On the Media

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The Presidential Election That Put Fox News On the Map Oct 11, 2024

Show notes

When Fox News launched in 1996, critics joked about its incompetence. But just a few years later, the network proved itself to be a political force. On this week’s On the Media, hear how Fox News rose to power during the election of 2000.

Hosts Brooke Gladstone and Micah Loewinger introduce Slow Burn’s host Josh Levin. Levin spoke with the hosts, reporters, and producers who built Fox News, many who’ve never spoken publicly before. And you’ll hear from Fox’s victims, who are still coming to terms with how the channel upended their lives.
Further reading / listening:

Slow Burn: The Rise of Fox News - SEASON 10
Crazy Like a FOX: The Inside Story of How Fox News Beat CNN, by Scott. Collins
Murdoch’s World: The Last of the Old Media Empires, by David Folkenflik
How to Steal an Election: The Inside Story of How George Bush’s Brother and FOX Network Miscalled the 2000 Election and Changed the Course of History, by David W. Moore
The Loudest Voice in the Room: How the Brilliant, Bombastic Roger Ailes Built Fox News-and Divided a Country, by Gabriel Sherman

A portion of this episode originally aired on our September 25, 2024 podcast, OTM Presents Ep. 1 of Slow Burn's The Rise of Fox News: We Report. You Can Suck It

On the Media is supported by listeners like you. Support OTM by donating today (https://pledge.wnyc.org/support/otm). Follow our show on Instagram, Bluesky, TikTok and Facebook @onthemedia, and share your thoughts with us by emailing onthemedia@wnyc.org.

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A Storm of BS In The Wake Of Hurricane Helene Oct 09, 2024

Show notes

It’s been less than two weeks since Hurricane Helene made landfall in Florida, tearing through the southeast United States. And already, Hurricane Milton is looming as a deadly sequel. With states still reeling from the physical and emotional toll of the first storm, more trouble has been brewing online. This week on our podcast extra, host Micah Loewinger sits down with Will Oremus, technology reporter for The Washington Post, to talk about how he and his colleagues have been documenting the spread of false information on social media following the disaster.

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A Reporter’s View From Beirut, and a New Film Plumbs the Depths of Netanyahu’s Corruption Oct 04, 2024

Show notes

Israel has launched a ground invasion into Lebanon. On this week’s On the Media, hear from a reporter in Beirut on the state of the press as the country braces for more violence. Plus, the state of book censorship in America.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Nada Homsi, correspondent at The National’s Beirut bureau, on what the press looks like in Lebanon as Israel launches a ground invasion into the country.

[14:23] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Raviv Drucker, an Israeli journalist, to hear about his role in the unreleased documentary, The Bibi Files, directed by Alexis Bloom. The film uses never-before-seen leaked interrogation footage of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and his inner circle to lay out his corruption case.

[31:05] Host Brooke Gladstone talks with Kelly Jensen, an editor at the online publication Book Riot, about how book censorship has shifted over the past year to a government affair – with new laws and regulations passed in Idaho, Utah, and South Carolina among other states.

[39:36] Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Peter Parnell and Justin Richardson, whose children’s picture book, And Tango Makes Three, is among the long list of banned titles across the country. Hear why they’re suing in Florida to make their book — and others — accessible again.

Further reading:

“Hezbollah’s dominance raises questions about Lebanon’s army role in Israel conflict,” by Nada Homsi
"It’s Still Censorship, Even If It’s Not a Book Ban," by Kelly Jensen
And Tango Makes Three, by Justin Richardson, Peter Parnell, and illustrator Henry Cole
Jacob's Missing Book, by Sarah Hoffman, Ian Hoffman, and illustrator Chris Case

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"It Happened Here 2024" A new radio play starring Edie Falco and John Turturro Oct 02, 2024

Show notes

And exclusive sneak peek of a brand new radio play starring Edie Falco, John Turturro and Tony Shalhoub. Inspired by Sinclair Lewis’ dystopian novel, It Can’t Happen Here, Richard Dresser’s novel, and now 6-part radio play called It Happened Here 2024, offers a glimpse of what could happen after the 2024 election if fascism creeps into the USA.

