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If they don’t already, government insiders with a tidbit for the press might now think twice before dishing over the phone. This week, two reporters at ABC News said that the Feds were gathering their phone records, most probably to sniff out the source of government leaks. OTM guest host Mike Pesca asks ABC chief investigative correspondent Brian Ross about the possible implications for Ross’ reporting.
With government phone surveillance so much in the news, it’s understandable that some assumed the collection of reporters’ phone records has something to do with the recently-disclosed NSA data mining effort. But that sort of conflation frustrates defense analyst Bill Arkin. He tells Brooke what’s wrong with understanding contemporary intelligence efforts as a Nixonian-style domestic spying program.
Avian flu continues to garner headlines – last week’s good, but this week’s bad. In either case, concerns about a pandemic are still real, at least judging from the press. And yet fewer than 150 people have been killed by the illness worldwide. Mike Pesca talks about media and the politics of panic with NYU professor of medicine Marc Siegel, who thinks one of the biggest threats to public health is fear.
For years, mainstream reporting on climate change played down the threat, by playing up the impression that the jury was still out about its causes and effects. But looking at recent media, the debate seems to have quieted down, and signs of looming apocalypse are everywhere. Advocates hail the attention, but New York Times science reporter Andrew Revkin thinks the sensational stories could ultimately backfire. He tells Brooke why it’s so hard for newspapers to get the story right.
Climate change may be a tough sell for newspaper editors, but what about sitcom writers? Lately the subject has been popping up in some unexpected places, and behind many of these plot twists is actor and environmental activist Laurie David, a co-producer of the new Al Gore documentary. She tells Mike Pesca about her effort to make global warming a pop culture phenomenon.
Simply put, “fair use” is a legal principle that allows copyrighted material to be used without permission from or payment to the owner. But a recent symposium on the subject at New York University demonstrated just how difficult it is to know what constitutes fair. And in the meantime, many creative types are left in the lurch. Amy Sewell, producer of the documentary "Mad Hot Ballroom", shares some war stories with Brooke.
Fordham University law professor Hugh Hansen is an advocate of strong copyright laws. But even he concedes that for low-budget filmmakers, copyright can be more of a burden than a blessing. Brooke speaks with him and with Duke law professor James Boyle, who thinks copyright holders have ushered in a “permission culture” that ignores the laws governing fair use.
Plagiarism is constantly in the news these days, most recently with the scandal surrounding Harvard student Kaavya Viswanathan’s How Opal Mehta Got Kissed, Got Wild, and Got A Life. But, as we know, claims of literary plagiarism go back centuries. So why do people still get so worked up about it? Mike Pesca reflects on the past, present and future of plagiarism.
Highlights from Past ShowsFor months, the Bush Administration insisted that NSA surveillance is strictly targeted on terrorists and their associates. But this week came allegations that the NSA is also collecting the phone records of ordinary Americans. Critics question the program’s legality, but the president insists that the only ones acting improperly are the people who exposed the program. Brooke speaks with George Washington University law professor Jonathan Turley about the latest assault on the press.
This week, public hearings were held on the West Virginia Sago mine disaster that gripped the country back in January. It turned out 12 of 13 miners died after first having been reported saved. The risks associated with mining rarely catch the attention of journalists – until, that is, something goes horribly wrong. Brooke speaks with Ellen Smith, editor of Mine Safety and Health News, about the response to Sago.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
