News & Media

The British journalist reports on Washington politics for The Nation, Spectator, and Harper's. He's frustrated by the tendency of news outlets to avoid reporting facts about political figures that may seem partisan or outwardly critical. A collection of his columns, titled Prepared for the Worst, has just been published.

Television critic David Bianculli reviews the new show TV 101, about a student who covers his high school's news on closed-circuit television. Bianculli says the premise and cast are excellent; he only hopes that the show can eventually live up to its potential.

Newman worked in newspapers, radio and television. He joins Fresh Air to talk about the importance of language in journalism, the voice he adopted to report on tragedies and assassinations, and how he filled airtime when the copy ran out. A new collection of his columns is called I Must Say.

25 years after John F. Kennedy was assassinated, several networks are rebroadcasting the original news coverage of that event, or airing new specials. TV critic David Bianculli shares his thoughts on a few of these upcoming programs.

Kevin Boyle's group Article 19, name after the United Nations provision protecting free speech, fights against censorship around the world, both in democracies and dictatorships.

Critic-at-large Laurie Stone says that, while movies tend to be male-dominated, television has had the power to give more substantial roles to women. She reviews three new sitcoms about women at home and in the workplace.

James Fenton is a poet who traveled to Southeast Asia without any clear goal in mind. He started writing first-person journalism for a number of newspapers and magazines. Fenton covered the fall of Saigon and the end of the Marcos regime in the Philippines.

Television journalist Marlene Sanders was a pioneer in advancing the role of women in the newsroom. In the 1970s, she covered the feminist movement; she says no male journalists were able to get the story right. She has a new book about women, co-authored by Marcia Rock.

New Yorker writer William Finnegan followed back journalists in South Africa who worked for a liberal, opposition newspapers. Finnegan is white, and his presence often put the people he traveled with in danger. His book about the reporters is called Dateline Soweto.

Writer William Shawcross's new book profiles the Shah Mohammed Reza Pahlavi, who was overthrown during the Iranian revolution. Despite his despotic rule -- including the brutal deployment of the SAVAK secret police -- the Shah advanced some reforms in education and women's rights. He was an ally to the United States; who provided the Iranian state with money for weapons.

Journalist Neil Sheehan covered the Vietnam War, and published the leaked Pentagon Papers. His new book is about Lt. Col. John Paul Vann, who served in the war and grew frustrated with Army and political leadership. Vann was an invaluable source to the press during that time.

Television critic David Bianculli reflects on the importance of the long-running news magazine, which celebrates two decades on the air. He says the show masterfully balances political and pop culture coverage, and embraces a compelling, more freewheeling style of reporting.

Korder's play, about a television journalist, is being adapted into a TV movie for HBO. He talks about his frustration with the static nature of television writing, and what it takes to craft great dialogue.

Anna Quindlen writes the syndicated column "Life in the 30's," which originates in The New York Times. Her work focuses on the ordinary, everyday aspects of day-to-day life. Her columns are collected in a new book called Living Out Loud. She joins Fresh Air to talk about her career, motherhood, and her controversial column about amniocentesis.

Doyle McManus co-authored a book with John Mayer about the second term of President Reagan. Many on Reagan's staff believed he was unmotivated, uninformed and unfit for office, even suggesting that the 25th Amendment be invoked. McManus says that Reagan's lack of leadership resulted in ineffective policymaking and scandals like Iran-Contra.

Herb Alpert co-founded the label with Jerry Moss. In addition to his work as a record producer, he's an accomplished trumpet player, recording both with the Tijuana Brass Band and as a solo artist. Alpert's new album is called "Under a Spanish Moon."

Rather than features songs from the 1970s in the recent Patty Hearst biopic, the filmmakers recruited composer Scott Johnson to write the soundtrack. His dense score combines synthesizers with heavy percussion, but retains the accessibility of pop music.

Mark Hoffman produced false documents designed to undermine the faith traditions of the Mormon Church. The church bought these papers in order to suppress them. This scheme eventually led to Hoffman murdering some of his collaborators and injuring himself in a bombing. Journalist Robert Lindsey tells the story in his new book, A Gathering of Saints.

TV critic David Bianculli says USA Today: The Television Show is glitzy and stupid and, unlike the newspaper, doesn't give viewers the chance to skip past what they don't like.

Investigative journalist Mark Hertsgaard examines the relationship between the press and the Reagan administration in his new book, On Bended Knee. Hertsgaard says that Reagan's press team was masterful at manipulating the news media by limiting access to the president, choreographing photo opportunities and television appearances, and disseminating controlled, daily messages to reporters.