Did you know that Walter Cronkite is so identified with the news business that in Sweden an anchorman is called a "Kronkiter"? And speaking of anchorman, did you know that word was coined in the 1950s to define Cronkite’s role on broadcast TV? Neither did we. ...

Most obituaries of Rosa Parks focus on the story we all know: how the humble seamstress changed history by refusing to give up her seat on the bus to a white man. But while that account is accurate, it's only part of her story. In this interview we originally aired ...

David Foster Wallace died last Friday at the age of 46. Known best as a fiction writer, he was also a journalist who wrote singular pieces about subjects as varied as porn industry awards, tennis-as-religion, luxury cruises, presidential campaigning, ...

In his 84 years Tony Schwartz produced over 30,000 recordings, thousands of groundbreaking political ads, media theory books and Broadway sound design, invented the portable recorder, delivered hundreds of lectures and had full careers as an ad executive and a pioneering folklorist. And he did it all without ...

NBC News Washington bureau chief and moderator of “Meet the Press,” Tim Russert died Friday at the age of 58.

In his new book, What Happened, former White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan says he was misinformed and misled and, surprise, so too were the American people. Too little, too late?

Think you know reality? Ayn Rand did, and through her novels and nonfiction she gave legions of followers a practical philosophy by which to live. Brooke looks at the enduring legacy of the original Objectivist.

When news happens, and even when it doesn't, Rachel Maddow is there to discuss it. She has a radio show on Air America and often appears on MSNBC as a sidekick, guest, or panelist. Maddow gives a pundit's-eye-view of Tuesday's primary coverage and discusses the compromises of professional ...

Fidel Castro resigned this week. Before his lengthy tenure began, New York Times reporter Herbert L. Matthews interviewed Castro in the jungle—and fell in love with his cause. Years later, reporter Anthony DePalma wrote about the exchange and joined us to talk about it.

From brash beginnings to cold war heroism to tragic final years, former world chess champion Bobby Fischer was a magnet for public admiration and criticism. Biographer Frank Brady of St. John's University followed Fischer's complex relationship with the ...

Sex, diamonds and rivalry. Just a few ingredients of the permanent reality show that is the personal life of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Daily Star opinion editor Michael Young says Sarkozy’s constant courting of the press may be vulgar but it’s working.

In the wake of Benazir Bhutto’s assassination, the Pakistani press faced the question of how to remember her. Was she a symbol of hope for Pakistan’s future or a corrupt figure from the past? The Christian Science Monitor’s Shahan Mufti describes coverage of Bhutto’s ...

Images of Pakistani protesters in recent weeks have vividly portrayed the ‘state of emergency’ called by President/General Pervez Musharraf. But what images are being shown inside Pakistan? From Islamabad, journalist Shahan Mufti explains why independent media that Musharraf helped create are coming back to haunt him.

Undersecretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs Karen Hughes announced her resignation this week. Her tenure brought funds and attention to public diplomacy, but America’s image abroad is worse than ever. Price Floyd, who served as director of media affairs under Hughes, grades her ...

The case against former FBI agent Lin DeVecchio, alleged co-conspirator in four mafia murders, ended abruptly last week after Village Voice reporter Tom Robbins showed up at court with exculpatory evidence. Robbins dug up two ten-year-old cassette tapes that impeached the credibility of the prosecution's star witness, and ...

For the Dalai Lama, emptiness is not just a Buddhist concept—it’s an enormously successful P.R. strategy. Attacks from China don’t hurt his image either. In the wake of his Congressional Gold Medal, we look at the Dalai Lama’s enduring rock-star status in the American ...

This week a dozen-and-a-half news organizations formed the Chauncey Bailey Project – to continue the work of the Bay Area journalist killed in August. Editorial coordinator Robert Rosenthal says reporters will not be cowed into silence.

Last weekend in Ukraine, Vicktor Yanukovich's party won the most votes in parliamentary elections, which may be hard to imagine for those who remember him as a villain during the Orange Revolution of 2004. Clifford Levy of the New York Times says Yanukovich got a new ...

British media have been obsessed with the story of missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann since her disappearance last May. And when her parents became suspects in the case, it seemed there was no other news in England. Guardian media editor Matt Wells says he's ...

When Tony Blair became Britain’s prime minister a decade ago, his nickname was “Bambi,” a reference to his doe-eyed optimism. Now tarnished by the “low skullduggery” of politics, Blair left office on Wednesday deeply unpopular among his people. Longtime Blair spokesman Alastair Campbell points ...