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Pharmaceutical companies spend millions on marketing. Some of those dollars end up in the hands of doctors, researchers and in one case, a public radio host from "The Infinite Mind." An article in Slate back in May led to an investigation by Sen. Charles Grassley, whose findings ended up in a New York Times piece last week. We spoke with NPR's David Folkenflik and Sen. Grassley about the controversy.
Should reporters lie or misrepresent themselves in order to get an important story? Undercover reporting has long been an effective, exciting and, some would argue, necessary journalistic tool. But at a time when the public's trust in the press is waning, can journalists afford to lie? Brooke talks with undercover reporters and their critics.
NBC News has called its Olympic coverage "the most ambitious single media project in history." But the real ambition is in how NBC plans to experiment with Olympics ratings in the hopes of changing the advertising business model on network TV. Grant Robertson of Toronto’s Globe and Mail explains.
Last week Fox News aired doctored photos of a New York Times reporter and editor in retaliation for a story Fox didn't like. The New York Times' David Carr wrote about the incident and exposed the unusually aggressive tactics the Fox News public relations team sometimes uses against reporters.
The presidential nominees have finally emerged, but the real victor this primary season is cable news. Especially MSNBC, whose ratings have spiked dramatically. The New York Times’ Brian Stelter says the high ratings may come with a cost, but MSNBC’s Executive in Charge Phil Griffin dismisses allegations that Keith Olbermann’s liberal bent will damage the network’s credibility.
Gene Weingarten, writer for the Washington Post Magazine, got an idea: he would lock himself in a room for 24 hours straight with 5 TV's, 2 radios and a laptop all tuned to loud, opinionated pundits. After basically losing his mind, he tells us what he learned.
Some pundits are born not made. But not everybody is a natural bloviator. One Washington P.R. firm has trained journalists for their star turns. OTM's John Solomon, attended one class to see if he had what it takes.
For the past two years, David Marash has been the face of Al Jazeera English as their Washington anchor. Recently Marash decided to leave the network, however, citing anti-American bias. He joins us to talk about his time there and his decision to depart.
