Sunday, November 22, 1998
Kenneth Starr testifies before congress... will the press continue to have a different take than the public? This week, On the Media probes the people and the press on their reactions. Also: a new trend: media looking at media! Plus, do the watchdogs have any bite? And: are magazines turning into infomercials? That's this week on NPR's On the Media.
Starr Gazing
How is Ken Starr perceived by the public? Now that he's the focus of questioning, will his testimony affect the way some people perceive him? Reporter Amy Eddings talks with three people to find out what they thought before and after the Starr Testimony.
How does the press portray Ken Starr? Is there still a disconnect between the way the people and the press see him and the White House scandal? Is Starr "writing his own last chapter" as he testifies? With Boston Globe reporter Mark Jurkowitz.
Media on Media Madness
In the spring of 1997, when entrepreneur Steven Brill said he was starting a media watch magazine aimed at the general public, a lot of people scoffed at the idea. Sure, he'd get people in the media to read it. And probably a lot of academics, too. But was there really a larger market for media criticism? The answer came with the premier issue. Brill's Content sold out its first 225 thousand copies... went back to the presses... and printed 75 thousand more. Now, whether it can sustain that kind of broad market appeal is another question. But what's become clear is that criticizing the media is not just for insiders anymore.
Meghan Cox Gurdon reports.
Do the Media Watchdogs Have Any Bite?
Media critic Steven Brill and network correspondent David Marash on what critics say is wrong with the media and whether working journalists will heed the complaints.
Commentary
Brian Lehrer: Ted Turner as President? Why not?
Magazines as Infomercials
TIME magazine is publishing entire issues on one subject - with one adviertiser. Does this mark the ultimate collapse of the so-called "fire-wall" between ads and editorial views? Can the consumer trust any media anymore? With Jackie Leo, President of the American Association of Magazine Editors, and Bill Glotti, editor of Mediaweek.
Commentary
Commentator John Carroll takes a look at those Sunday morning corporate image ads.
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