Last Sunday capped a heated campaign season in the Middle East, as Mahmoud Abbas was elected the first new Palestinian president in over 30 years. Anybody following the press throughout could witness a process of self-criticism and debate about future of Palestine. University of Maryland professor Shibley Telhami was one such observer. He joins Bob to discuss what he saw.
ARTIST: Built to Spill TRACK: Bad Light ALBUM: Keep it Like a Secret LABEL: Warner Bros.
BREAK I: ARTIST: Miles Davis TRACK: Nefertiti ALBUM: Nefertiti LABEL: Columbia
Still smarting from their big losses in November's election - losses facilitated by the Republicans' sophisticated message machine - Senate Democrats this month opened their first permanent communications war room. The Senate Democratic Communications Center is based out of the office of minority leader Harry Reid, and will be run by longtime Democratic media operative Jim Manley. Brooke discusses the project with Manley, and with Washingtonian national editor Harry Jaffe.
Conservative black TV and newspaper pundit Armstrong Williams has frequently argued in support the Bush Administration's No Child Left Behind Act. What his audience didn't know until last week was that he was being paid by the Department of Education as part of an attempt to promote the law among minorities. The revelation cost Williams his syndication deal and his journalistic reputation, and has sparked calls for investigations. Bob discusses the flap with to Deborah Mathis, Gannett columnist and professor at the Medill School of Journalism.
Ever since Fahrenheit 9/11 hit movie theaters, we've noticed that its auteur has undergone an interesting transformation. Whereas "Michael Moore" used to refer to a filmmaker from Flint, it has gradually come to stand in for a state of mind. From the floor of Congress to the cable news ether, Moore's name has been invoked again and again to describe an extreme left-wing political perspective. Brooke explores the phenomenon with Slate.com Washington Bureau chief Chris Suellentrop.
ARTIST: Beck TRACK: Hot Wax ALBUM: Odelay LABEL: Geffen
BREAK II: ARTIST: Miles Davis TRACK: Pinnochio ALBUM: Nefertiti LABEL: Columbia
This week, CBS released the results of its investigation into what has become known as Memogate. The conclusion: the network's "myopic zeal" to be the first to broadcast an indicting story about President Bush's National Guard service resulted in a story that was neither fair nor accurate. The report triggered the firing of four CBS employees, including three executives, as well as howls of delight from the network's longtime critics. Bob weighs in on the consequences for investigative journalism.
ARTIST: Powderfinger TRACK: The Day You Come ALBUM: Internationalist LABEL: Polygram
Once upon a time, latchkey kids could curl up to the TV for dramatized versions of the more vexing issues of adolescence. Bullying, parental divorce, teen pregnancy, and the dangers of drugs were just some of the topics addressed in ABC's After School Specials, which aired from 1972 through 1988. For everybody who wasn't a TV child of the 70s or 80s, or who just wants a refresher on the parables broadcast then, the specials are now available on DVD. OTM's Sarah Lemanczyk reports on how they play in 2005.
If you grew up in small-town America during the 40s or 50s, there's a good chance that your first exposure to cinematic taboo came in the guise of the sex-hygiene film. And most exploitation aficionados will agree that "Mom & Dad" was the king of the genre. Exploitation historian Joe Bob Briggs tells Brooke that the show was "part biology lesson, part sideshow, part morality play, part medical shock footage."
Highlights from Past Shows
In many ways, the internet was integrated into the tsunami aftermath more than in any previous natural disaster. Billboards were established to exchange information about missing loved ones. Millions of dollars were raised for relief efforts and bloggers transmitted up-to-the-second news with unprecedented speed and often video images unavailable to traditional media. Bob speaks with Esther Dyson, editor of Release 1.0 at C-NET Networks, about the newfound efficacy of the internet.
In the wake of the Jason Blair scandal at the New York Times, former Newsweek media reporter Seth Mnookin has written "Hard News," a look into how the scandal occurred and how the Times reacted. Bob speaks to Mnookin about the book and the Times' attempts at investigating and correcting itself.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
