It’s that time again, when the world’s best soccer players take to the pitch, their fans take to the TV, and smart guys take to the media to describe how soccer explains the world. But might the ways soccer is covered also offer insight about national identity? Bob speaks to soccer maven (and The New Republic editor) Franklin Foer about how the rest of the world calls the game.
It’s hardly controversial to say newspapers should reflect their communities. But not everybody agrees on the best way to broaden the range of news-sources. Some reporters at the Detroit Free Press, for example, were surprised when editors asked them to compile a list of minority sources. They feared the “rainbow rolodex” could ultimately privilege ethnicity over expertise. Free Press editor Paul Anger tells Bob why they have nothing to worry about.
A reporter’s stories are only as deep as his or her rolodex. And so one news organization is using new technology to make its rolodex as vast as possible. The project is called Public Insight Journalism, and it’s being spearheaded by Minnesota Public Radio/American Public Media. Bob speaks with MPR managing director of news Michael Skoler about the value of 19 thousand sources, all in one place.
Comedy Central is spoofing the news again, this time with a fictional Spokane-based news team that interacts with real-life sources not in on the joke. It’s called “Dog Bites Man,” and for some, it’s hitting a little too close to home. Spokane Public Radio’s Janean Jorgensen is concerned about the show’s impact on her newsroom’s credibility. Brooke addresses those concerns with DBM executive producer Dan Mazer.
In the late 1970s, Mexican telenovela writer Miguel Sabido invented the “soap opera for social change.” Since then, awareness organizations around the world have used Sabido-style soap operas to broadcast their message to millions of viewers. Brooke speaks with New Yorker contributor Hanna Rosin, who recently wrote about consciousness-raising through TV-storytelling.
If you planned this year to celebrate National Headache Awareness Week, you’ve already missed your chance. But don’t fret – the country’s health observances calendar is slated with more than 200 awareness days and weeks and months to satisfy even the choosiest of hypochondriacs. Be hip, be informed and be aware! Bob explores the latest health craze.
Highlights from Past Shows
As news of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi’s death spread around the world Thursday, the photo of his lifeless face was nearly impossible to miss. For U.S. and Iraqi security forces, the image of Zarqawi – dead, mounted, and framed – represented a decisive victory. But RAND Corporation terrorism expert Bruce Hoffman tells Bob that as a media phenomenon, the image might ultimately become the opposite of what its framers intended.
The alleged massacre at Haditha, first reported by Time Magazine, commanded headlines this week. As the press waited for results from internal investigations, comparisons to My Lai massacre were not uncommon. Which reminded us of something Army Lieutenant Colonel Robert Bateman told us right before the Iraq war – that “embedding” the media with the military might prevent future My Lais. We called up Bateman to see if he still thinks so.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
