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While some in the media wondered if Obama flip-flopped when it comes to prosecuting Bush Administration officials who authorized torture, the White House tried to get its media message straight ... all without actually using the T-word. Columbia University law professor and Harper's Magazine contributing editor Scott Horton explains why the Administration, and some members of the media, are backing away from "torture."
This week law enforcement arrested a medical student accused of being the so-called "Craigslist Killer." Never mind that details were scant, morning television was quick to bring in profiling experts to fill us in on everything going on inside the suspect's head. So we called in an expert of our own.
The release of Bush-era memos and the declassification of a Senate Armed Services Committee report has brought to light more lurid details of the interrogation techniques – waterboarding, sleep deprivation, forced nudity - used on U.S. detainees. Writer David Peisner describes another all too common interrogation tool - popular music.
The Pulitzer Prize winners were announced on Monday to the great excitement of many in the journalism industry. None of the awards, however, carried the same amount of intrigue as the one claimed two years ago by Jahangir Razmi, an Iranian photographer who had actually won the award 27 years before. Josh Prager, formerly of the Wall Street Journal, was the reporter who first discovered Razmi's identity. Razmi and Prager tell their story.
All the blame and none of the glory – that’s the life of a newspaper copy editor. So why become one? Let former New York Times chief copy editor Merrill Perlman count the reasons.
For decades, the consumption of news has complicated our consumption of food. So says Michael Pollan, professor of science and environmental journalism. He explains how health studies, the reporters who love them and especially food labels have left us poorly fed and informed.
Americans overwhelmed by a glut of nutritional suggestions may have hope. The food industry is searching for a new way to standardize such information. The University of Washington's Adam Drewnowski has created his own 100-point system for rating food, which may find its way to your grocery shelves soon.
New York Times reporter David Segal says stories about bedbugs generally follow a hyperbolic pattern: They’re back. They’re everywhere. They suck your blood and ruin your life. Segal talks about the hysterical coverage and explains why a bedbug story is every editor’s dream.
Highlights from Past Shows
Fox News’ relentless promotion, some might say co-sponsorship, of this week’s tax day tea parties made us wonder: did Fox News cover the events or help to create them? Brooke takes a look at the coverage.
Last week, the Obama Administration invoked the state secrets privilege for the third time in as many months when arguing that Jewel v. NSA should be dismissed. How does this square with his much-touted promise of openness and transparency? We asked Marc Ambinder, associate editor of the Atlantic and chief political consultant to CBS.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
