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The Congressional leadership swap returned veteran lawmaker John McCain to the helm of the Senate Commerce Committee. What will Senator McCain's chairmanship mean for the contentious future of media regulation? Brooke speculates with Cable World reporter Alicia Mundy.
With Black Entertainment Television dominating the airwaves of television targeted at African Americans, some producers have been frustrated by their lack of distribution options. Now, Comcast and Radio One are starting a new cable channel aimed at African Americans. Actor, producer, and studio owner Tim Reid talks with Bob about the need for diversity in African American-oriented television.
In 1998, James Byrd Jr., an African American man, was chained to a truck and dragged to death by three white men in Jasper, Texas. This week, PBS revisited the racially-motivated murder by airing a documentary called "The Two Towns of Jasper." It's the product of a collaboration between two filmmakers - one white, and one African American - who interviewed town residents along racial lines. Brooke spoke to the filmmakers, Whitney Dow and Marco Williams, after the film played at Sundance last year.
Despite the critical hype around some recent foreign films, movies from abroad bring in only a tiny fraction of box-office revenues. Once upon a time foreign films were much more popular in American theaters. On The Media's Paul Ingles looks back at the heyday of foreign films and gives a forecast of their future.
Recently, identical letters to the editor in support of President Bush's economy policies have been cropping up in newspapers across the country. It's the latest example of an advocacy strategy used by special interest groups to give their message the appearance of a grassroots campaign. Declan McCullagh of CNET's News.com joins Brooke to talk about the practice that has come to be known as "astroturfing."
The world's largest technical publisher is releasing a new series of computer books on the web…for free. It's the largest ever application of Open Source software principles to mainstream book publishing. Prentice Hall editor Mark Taub and series editor Bruce Perens explain the "share and share alike" business model to Bob.
On the eve of Super Bowl XXXVII, sportswriters have analyzed the year-in-football from virtually every possible angle. But one story has been conspicuously absent from the sports pages. On the Media's John Solomon examines the media's superficial coverage of gays in professional sports.
Highlights from Past ShowsAfter only 18 months at the helm of CNN, Walter Isaacson is stepping down to take a job at a Colorado think-tank. On the eve of his departure, Isaacson chats with Bob about his tumultuous tenure at the cable giant, and reflects on the current state of television news.
Just before Al Gore announced he would not be a candidate for president in 2004, he vented to the New York Observer that he and his fellow Democrats could not get a fair shake from media increasingly in the pocket of Republicans. But Al Gore has been flogged by media across the political spectrum. Paul Waldman documents this all in the latest issue of the liberal "American Prospect" and talks with Brooke.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
