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Miami Herald reporter Carol Rosenberg observed last week that Guantánamo has become a recurrent pop-cultural trope throughout the world – in memoirs and novels, visual arts and theater, and even song. Rosenberg, who has visited the prison many dozens of times, believes that Gitmo has long since left the island of Cuba and taken on a symbolic life of its own.
This week brought the long-awaited congressional testimony from General David Patraeus. Subsequent chatter centered on Iraq War policy, but a sub-narrative emerged in the media: should Democrats condemn a MoveOn.org advertisement? MoveOn's Tom Mattzie defends the controversial ad.
Stories this week about the Iraq War policy debate sat next to others about the anniversary of September 11th. A more deliberate attempt to link the anniversary and the war came in a series of TV spots from the conservative group Freedom’s Watch. Founding member Ari Fleischer defends the controversial ads.
British media have been obsessed with the story of missing 4-year-old Madeleine McCann since her disappearance last May. And when her parents became suspects in the case, it seemed there was no other news in England. Guardian media editor Matt Wells says he's never before seen this much press coverage of a single story.
In an effort to avoid its own "Saigon moment," the British military carefully stage-managed its withdrawal from Basra Palace earlier this month. But Spiked editor Brendan O'Neill argues that, in spirit at least, Britain pulled out long ago.
This week marked the 25th anniversary of the launch of USA Today. Richard Curtis was there in the beginning, and he’s still there today. As graphics editor, he knows well the four-color look that helped the national paper make its mark.
U.S. detainee accounts of waterboarding, temperature extremes and sleep deprivation have reinvigorated the legal and political debate over what constitutes torture. But writer David Peisner describes another all too common U.S. interrogation tool - popular music. He explains the history and application of sonic suffering.
Attorney Clive Stafford Smith represents nearly three dozen Guantanamo detainees. Frustrated by their accounts of being tortured with music, Smith has come up with a novel legal tactic: sue the U.S. government for royalty payments. He explains why, for his clients, copyright law suddenly sounds so good.
Highlights from Past Shows
The celebrity endorsement is not exactly new to politics, but then there’s never been a celebrity quite like Oprah Winfrey, who, until now, has never publicly backed a politician. USC history professor Steve Ross says that Barack Obama may have won over the most influential voter of all.
As reported in Roll Call Monday, Sen. Larry Craig (R-Idaho) was arrested mid-June on suspicion of lewd conduct in an airport restroom. Since the early 1980s, rumors of Craig’s sexuality, and honesty, have followed him everywhere – everywhere, that is, but the Idaho Statesman. Managing editor Bill Manny explains why his paper held the story.
On the Media is funded by The Bydale Foundation, The Ford Foundation, The John S. and James L. Knight Foundation and the Overbrook Foundation.
