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What do a bunch of foul-mouthed 4th-graders have in common with the Republican Party? Plenty, according to Brian C. Anderson, author of the recently-published South Park Conservatives. Mike Pesca speaks with Anderson about the anti-liberal inclinations of one of Comedy Central's most popular shows, the pitfalls of celebrity politics, and the future of mainstream media.
Former Atlanta prosecutor Nancy Grace doesn't like high-powered defense attorneys. The Court TV and CNN Headline News host has built a media career out of her strongly-held opinions about the current state of the criminal justice system. Mike cross-examined her about the effect of the 24-hour news cycle on due process.
Conventional wisdom holds that too much TV watching is bad for you. But how bad is it, exactly? And is some programming less unhealthy than others? Luckily, scientists worldwide are hard at work determining the precise effects of television on the human subject. In the interest of keeping listeners up to date with the latest research, we bring you the highlights of the past year in media studies.
A new media project is underway in South America. Frustrated by years of U.S.-centric TV news, the creators of Telesur say the network will present Latin American news from a Latin American perspective. They also say they'll be editorially independent, even if they depend on Venezuela and other governments for funding. Bob discusses Telesur's prospects with Nikolas Kozloff of the Council on Hemispheric Affairs.
It's clear that pan-Arab satellite channels have had a huge impact on Middle Eastern politics. But American University assistant professor Marwan Kraidy says it's not just the explicitly political programming that's contributing to political upheaval. It's entertainment programming too. Kraidy tells Brooke about one example - the Lebanese Broadcasting Corporation reality show "Star Academy."
At any given hour, the BBC's website is the most visited news site in the world. So it was quite a surprise when the organization announced last month that it's relinquishing some control of its online content in order to harness some of the energy of internet innovation. The only condition of the new arrangement is that content sharers explain their intentions. Tom Loosemore, co-creator of Backstage BBC, tells Bob why it's better to share.
Last month, Infinity Broadcasting gave its listeners control of the airwaves, at least on one money-losing AM station in San Francisco. It renamed the station KYOU, and switched its format to amateur-submitted podcasts. KYOU calls it "open source" radio. Meantime, in another part of the broadcast universe, Christopher Lydon is giving voice to his own version of open source radio. He joins Brooke to explain the vision behind his new public radio show.
In Italy, they re known as soccer missionaries - priests and even Cardinals who provide commentary on sports. And recently, the official Vatican radio started a new show devoted entirely to sports. Listeners tune in weekly to hear the Church’s take on anything from doping in cycling to bad calls by soccer referees. Megan Williams reports from Rome.
