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Lou Dobbs has his story, and he’s sticking to it. Every evening, the host of CNN’s Lou Dobbs Tonight features reports under headings like “Broken Borders” and “War on the Middle Class.” And people are responding – in the past three years, his audience has skyrocketed. Dobbs makes no apologies for his strong viewpoints on illegal immigration. But what’s such an outspoken advocate doing behind CNN’s anchor’s desk? Bob puts the question to Dobbs.
Move over, BBC – there’s a new game in town. This week, Al Jazeera finally launched its new English-language service. Al Jazeera English has correspondents stationed all over the world, and is fronted by some very well-known newsmen. But that wasn’t enough to win it a cable deal in the United States. Bob takes a look at the channel’s prospects with AJE anchor Dave Marash and Arab media scholar Marwan Kraidy.
If viewers of Comedy Central's Daily Show tend to be "stoned slackers," at least they're informed stoned slackers. That's the upshot of a recent study from Indiana University. It found that at least as far as hard news is concerned, the "fake news" show is every bit as substantive as the network newscasts. WFIU's Adam Ragusea reports.
Fifty years ago, the television viewing experience was forever altered by the introduction of the wireless television remote. This week, Bob and Brooke celebrate the all-powerful magic wand-- by fighting over it.
The assault this week in Pennsylvania’s Amish country was the sixth deadly school shooting in as many weeks. Media commentators are pointing to the possibility of a copycat effect, but few are examining the media’s own complicity therein. School violence researcher Loren Coleman tells Bob that a little more restraint on the part of the media wouldn’t hurt.
Fox News Channel turned ten this week. Over the course of its decade on the airwaves, it’s been a boon for its base, and a scourge for its enemies. Love it or hate it, it seems the network is here to stay. Happy Birthday, Fox, from your friends at NPR.
In 1971, a young air force sergeant in Saigon broadcast a pirate radio show from a secret room in a brothel and regaled his comrades with off-color musings on sex, drugs and rock ’n’ roll. After a mere 21 days on the air 35 years ago, Dave Rabbit remains a bit of a cult figure. So he’s decided to resurrect his old persona from Iraq. Rabbit spoke with Brooke on Tuesday before shipping out.
Cable TV and the cable bandwidth that makes it possible have proved to be too popular. Once seemingly unlimited, bandwidth is a limited commodity again. Soon though, it may not matter. Video on Demand, most often used to watch special events or missed shows, is popularizing an alternative means of delivery. And, as Alex Goldmark explains, it may soon become the door through which all new channels must pass.