The story centers around the Weeks family as they brace for the election. Paul and Ruth’s family work to defeat the so-called Great Leader. Paul’s brother Garret and his family are on the other side. Family get-togethers are tense. When the Great Leader, with a giant boost from the Supreme Court, shockingly wins the quote, “most important election ever,” the family is thrown into chaos.

It Happened Here 2024 describes a country that still has Netflix and free two-day delivery, where the only thing lost is freedom....

Listen to the rest of the episodes wherever you get your podcasts!

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Election Lies Are Fueling Voter Suppression. Plus, Newsrooms Brace for Election Night Sep 27, 2024

Show notes

In Georgia, a controversial new rule to hand-count ballots is being challenged in court. On this week’s On the Media, how the big lie of 2020 is shaping elections in 2024. Plus, how newsrooms are preparing for a whirlwind of disinformation on election night — and beyond.

[01:00] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Sam Gringlas, politics reporter at WABE, about the controversy surrounding new election rules in Georgia and the officials backing them.

[14:37] Host Micah Loewinger interviews Ari Berman, voting rights correspondent at Mother Jones, about the wave of efforts by Republican lawmakers across the country to change voting and election laws, and what happens if we have a tie in the Electoral College.

[25:59] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Benjamin Mullin, media reporter for The New York Times, to hear how newsrooms are bracing for election night 2024.

[37:30] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Mark Clague, professor of musicology at the University of Michigan, about the role of music in this year's presidential campaigns, the history of political anthems, and the consequences of pop star celebrity culture seeping further into our political sphere.

Further reading:

“Georgia's Republican-led election board OKs controversial rule to hand-count ballots,” by Sam Gringlas
“Officials Voted Down a Controversial Georgia Election Rule, Saying It Violated the Law. Then a Similar Version Passed,” by Doug Bock Clark
“How Republicans Could Block a Democratic Victory in Georgia,” by Ari Berman
“Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People―and the Fight to Resist It,” by Ari Berman
“News Outlets Brace for Chaos on Election Night (and Perhaps Beyond),” by Benjamin Mullin and Michael M. Grynbaum
“Taylor Swift’s endorsement of Kamala Harris shows how big a role music is playing in the 2024 election,” by Mark Clague

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OTM Presents Ep. 1 of Slow Burn's The Rise of Fox News: We Report. You Can Suck It. Sep 25, 2024

Show notes

When Fox News launched in 1996, critics called it “disorganized, incompetent, and laughably inept”. And during that election cycle it barely registered. But everything changed in 2000, when Fox News called Florida (and the presidency) for George W. Bush before any of the other networks. Potentially altering the outcome of the election in Bush’s favor.

Our midweek podcast this week is episode one of the new series of Slow Burn from Slate which takes that pivotal moment as its starting point to examine the place FOX News has carved out in our culture. The series traces the channel’s surging popularity in those early years, and profiles a bunch of people who rose up to try and stop it.

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The Trump Campaign Continues to Spew Lies about Springfield. Plus, Support for Political Violence Is On the Rise. Sep 20, 2024

Show notes

Lies that immigrants are eating pets in Springfield, Ohio have inspired dozens of threats against the town, and toward Haitian-Americans across the nation. On this week’s On the Media, hear how public acceptance of political violence has grown. Plus, how January 6 became a recruiting tool for one of the country’s largest militias.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Macollvie Neel, special projects editor at The Haitian Times, to talk about the recent wave of rhetoric and threats aimed at the Haitian community in Springfield, Ohio, and why Neel and other reporters saw it coming.

[13:29] Host Brooke Gladstone interviews Lilliana Mason, Professor of Political Science at Johns Hopkins University, about the growing acceptance of political violence in America, and the reasons behind it.

[27:14] Host Brooke Gladstone sits down with Matthew Dallek, a historian and professor of political management at George Washington University, to look at the history of political violence and presidential assassinations.

[37:32] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Joshua Kaplan, reporter at ProPublica, about how one powerful, but largely unseen militia avoided scrutiny after January 6th. And why a day that led many members to quit, turned into a call to arms.

