On the Media

A special hour on the dodgy world of health news, from scary studies and so-called “medical breakthroughs” to celebrity-endorsed miracle cures and people who fake illness online.

What you hear about the Paris climate agreement depends on whom you ask. We sort through the competing messages about what was achieved. Plus, how to spot an accurate election poll as the primaries edge closer; and what the GOP presidential candidates' war on "political correctness" really means. 

This is Bob Mankoff’s time. The cartoon editor of the New Yorker has just published a memoir: “How About Never. Is Never Good for You?”  He’s a regular on WNYC’s The New Yorker Radio Hour. And he was featured in the documentary  “Very Semi-Serious,” which debuted on HBO last week. Recently our Bob sat down with their Bob to talk about art, life, cartoons, and much, much more. 

Some of Donald Trump's opponents have labeled him a demagogue - but are they right? And, if so, what is there to be done? Plus: Bob reflects on the media feeding frenzy in the house of the San Bernardino shooters; and the life, and self-documented death, of New York Times reporter and AIDS victim Jeffrey Schmalz.

We often hear that individuals who come to symbolize major Supreme Court decisions "took their case all the way to the Supreme Court." But sometimes, such plaintiffs are taken by hand. Bob explores how shopping for the perfect plaintiff to serve as the poster child for an issue is a strategy employed by public-interest law across the political spectrum, and dates back to 19th-century civil rights litigation.

Donald Trump’s statements about Muslims cheering after 9/11 are just the latest in a long record of false claims. But if Trump is the most recent, maybe most flamboyant, falsifier to enter US politics, he's not the first and won't be the last. OTM takes a look at political lies, including a taxonomy and history of political untruths; a psychological examination of how and why we lie; and whether, at the end of the day, the most damaging lies aren't the ones we tell ourselves about our fellow citizens. Discuss on Twitter: #OTMlies

Hours before Wednesday's mass shooting in San Bernardino, California, a group of physicians petitioned Congress to end the so-called Dickey Amendment, a nearly twenty-year-old ban that effectively prevents the CDC from researching gun violence. Brooke talks with Todd Zwillich, Washington Correspondent for The Takeaway, about the history of the ban and its current political state. And: as the names of the victims are being released to the public and their families struggle to make meaning from their incalculable loss, they often find they must learn how to manage the media to achieve their goals. The template for that kind of PR savvy was established back in 1999, after the massacre at Columbine High School, as Karen Duffin reported for us a few years ago.  For more OTM follow us on Twitter @OnTheMedia, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, www.onthemedia.org.

In the wake of the attacks in Paris, global terror threats, and renewed debate about mass surveillance and national security, we revisit our special hour on the origins of the infamous Patriot Act, born in a post-9/11 climate of fear. We examine what's in the act: warrantless search and seizure, bulk collection of personal data, intelligence sharing, and more...as well as how much of what we associate with the Patriot Act actually lies in a wild-west of lesser-known programs. Plus, new conversations about France's current state of emergency and a frank look at the sheer ineffectiveness of mass surveillance in fighting terrorism since 9/11. 

Amid the emotion, fear, and confusion following an attack, a Breaking News Consumer's Handbook for the coverage of terrorism. Plus, the semantics surrounding acts of war and terror, and a look back at lessons learned, and forgotten, in the years since 9/11.

OTM examines how the media try to reach us on an emotional level. We look at the New York Times' dive into virtual reality-inspired empathy, and Europe's "compassion fatigue" with migration. Plus: why clickbait is king, the lucrative "hate read", why the University of Missouri protesters' media-free zone is about more than press freedom, and more. Discuss on Twitter: #OTMempathy, #OTMmissouri, #OTMvr, #OTMaylan, #OTMupworthy, #OTMcarebot, #OTMheart, #OTMclickbait, #OTMhatereads

ExxonMobil is under investigation by the NY Attorney General for potentially misleading shareholders about the threat of climate change. The subpoena comes after reports, including from InsideClimate News, about Exxon's pivot from supporting state-of-the-art research to funding a network of climate denial groups. Observers have noted that Exxon's campaign of misinformation mirrors what Big Tobacco did about the risks of smoking. That industry is still paying a $246 billion settlement. Bob discusses the pattern, the two prosecutions, and what might come next with Naomi Oreskes of Harvard, co-author of Merchants of Doubt: How a Handful of Scientists Obscured the Truth on Issues from Tobacco Smoke to Global Warming.  Then, Bob revisits his conversation earlier this fall with ExxonMobil's Richard Keil, who responded to the InsideClimate News reporting.  For more OTM follow us on Twitter, @OnTheMedia, and subscribe to our newsletter.

Republican presidential candidates try to reassert control over the debate process, but they can't quite agree on how. Plus: in praise of the "gotcha" question; some optimism on the newspaper industry; and Bob talks with Alec Baldwin on all things media.  Discuss on Twitter: #OTMDebate, #OTMGotcha, #OTMLessig, #OTMBaldwin

Last Friday at the Wharton School in Philadelphia, Bob convened a day-long media future summit to figure out how to keep the lights on. For the lunchtime keynote speaker, Bob was joined by Alec Baldwin, actor, activist, and host of Here's The Thing, and each interviewed the other about all things media.  For more OTM follow us on Twitter, @OnTheMedia, and subscribe to our newsletter at our website, www.onthemedia.org.

The launch of a collaboration between On the Media and Nate Silver’s 538 to track the push and pull between polling, media coverage, and public interest in candidates. Plus: a look at the long history of savvy political candidates campaigning as Washington "outsiders"; debunking the supposed "Ferguson effect"; and Spotlight, a new movie about the Boston Globe's investigation into the Catholic Church sex scandal, celebrates the power of the press.  Discuss on Twitter: #OTMRubio, #OTM_538, #OTMOutsiders, #OTMFerguson, #OTMSpotlight    

On Monday the WHO classified high consumption of processed meats like bacon and sausage as a class one risk factor for colorectal cancer. But contrary to headlines, it's NOT the same as smoking. Brooke talks with Ivan Oransky, who explains what the announcement actually means and how we should interpret it. Also, we revisit our Breaking News Consumer's Handbook: Health News Edition with Gary Schwitzer to help you navigate the perennially murky world of health and diet reporting.  Discuss on Twitter: #OTMBacon