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When Daniel Solis and Greg Stolze invented a game called "Meatbot Massacre," they weren't quite sure how to market it. So they decided to hold it ransom. When potential gamers had sent a total of $600 to the creators, the game was released to anyone who wanted to play it. Solis and Stolze explain their novel business model to Bob.
Silvio Berlusconi has been Italy's prime minister for the past four years. He's also the man who owns and controls 90 percent of Italy's television stations. And a major publishing house. Plus national papers and magazines. For the most part, Italians, and journalists, have quietly put up with this near media monopoly. Until now. As Megan Williams reports in Rome, the political tide may be turning for Silvio Berlusconi. And it seems this time, TV isn't keeping him afloat.
In October 2003, after an internal review triggered by the Jayson Blair scandal, the New York Times hired Daniel Okrent to the new post of public editor. Okrent agreed to take the job for 18 months only, and since then he's written a lively and widely-discussed column investigating reader complaints. Nearing the end of his tenure, he's taken on what he rightly calls the hottest button: Times coverage of Israel and Palestine. Okrent joins Brooke to reflect on his term and saving the best for last.
Anybody watching TV coverage of the Terri Schiavo legal wrangling this week was most likely left with the impression of a nation divided down the middle over what should be done. But that picture doesn't match public opinion poll data, which suggest an overwhelming majority of Americans side with Shiavo's husband. Brooke talks to Salon senior writer Eric Boehlert about why news organizations are ignoring their own research. David Berkman “Tiny Prairie Landscape” Album: Handmade Label: Palmetto Jazz
Bob and Brooke relay the latest in the ongoing Valerie Plame investigation. Journalists Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller continue to face jail time for not revealing their sources. Legal appeals on First Amendment grounds have failed, however, according to some, it is possible that no crime was committed by the leaker who revealed Plame’s identity as a CIA official. No crime, no case. David Berkman “Mayor Of Smoke” Album: Leaving Home Label: Palmetto Jazz Chris Lightcap Quartet “Big Mouth” Album: Bigmouth Label: Fresh Sound New Talent
On Tuesday, veteran CBS newsman Dan Rather announced that he will soon be leaving the anchor chair. Over the course of his 24 years behind the evening news desk, Rather's critics have found plenty to take issue with. But where some see bias, Brooke sees the sincere, if overly raw, expressions of a man who just couldn't keep his feelings to himself.
On Monday, the world learned that the United States would soon have a new representative in charge of diplomacy abroad. What's been the reaction to National Security Advisor Condoleeza Rice's ascension to Secretary of State? Brooke turns for answers to our trusty foreign media watcher UPI editor in chief Martin Walker.
And so Colin Powell won't be taking part in Bush Term Two. His legacy is uncertain, but while in office, he was by far the cabinet's most popular member. Sympathetic observers attribute Powell's positive ratings to his up-by-the-bootstraps bio, straight-talking manner, and air of loyalty. But might he have been more manipulative with the media than he is given credit for? Brooke examines the reality and representation of Colin Powell.
