USA Today is wrapping up its investigation of one of its own - former reporter Jack Kelley. So far, the paper says there is strong evidence that the 21-year veteran of the paper and five-time Pulitzer finalist fabricated substantial portions of at least eight major stories, and that his "journalistic sins" were "sweeping and substantial." Bob talks to Salon contributing writer John Gorenfeld about why readers were so willing to believe in Kelley's oft-colorful dispatches.
This week, the Clear Channel radio behemoth dropped the Howard Stern show from its programming lineup. Washington lawmakers are applauding the move. Stern says he's the victim of a backlash triggered by Janet Jackson's boob. But might he also be the latest casualty at the crossroads of the FCC's twin agendas - cleaning up and deregulating the airwaves? Bob agrees that Howard's show stinks, but thinks that the cancellation smells worse.
The fallout from Janet Jackson's infamous Superbowl fallout has moved to Capitol Hill, where Congress is holding impassioned hearings on new penalties for indecency on the airwaves. But a much more compelling threat to broadcasters might not come from the government at all. This week, cable giant Comcast announced that it's setting its sights on the Walt Disney Co. - owner of ABC and ESPN, among others - and Disney went on the defensive against a hostile takeover bid. Bob talks to George Mannes, senior writer at thestreet.com.
The Defense Department is not alone in its unresponsiveness to secrecy concerns. That attitude has filtered down to the state and local level as well. Last month, reporters in Florida visited government agencies posing as ordinary citizens requesting public records. They found that almost half of the state's government was not in compliance with Florida's own public records law. Brooke speaks with Sarasota Herald Tribune reporter Matthew Doig, who helped organize the audit.
The NFL called it offensive and inappropriate. CBS says the network is angry and embarrassed. FCC Chairman Michael Powell called it classless, crass and deplorable. We refer, of course, to the show-stopping exposure of Janet Jackson's breast during this year's Superbowl. But other than indignant huffing, how much can federal regulators really do about the fleshy halftime spectacle? Bob talks to New America Foundation fellow Alicia Mundy about the possible implications for broadcasters.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court rejected an appeal of the Bush Administration's secret detention of more than a thousand people in the weeks following September 11th. The decision represented a defeat for several groups who had sued for access to information about the detainees, some of whom were charged with immigration violations, and many of whom were deported. Bob discusses the case and its implications with Lyle Denniston, Supreme Court reporter for the Boston Globe.
When journalists refuse to disclose anonymous sources, they usually do so to protect those sources. But what happens if the sources agree to be named? That dilemma could soon face columnist Bob Novak, who last year outed the wife of former ambassador Joe Wilson as a CIA operative, after receiving what many believe was a politically motivated leak. Investigators are now asking select members of the White House staff to sign forms releasing journalists from pledges of confidentiality. Bob discusses the latest twist in Plame-gate with the Poynter Institute's Aly Colon.
Wen Ho Lee was accused of telling secrets. The government is charged with creating far too many of them. Brooke speaks with Steve Aftergood, director of the Federation of American Scientists’ Secrecy Project, birddogs the government’s tightening grip on information in his newsletter Secrecy News. He says that while the United States is the most open government in the world, it’s also the most secretive.
