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It was billed as nothing less than an epic battle - Palin v. Biden. Expectations were raised and lowered, gaffes and non-answers were played and replayed, moderators were accused of bias. But according to Mark Jurkowitz, associate director of the Pew Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism, the real winner isn’t so much a presidential ticket as cable news itself.
There’s a long tradition in comedy of parodying politicians with their own words, accents and mannerisms. Vaughn Meader made a brief career out of satirizing the Kennedys back in the ’60s and David Frye created the quintessential Nixon. Impressionist Jim Morris talks about the art form.
The country has weighed an 800 plus billion-dollar bill against fear of the economic unknown and in doing so has had to decide whom to believe. Pew Research Center President Andrew Kohut compares public perceptions of the government and the press to the level of trust it takes to save an economy.
During The Great Depression, Franklin Delano Roosevelt told Americans that their faith and confidence was key to recovery. Is that the case this time around? Columbia University Provost and historian Alan Brinkley discusses some lessons of past crises.
For nearly a decade, NPR's David Kestenbaum covered science. Before that, he was a physicist. But just last month, he switched beats to ... the economy. Needless to say, the days of irrefutable facts and axiomatic equations are over. Kestenbaum talks about the challenges of the economics beat.
Every time bloggers hit publish they risk being sued for copyright infringement, invasion of privacy or defamation. While the risk seems small, groups like the Media Bloggers Association say frivolous lawsuits are chilling free speech in the blogosphere. So MBA founder Robert Cox has helped start insurance for bloggers in an attempt to protect against costly litigation.
In just 5 months, the website Hulu has become one of the top destinations on the web for full episodes of network television shows. And unlike most other video sites, Hulu is legal. CEO Jason Kilar explains why his approach to content and advertising is the best way to get TV on the web.
Are social networking sites now more popular than porn? Why do Viagra searches spike after the Superbowl? Bill Tancer, author of Click: What Millions of People Are Doing Online and Why It Matters, did the research.
Manga is Japan’s ubiquitous art form; a kind of comic book equivalent that illustrates everything from tax preparation to hard-core fantasy. But it is its growing success outside Japan that’s highlighted a new utility, what Japanese politicians are calling ‘manga diplomacy.’ Roland Kelts, author of Japanamerica, explains why politicians are recognizing the form as a powerful cultural export.
Highlights from Past Shows
Brooke and Bob reflect on some of the McCain campaign's challenging media moments this week. Some highlights? A near mutiny by reporters, a much criticized interview performance, and the wrath of Letterman.
The business and financial headlines have been exclamatory all week and, it seems, rightfully so; news from the markets is dramatic. The Columbia Journalism Review’s Dean Starkman says the press is hitting its mark with the day to day coverage but time will tell if it can put the historic week in context.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
