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The White House worked to tamp high expectations for Obama's Cairo address but, by the end of the week, the world was watching and listening. Naila Hamdy, Chair of the Journalism Department at the American University in Cairo, discusses the changing landscape of Egypt's media and how they covered the speech.
With the choice of Federal Judge Sonia Sotomayor for the US Supreme Court this week the machinery of advocacy groups, pro and con, was sparked into action. Defying and supporting a supreme court nominee has become a veritable cottage industry for these groups and for the next six weeks we’ll watch them stir up public opinion and the press. Lawyer Tom Goldstein, founder of ScotusBlog, says any High Court nominee is but fuel for the politics industry.
This week former Vice President Dick Cheney and President Barack Obama went head to head, toe to toe, and back to back. It was the ultimate battle, at least in the coverage. PEJ's Mark Jurkowitz explains why the media love a showdown like this one.
This month saw the launch of a multimillion dollar ad campaign meant to sink President Obama’s as yet unannounced health care plan. James Fallows covered the first round in the fight over health care in 1994. He says the 1994 plan failed in large part because of a single wildly inaccurate magazine article.
The Obama Administration announced this week that it would not release photos documenting the abuse of detainees in Iraq and Afghanistan, fearing that doing so would jeopardize the safety of U.S. troops. Jane Mayer, New Yorker writer and author of The Dark Side, says the photos are crucial evidence that should be made public.
It's no secret that politicians try to shape our understanding of major issues by controlling the words we use to debate them. Exhibit A: the Obama Administration's recent attempts to retool the way we talk about environmental policy. Green is out, clean is in. And don't mention "global warming." Chicago Tribune reporter Jim Tankersley explains.
Some president's first 100 days are rockier then others. President Clinton's for instance were marked by controversy. Dee Dee Myers was the first press secretary at the Clinton White House. She says she felt a little envious as she watched the Obama transition.
While some in the media wondered if Obama flip-flopped when it comes to prosecuting Bush Administration officials who authorized torture, the White House tried to get its media message straight ... all without actually using the T-word. Columbia University law professor and Harper's Magazine contributing editor Scott Horton explains why the Administration, and some members of the media, are backing away from "torture."
