On The Media from NPR/WNYC
In an era of information overload, On the Media helps you make sense of it all. A weekly program from National Public Radio and WNYC, New York Public Radio. Includes MP3 Podcast enclosure.
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Endorsement Deal (On The Media: Friday, 09 October 2009)
The FTC issued new guidelines for bloggers, tweeters, Facebookers, and anyone else who regularly posts reviews on the Internet. Beware: if you endorse a product, and are in any way compensated for your kind words, you must “clearly and conspicuously” reveal the nature of your payment. Word of Mouth …
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Star Search (On The Media: Friday, 09 October 2009)
When it comes to rating products online, it turns out we're way too nice. The average out of 5 stars for things like dog food, printer paper or boots is 4.3 and as The Wall Street Journal's Geoffrey Fowler explains, all that kindness is actually kind of a problem.
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October 2, 2009 (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
Proposed changes to The Patriot Act; Italy's not-so-free press; J.J. Abrams on how "The Twilight Zone" has influenced his work.
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The Other Provision (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
Much attention has been paid to three provisions of The Patriot Act set to expire this year, but civil libertarians say the focus should be on a lesser noticed portion of the law having to do with National Security Letters. Greg Nojeim, senior counsel at the Center for Democracy & Technology, says …
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A Torture Narrative (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
In an attempt to keep the public interested in the vast amount of information about the government's interrogation practices and rendition policies, the ACLU recently launched The Torture Report. The report's chief author, Larry Siems, hopes to draw people in by writing an accessible story about …
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Italy's Mogul (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
According to press freedom advocates, journalists in Italy are now only "partly free." In recent weeks, a petition protesting government control of the media has garnered 450,000 signatures, and protesters plan to march in Rome this weekend. The target: Italy’s media mogul, Prime Minister Silvio Be …
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Driven to Do Something (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
This week at the Distracted Driving Summit, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced that federal employees will be banned from texting while driving. New York Times reporter Matt Richtel says that, despite only recent attention, the dangers of using cell phones while driving have long been kno …
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Digital Delusion (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
Conventional wisdom says that the Internet has democratized politics by giving a direct voice to citizens. And while the bar for publishing - via blogs, podcasts and YouTube videos - has never been lower, there’s a difference between speaking and being heard. The Myth of Digital Democracy author Mat …
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The Amygdala Goes Hollywood (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
What do you get when you cross an fMRI machine with the movie industry? Neurocinema. MindSign co-founder Philip Carlsen and neurologist Dr. David Hubbard explain how their brain scan research may help directors give the audience what it wants.
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Shadow and Substance (On The Media: Friday, 02 October 2009)
This week marks the 50th anniversary of Rod Serling’s "The Twilight Zone." Serling used the sci-fi genre as a tool to tell larger stories of morality, says Larry Kassan, founder of the Rod Serling Video Festival. He has also influenced Hollywood writers and producers, including J.J. Abrams, creator …
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September 25, 2009 (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
A bailout for newspapers?; documentary ethics; "ruin" porn
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Newspapers Go To Washington (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
Washington is paying attention to the newspaper crisis. The president has even weighed in. But some worry that any government help would create a conflict of interest. Senator Ben Cardin (D-MD), sponsor of The Newspaper Revitalization Act, and Jim Moroney, publisher of The Dallas Morning New …
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In Memoriam, W. Horace Carter (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
W. Horace Carter died this month. Carter was a newspaper editor and publisher who, during the 1950s, challenged the Ku Klux Klan in his small North Carolina town. Filmmaker Walt Campbell, is making a documentary about Carter. He says Carter ignored death threats and always insisted he was just doi …
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A New Privilege (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
The state secrets privilege allows the government to ask judges to dismiss trials for national security reasons. Civil libertarians say the government abuses the privilege in order to avoid lawsuits. On Wednesday, Attorney General Eric Holder laid out the ways President Obama will reform the privil …
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Growing Neutrality (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
This week, FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski announced plans to expand net neutrality rules. His announcement was met with consternation from at least one wireless service provider; AT&T argued that it should be allowed to limit some internet activity. But Genachowski disagrees.
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Cutting the Cable (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
Last year, Netflix spent about a quarter of its $1.4 billion sending its little red envelopes back and forth through the mail. That’s why it would rather stream movies directly to your TV. As Wired reporter Daniel Roth tells it, if Netflix can cut the same content deals with Hollywood as Comcast and …
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Ruin Porn (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
Are photojournalists obsessed with "ruin porn"? Reporter Thomas Morton recently visited Detroit, where photographers have been flocking to take pictures of the city's decrepit factories and abandoned buildings. But Morton says these photos, which he calls ruin porn, paint a misleading picture of the …
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Time in Detroit (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
Time Magazine and other outlets, including CNN Money, Fortune and Sports Illustrated, have launched Assignment Detroit. They've purchased a house where reporters will live for a year as they cover the city. Steven Gray, the writer behind The Detroit Blog and journalist and Detroit native Dan Okrent …
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True Enough (On The Media: Friday, 25 September 2009)
Documentaries are supposed to represent the truth. But who decides what the truth is exactly? Patricia Aufderheide, professor and documentarian, explains a new effort to interview documentary filmmakers anonymously about their ethical lapses. She hopes that by understanding the extent of the prob …
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September 18, 2009 (On The Media: Friday, 18 September 2009)
The evolution of the ACORN story; a call to action for government whistle blowers; America's first internet addiction recovery program
On The Media from NPR/WNYC
