On The Media is produced by:
In a three part order issued last week, the Federal Communications Commission levied the largest fines ever against broadcast stations for airing “indecent content.” The biggest blow was a $3.6 million fine for implied sexual situations on the CBS drama “Without a Trace.” Bob speaks with Democratic Commissioner Jonathan Adelstein, who dissented from large portions of the majority decision, but stands by the government’s right to protect against the most egregious trespasses.
One of the many shows singled out by the FCC in its recent indecency report was, it should come as no surprise, "NYPD Blue". The show ultimately avoided fines because it predates the current standards but the commission’s opinion did cite it for using language and situations that were “shocking, explicit and gratuitous.” Steven Bochco, creator of the series, joins Bob to engage in an adult conversation about art imitating life.
By the time the polls closed last weekend in Belarus, protesters had already taken to the street, alleging vote-fraud and strong-arm tactics by President Alexander Lukashenko. The so-called Denim Revolution had many of the marks of other recent resistance efforts – in Ukraine, in Georgia, and Serbia. But in the end, it was the Revolution that Wasn’t. Bob talks to The Economist correspondent Andrew Miller about the regime’s media clampdown. He also speaks with Srdja Popovic, a consultant to democracy advocates worldwide, about what went wrong.
For countries bedeviled by war crimes, genocide and all manner of trauma it’s been described as the last resort for justice - the international war crimes trial. Part media spectacle, part history lesson, part political scorecard, part attempt at truth and reconciliation the trials have evolved into a messy media phenomenon. Bob speaks with Anthony Dworkin, a former journalist who helps lawyers, journalists and the public at large understand the history, the expectations and the stakes in a modern war crimes trial.
The President took questions this week – from the public, from military families, and from members of the Washington press corp. And not just any member of the press – Helen Thomas got to ask a question, after three years of being purposefully ignored in the briefings. Why now? With approval ratings down, why give an outspoken critic the chance to pose a difficult question? New York Newsday columnist James Pinkerton explains his theory to Bob.
In recent years, anti-choice advocates have found a new way to take their message to the street. In more than a dozen states, they’ve convinced lawmakers to start offering specialty license plates bearing the message “Choose Life.” Pro-choicers have sued, but last week, a federal appeals court ruled that Tennessee’s version of the plate qualified as constitutionally-protected “government speech.” Bob parses the decision with First Amendment Center attorney David Hudson.
Specialty plates are not the only means available to drivers for rear-end self-expression. There are also vanity plates – the personalized arrangements of numbers and letters that tell other drivers a little something about you. Five years ago, Bob explored the uniquely American phenomenon and its particular popularity in the Old Dominion.
Highlights from Past ShowsA sudden flourishing of investigative journalism in China has created a Wild West atmosphere – crusading reporters and editors blazing away at the powers that be. But this is taking place in the authoritarian East, where communist party officials make examples of news organizations deemed too quick on the draw. That inherent conflict is apparent in the teaching of journalism in China. Bob speaks with Xiguang Li, dean of the School of Journalism, at Beijing's Tsinghua University.
According to the Washington Post, Iraq's majority Shiite party has ordered the Health Ministry to stop counting execution-style shootings, and tally only deaths by bombing and other insurgent attacks. If true, it explains why the Post's recent numbers diverge so dramatically with those of Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari. Post reporter Ellen Knickmeyer tells Bob she was less surprised by the disparity in the death toll, than by the failure of other journalists to check it out.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
