On the Media

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The Mistrial of Michael Slager Dec 07, 2016

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After a mistrial this week in the case of Michael Slager, the police officer caught on camera shooting Walter Scott in the back as he ran away, we revisit two interviews we did this summer. Patrice Cullors is the co-founder of Black Lives Matter and Eugene O'Donnell is a former police officer, we spoke to them after two deadly shooting incidents involving young black men targeting police officers.

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Normalize This! Dec 02, 2016

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We devote this hour to a question put to us pretty much daily since election day: How to cover President Trump?

First, we ask the AP, Univision, NPR, USA Today, and other news outlets about how they are defining a relationship with a president-elect who flouts traditional rules, spreads misinformation, and criticizes the press.

Then we turn to language. Listeners help us highlight moments in media coverage that obscure the truth, and journalist Masha Gessen warns of the "impulse to normalize."

Plus, linguist John McWhorter describes the phenomenon of partisan words, and cognitive scientist George Lakoff argues that the principles of journalism need to be redefined... because of how our brains work.

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How (NOT) to Cover Cuba! Nov 29, 2016

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In 1957, Fidel Castro was believed to be dead -- until New York Times writer Herbert L. Matthews conducted an interview with Castro in the Cuban jungle. Matthews' portrayal of a romantic figure and a promising leader was trusted, until Castro revealed himself and his planned revolution as communist. Brooke speaks with Anthony DePalma, author of The Man Who Invented Fidel: Castro, Cuba, and Herbert L. Matthews of The New York Times, about the infamous coverage of Cuba's infamous leader. Also, the OTM guide on how (not) to cover Cuba.

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Ghosts Nov 25, 2016

Show notes

This election season, the media frequently looked to history in an attempt to explain the rise of Donald Trump. We consider how historical parallels don't always serve us well. Plus, revisiting a notorious murder that the press got wrong; the long reach of a WWII slogan; and attempts in Ukraine to whitewash the nation's history. A special hour on memory, both historical and personal, and how what we remember shapes our world.

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Thanks for Everything, Bing Nov 23, 2016

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A few years ago, Brooke spoke with the writer Paul Ford about the remarkable connection between Bing Crosby, magnetic tape, Nazi technology, and the computer hard drive. We're putting it down the podcast feed again this week, just before the Thanksgiving holiday, to get you in the mood. You can read Ford's post about Crosby on the New Yorker Elements blog.

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Unreal Nov 18, 2016

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In the months leading up to the election, some fake news stories generated more engagement on Facebook than real news stories. We consider the landscape of misinformation and how to separate truth from fiction.

Plus: Steve Bannon, Trump's chief strategist, hasn't just influenced political discourse through the incendiary Breitbart News -- he's also sabotaged his chosen politicians through investigative journalism.

And we interview a man who the Southern Poverty Law Center calls the “cultivated, cosmopolitan face of white supremacy” to find out what he wants wants from the Trump administration.

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When Real Police Shootings Look Nothing Like The Movies Nov 16, 2016

Show notes

According to The Washington Post, more than 800 people have been shot and killed by police officers in the United States this year. As videos of many of these shootings-- especially ones depicting confrontations between police officers and black men-- go viral, Alyssa Rosenberg, opinion writer at The Washington Post, examines how different they look from the portrayals of police shootings that we're used to seeing in films and on TV. Her series, Dragnets, Dirty Harrys and Dying Hard examines the ways in which police officers are portrayed in pop culture. She talks to Bob about her third installment of the series: "In Pop Culture, There Are No Bad Police Shootings."

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Wrong Number Nov 11, 2016

Show notes

The press didn’t see it coming. Or did they? This week, we examine the role of data – and delusion – in this election. Nate Silver reflects on the promise and pitfalls of polling, and Zachary Karabell discusses how financial indicators gloss over the gritty realities of American life. Plus: how a plan to dismantle the electoral college could make elections more democratic, and election coverage more interesting.

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Now What? Nov 09, 2016

Show notes

It's the morning after in the offices of On the Media. Usually editorial meetings take place in Brooke's office with Bob dialed in on the conference phone. This week we did it in the studio so you can hear the hosts talk about how they are feeling and how they envision the direction of the show in the Trump presidency.

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On Shaky Ground Nov 04, 2016

Show notes

The months-long protest against the North Dakota Access Pipeline finally received mainstream attention this week after a misdirection campaign on Facebook, but to what end? Plus, making sense of what you've been told about Russia's role in the election; Bob talks to Glenn Beck about his recent transformation; and the all-too-predictable fallout from hiring partisans as cable news pundits.

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