After the FCC cracked down on a pirate radio station in Philadelphia several years back, the pirates decided to become players. They reinvented themselves as the Prometheus Radio Project to lobby for the rights of community broadcasters around the country. Seven years later, Prometheus is still at work in Washington, having successfully challenged their former foes in federal court. Rick Karr compiled this profile of the group for an upcoming issue of The Nation, and filed this report.
A Christian station here, a Christian station there. But together, religious broadcasters account for well over half of the low-power FM licenses granted by the FCC. And now, they've banded together to create de facto networks. Does this sort of large-scale mobilization by religious broadcasters defeat the intent of low-power legislation? Bob puts the question to San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Joe Garofoli.
God? Satan? The dead? Those are just a few of the explanations listeners came up with to account for the voices they heard in the early days of radio. The dial was rife with charismatic voices that worked the medium like a revival hall, captivating their far-flung congregations with the magic and mystery of radio. In a piece for PRI's The Next Big Thing, Amanda Aronczyk aired some of those voices one more time.
This week, the U.S. Circuit Court in Washington D.C. denied the appeals of Time Magazine's Matt Cooper and The New York Times' Judith Miller, both convicted of contempt last year after refusing to divulge their sources to a grand jury. Bob and Brooke reflect on the latest developments in the case, with the help of New York Times legal reporter Adam Liptak.
Nine years ago, Brewster Kahle embarked on a project of massive proportion - archiving the Internet. When Bob checked in on how the project is going, he learned that it has grown even more massive. Kahle doesn't want to archive just the Internet, he wants universal access to all information. And he says it can be done.
This week, the USDA unveiled a brand new food pyramid. Or rather, twelve new pyramids - the new icon is actually a stand-in for a web-based system that customizes dietary recommendations as per a person's age, weight, and fitness. Without Internet access, the pyramid doesn't communicate much at all. Except, as NYU nutrition professor Marion Nestle tells Brooke, a long history of food industry influence.
Highlights from Past Shows
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.
Since 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.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
