Media

From sinking ships to pedophile priests, stories uncovered by investigative reporters have served as catalysts for change. Steve Weinberg, a former executive director of Investigative Reporters & Editors, reviews two new books, Robert Frump's Until the Sea Shall Free Them and William and Judith Serrin's Muckraking!

"An NBC-owned talk show is offering marketers the chance to buy guest spots for their products and executives, further blurring the line between programming and advertising. The sponsored segments were included in about two dozen shows appearing during the 2001-02 season of the entertainment program "The Other Half," which is owned, produced and distributed by the NBC Enterprises division of NBC, part of General Electric. ...

U.S. network newscasts, which collectively commanded 84 percent of the viewing audience in 1981, now attract only 43 percent of the pie, observes the New York Times.

CBS news anchor Dan Rather said in an interview with British television that "patriotism run amok" was keeping American journalists from ask tough questions about the "war on terrorism." Rather even admitted that he himself had participated in self-censorship following September 11. "You know there was a time in South Africa that people would put flaming tires around people's necks if they dissented. And in some ways the fear is that you will be necklaced here, you will have a flaming tire of lack of patriotism put around your neck," he said.