Further reading:

“Haitians in Springfield: A tale of Black immigration in ‘Anytown USA,’” by Macollvie J. Neel
“How to Prevent a Spiral of Political Violence in America,” by Lilliana Mason
“Radical American Partisanship,” by Nathan Kalmoe and Lilliana Mason
“The Fading Line Between Rhetorical Extremism and Political Violence,” by Matthew Dallek
“Political Violence May Be Un-American, but It Is Not Uncommon,” by Matthew Dallek and Robert Dallek
“Armed and Underground: Inside the Turbulent, Secret World of an American Militia,” by Joshua Kaplan

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Taylor Swift's Endorsement and the Role of Music in Politics Sep 18, 2024

Show notes

Last Tuesday, as audience members and press were still milling about the presidential debate stage in Philadelphia after the spotlights dimmed, the real bombshell of the night dropped — Taylor Swift's endorsement Kamala Harris and Tim Walz. And this week, pop star Billie Eilish and her brother Finneas took to Instagram, announcing that they were voting for Harris and Walz.

Swift and Eilish stand amid a sea of pop stars, including, among others, Beyonce, Charli xcx, and Cardi B, who have cheered on the Harris campaign — which has felt more like a weeks-long rave than the usual pre-election slog. The soundtrack for the Democratic National Convention was provided by a sunglass-clad DJ Cassidy, while the RNC featured performances by Kid Rock and bands like Sixwire. Politics and music, this year in particular, seem inextricable. For the midweek podcast, host Brooke Gladstone speaks with Mark Clague, a professor of musicology at the University of Michigan, about the role of music in this year's presidential campaigns, the history of political anthems, and the consequences of pop star celebrity culture seeping further into our political sphere.

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Is Kamala Harris’ Press Strategy Depriving Voters — Or Just Journalists? Plus, Understanding Election Polls. Sep 13, 2024

Show notes

Kamala Harris has come under fire for ignoring interview requests from the press. On this week’s On the Media, the debate over whether giving media access actually helps inform voters. Plus, a guide to understanding election polls, and how they’ve evolved since the failures of 2016 and 2020.

[01:00] Host Brooke Gladstone explores a rising complaint from some in the political press that Vice President Kamala Harris isn’t engaging enough with reporters, featuring: Perry Bacon Jr., Washington Post columnist, Matt Bai, a journalist at the Washington Post who has interviewed many presidential candidates, and David Lurie, a contributing writer for Public Notice.

[19:57] Host Micah Loewinger speaks to Courtney Kennedy, Vice President of Methods and Innovation at Pew Research Center, to reassess our Breaking News Consumer’s Handbook on polls and answer the age-old question: should we care about them at all?

[34:26] Host Micah Loewinger speaks with Gordon Hanson, an economist and a co-director of the Reimagining the Economy Project at Harvard University’s Kennedy School, about why tariffs have rebounded in political popularity amongst Democrats and Republicans.

Further reading:

“Harris should talk to journalists more. Particularly the wonky ones,” by Perry Bacon Jr.
“The media gets nothing from Kamala Harris. That’s mostly on us,” by Matt Bai
“Kamala Harris is cutting off Trump’s political oxygen,” by David Lurie
“Key things to know about U.S. election polling in 2024,” by Scott Keeter and Courtney Kennedy
“Washington’s New Trade Consensus: And What It Gets Wrong,” by Gordon Hanson

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Not an Internet Error: How 404 Media Aims to Shake Up Online Journalism Sep 11, 2024

Show notes

Last summer, OTM host Micah Loewenger reported a piece about the rise of worker-owned newsrooms: Hell Gate, a local New York publication, and Defector, a national outlet focused on sports and culture.

Inspired by Defector and Hell Gate, more worked-owned outlets have come on the scene — including 404 Media, known for its mix of fun internet coverage and hard-nosed investigations. In this week’s midweek podcast, Micah speaks to 404 co-founder Samantha Cole about the challenges they have faced since they started their own outlet. Plus, what their success can teach us about the future of news.

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