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Report Card

Stars and Stripes, the editorially independent newspaper serving U.S. armed forces worldwide, reported this week that the military is in effect screening journalists who wish to embed with troops. Triggered in part by an interview on this program, Stars and Stripes confirmed that a Washington PR firm has provided evaluations of reporters’ relative degrees of positivity. Stars and Stripes senior managing editor Howard Witt explains. Meanwhile, Lt. Cmdr. Christine Sidenstricker, military spokesperson for U.S. forces in Afghanistan, says official DOD policy forbids restricting access to reporters based on their past coverage.

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  • "Tao" Coconut

The Wrong Debate?

The C.I.A. inspector general's report released this week exposed gruesome interrogation techniques used on detainees. But as the press combs through the report, is the discussion whether these practices are illegal or whether they're effective? Bob asks LA Times reporter Greg Miller whether the debate over efficacy is beside the point.

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  • "Apple" Califone
Conover

Cover Ups

Should reporters lie or misrepresent themselves in order to get an important story? Undercover reporting has long been an effective, exciting and, some would argue, necessary journalistic tool. But at a time when the public's trust in the press is waning, can journalists afford to lie? In a piece that originally aired last fall, Brooke talks with undercover reporters and their critics.

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Undercover

Prison Sentence

Journalist Ted Conover went undercover for nearly one year working as a prison guard at Sing Sing Correctional Facility in upstate New York. His work was praised and criticized. As Conover told us in October, his time undercover was incredibly stressful, painfully isolating and ethically fraught but nonetheless it was necessary to get the story out.

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  • "Galag-A" Harmonic 313

Edward M. Kennedy

Ted Kennedy died this week at the age of 77. For decades, the youngest Kennedy brother lived his public and private lives under the media glare. We remember his many incarnations.

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  • "Let's Go" Build Buildings

highlights from past showsHighlights from Past Shows

Harry and Louise

Sight Unseen

August 21, 2009

With Congress in recess, much of the fight over health care reform has migrated to the airwaves as millions of dollars of advertisements are rolled out, primarily by critics. But how accurate are these ads? Brooks Jackson, director of factcheck.org, says not very. He explains what misinformation looks like.


eye

Smirch Engine

August 14, 2009

There’s a name for how cruel people can get given a little anonymity on the internet. It’s called “online disinhibition effect” and the resulting venom can ruin your day or worse, destroy your good name. Bob looks at the fraught relationship on the web between reputation, privacy and the law.


On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.