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If politicians learned anything from Watergate, it’s that the best way to manage a scandal is to be forthcoming, and that the coverup is often worse than the crime. But in today’s polarized Washington, crisis management is changing. Witness the case of House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who is waging an aggressive counter-attack against a range of ethics charges. Brooke talks strategy with Washington Post staff writer John Harris.
Especially present in the self-flagellation performed by many journalists after November’s election is the refrain that the media just don’t get religion. Thus, they missed the story of the moral voters. They failed to understand the outpouring of support for Terri Schiavo’s parents, and the popularity of Mel Gibson’s all-Aramaic feature. But Washington & Lee University journalism ethics professor Edward Wasserman tells Brooke that what’s lacking in journalism isn’t piety, it’s quality.
Like any agency whose board is appointed by the President, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting is vulnerable to accusations of political bias. Lately, such accusations have surfaced over staff shake-ups, the appointment of new ombudsmen, and a push to enforce CPB’s "objectivity and balance" mandate. Jeff Chester, executive director of the Center for Digital Democracy, is worried that the CPB is in the midst of a coup. Karen Everhart, senior editor of Current, isn’t so alarmed. Both make their case to Bob.
Al Gore and his business partner Joel Hyatt have officially announced the summer launch of their new cable and satellite network. The creators of “current.tv” envision it as a news and information outlet specifically for young people and by young people. Programming chief David Neuman explains to Brooke how the network will embody the ideals of citizen journalism.
Last week, General Motors yanked all of its ads from the Los Angeles Times, the largest paper in the country’s largest car market. GM cited “factual errors and misrepresentations” in the paper’s coverage, and didn’t cite specifics. But it the move coincided with a scathing review of a new Pontiac that called for the ouster of GM’s CEO. Bob talks about cars, media, and retribution with Keith Crain, trade publishing scion and editorial director of Automobile News and Auto Week.
A GM official has acknowledged that a recent review by LA Times auto columnist Dan Neil contributed to the company’s decision to pull its ads from the paper. Brooke spoke to Neil last year after he became the first car critic to take home the Pulitzer Prize for criticism.
Michael Jackson’s trial was expected to be the white-hot celebrity trial of the season. The media are camped out by the courthouse and ready to go, but curiously enough, the public does not seem to be biting. LA Times reporter Robin Abcarian tells Brooke that the case has yielded such icky information that even the tabloids, talk radio shows and celebrity mags are shying away.
Highlights from Past ShowsSince 1845, Scientific American has offered readers compelling articles that are, admittedly, partial. Partial, that is, in favor of science. But all that may soon change. In an editorial dated April 1st, editor-in-chief John Rennie wondered if perhaps the magazine should, in proper journalistic fashion, get a little balance. After all, if you believe some politicians, global warming is a hoax. Rennie lets Brooke in on the joke.
For the past two months, one of the hottest prime-time attractions in Iraq has been a reality TV show called "Terror in the Hands of Justice." The show airs twice a day on the state-run Al Iraqiya, and features captured insurgents staring into the camera and confessing to their crimes. Financial Times Baghdad correspondent Steve Negus tells Bob about the show's impact on Iraqi society.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
