibility, as he later claimed. Either way, what did you learn that you'll take to the ballot box? Project for Excellence in Journalism associate director Mark Jurkowitz says that if the goal was to inform voters then ABC largely failed.

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Papal States

A Stateside visit by Pope Benedict XVI has occasioned fresh reporting of the sex abuse scandal, the American Church and, of course, the Popemobile. National Catholic Reporter news director Tom Roberts says that journalists perform laudably, despite the secrecy of the Church.

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Ghostwritten Prescriptions

The Journal of the American Medical Association published a study this week claiming that esteemed doctors frequently put their name on the byline of studies published in medical journals - when the studies were actually written by pharmaceutical companies. JAMA's editor-in-chief Dr. Catherine DeAngelis explains what steps medical journals should take to prevent this practice.

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The Future Perfect

Despite the internet’s runaway success, its future is anything but clear. So says Jonathan Zittrain, professor of internet governance at Oxford University. He explains why the very devices and applications that have enabled internet ubiquity may now be limiting innovation.

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Breaking the Wiretap

April 11, 2008

It's been over two years since New York Times reporter Eric Lichtblau broke the NSA warrantless wiretapping story with James Risen. In his new book, Lichtblau explains the Woodward and Bernstein-like tale of exposing the program that's still surrounded in controversy and mystery.

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Pressing On

April 04, 2008

For some in the media, the race for the Democratic nomination is effectively over. Most outlets, however, continue to cover every twist and turn as if it all still matters. Slate political reporter Chris Beam, Atlantic associate editor Marc Ambinder and ABC News political director David Chalian weigh in.

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