There are a lot of ways to watch TV -- free streaming online, via a traditional cable or satellite package, paying for services like Hulu Plus, etc. But the TV industry makes vastly different amounts of money depending on how you choose to watch. We invited Peter Kafka, media reporter for the website All Things Digital to play the part of a mustache-twirling cable baron and explain which of our staffers have viewing habits he can support and why.

Earle Hagen and Herbert W. Spencer - The Fishin' Hole

Red Foley - Television

Growing up, I called it a 'clicker.' Most everyone else, I was sternly told in college, called it a 'remote control.' 'Remote control' still sounds too clinical for something that's been such a big part of your life. On Sunday the inventor of the remote control, Eugene Polley, died. I not sure that the remote control was as crucial to the development of television as the mouse was to computers, but both inventions made two of the most important screens in our lives more malleable, more useful. Channels 13 thru 755 owe a great debt to Polley.

The February raids on two Palestinian TV stations were carried out by Israeli Defense Forces on behalf of the Israeli Ministry of Communications. Brooke speaks with the ministry's director general, Eden Bar Tal, who says Wattan TV was operating illegally and only raided after repeated requests to stop interfering with Israeli frequencies.

Yo-Yo Ma - Bach Suite for Solo Cello No. 2 in D Minor, Mov. VI: Gigue

Operating a television station in the occupied West Bank has never been an easy task, with broadcasters facing pressure from both the Palestinian Authority and the Israeli government. Palestinian journalist and TV producer Daoud Kuttab tells Brooke about the relatively recent establishment of local Palestinian TV stations and the difficulties they face.

A few weeks ago we spoke with former Federal Communications Commission adviser Steven Waldman about the FCC's proposed regulation that would require local television stations to disclose political ad buys online. Although the information is technically available to the public (interested citizens can physically view the file at the station), the move to online would make it far more accessible. But the National Association of Broadcasters didn't seem too enthusiastic about the proposed changes.

In a recent article in the Columbia Journalism Review, Waldman discusses how the local broadcasters reacted to the FCC proposal:

A comment filed by the stations owned by the major TV networks (NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, and Univision) suggested that researchers should not expect their task to be made easier by the Internet. “Research by its nature requires the expenditure of effort,” they wrote. And for reporters, “a certain amount of leg work is eminently practical.” (One almost expects them to next blurt out, “in my day, we didn’t have no new-fangled Intertubes; we had to go to the damn library and they should too!)

It’s almost as if these companies—did I mention that they’re news organizations?—believe their first obligation is to offer creative character-building obstacles to getting information, not to better inform the public.

You can read Waldman's full article here.

For almost as long as there have been comedies on television there's been that old Pavlovian insurance–the laugh track.  But does it work?  Are producers just scared that without prompting we won't know what's funny?  New York Magazine's Joe Adalian tells Bob that a new generation of sitcoms highlights the pros and cons of canned laughter.

The FCC's proposed regulations to force disclosure of TV political ad buys online is facing resistance from local television stations.  The National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) says that requiring stations to post online a file of the the ads purchased would create an unnecessary burden for the stations.  Bob speaks to broadcast attorney and outside counsel for the NAB Jack Goodman, who says the political file is too massive and disorganized to maintain online.

Will Sessions - Halftime

Local television stations are required to maintain a public file of political ad sales, and allow any member of the public to inspect it–as long as they physically come in to the station.  To make the information more accessible, the Federal Communications Commission is proposing regulations that would require local broadcasters to put the public file online.  Bob speaks to former FCC adviser Steven Waldman, who says that putting the information online is the least that broadcasters can do to fulfill their public interest obligations.

In a recent episode of the professional wrestling program WWE Raw, wrestling superstars, divas, referees, and announcers "walked off" the job to protest what they claimed were unsafe working conditions. In real-life, pro wrestlers might have cause for labor agitation: the WWE hires wrestlers as independent contractors and therefore does not provide Social Security or health insurance benefits. Brooke spoke to Deadspin writer David Shoemaker about the chance of life imitating art in professional wrestling.

Some see bleeping obscenities out of broadcast television as censorship. Others see it as a very necessary means of protecting children. OTM producer Chris Neary has a different defense of bleeping - that it's an invaluable comedic device. He spoke with Michael Schur, the co-creator of Parks and Recreation, who says that the conviction of the person being bleeped is the key to laughs.

Anika - "Officer Officer"

A clip of Christine O’Donnell, former US Senate candidate and Tea Partier, walking out during an interview with Piers Morgan has been making the rounds online. Who wins when a guest walks out?

The U.S. Women's National Soccer team will play for the World Cup title this weekend. How many people will be watching depends on how many people actually know it's going on.

This week, in a Florida court, Casey Anthony was acquitted of charges that she murdered her daughter Caylee. But in the court of public opinion, she was already guilty. Kendall Coffey, former US Attorney for Florida and author of Spinning the Law talks about how the media and the jury could have reached such starkly different conclusions.