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The Freedom of Information Act, known as FOIA, can be a lean mean fighting machine in the battle against excessive government secrecy. The FOIA request is not a difficult tool to wield – it takes just a little know-how and a lot of patience. Russ Kick knows the drill. Independently, he’s filed hundreds of FOIA requests and they have yielded some unforgettable results. Russ Kick offers Bob a how-to lesson on freeing information from secrecy.
Brooke parses two surveys so that you don’t have to. One from the Pew Center for People and the Press, and one from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). The findings, and her conclusions shed some light on where journalists stand in a deeply divided America. Brooke parses two surveys so that you don’t have to. One is from the Pew Center for the People and the Press, and the other is from Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting (FAIR). The findings – and Brooke’s conclusions – shed some light on where journalists stand in a deeply divided America.
New York Times correspondent Larry Rohter can stay in Brazil, after all. Earlier this month, the Brazilian government declared it would revoke the reporter's visa because of an article he wrote about President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva's drinking habits. The nation's media rallied to Rohter's defense, but only on principle. For the most part, they remain uniformly critical about the article in question. As Brazilian journalist Antonio Brasil tells Bob, many of them saw the episode as more evidence of the sorry state of American journalism.
Howard Stern wants the Bush team out of the White House come November, and he's wielding his mighty mic to influence millions of listeners to vote. For his efforts he has won little support from Democrats who probably find the self-titled King of All Media a little too hot to handle in an election year. But Stern battles on. He may stand alone, but with a massive army of listeners behind him. New York Observer columnist Joe Hagan joined Brooke to discuss his recent story, "Howard's Private War."
Shock jocks are not the only ones feeling the hot breath of the FCC on the back of the neck. So has the high-tone Public Broadcasting Service. Recently, Masterpiece Theater, in consultation with PBS, cut not just the usual f-word but also the s-word, formerly acceptable-in-context, from the British series "Prime Suspect." Mystery and Masterpiece Theatre Executive Producer Rebecca Eaton explained that PBS had to consider the real effect of FCC fines on PBS stations.
The photos from Abu Ghraib have left an indelible impression around the world, but only in the military's own report into the matter does the full picture become clear. This week, the Taguba report was widely available online, leaving little doubt in the minds of many that responsibility stretches far up the chain of command. But technically, that report remains classified. Brooke looks at the question of why it was classified in the first place with Steven Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists' Project on Government Secrecy.
Satellite radio companies are only licensed to air nationally-targeted programming. But last month, XM Radio started airing local traffic and weather reports. XM contends it's not violating the terms of its license, because the local content is being offered nationally - listeners in Seattle can tune to the channel for traffic in Philadelphia. But the National Association of Broadcasters doesn't see it that way, and this month complained to the FCC on behalf of its member stations. Bob talks to former FCC chief economist about the trouble with regulating satellite radio.
After months of poring over the oeuvre of former USA Today reporter Jack Kelley, the paper this week revealed the extent of Kelley's fabrications and plagiarisms, and the institutional weaknesses that enabled him over the years. Not a day had passed before upper editorial heads were rolling. USA Today editor Karen Jurgensen and managing editor for news Hal Ritter abruptly resigned. Executive Editor Brian Gallagher announced that he too will step down as soon as a replacement is found. Bob talks to USA Today reporter Mark Memmott, who was once one of Kelley's editors.
