Minding the Media

KCRW's media critic Nick Madigan takes a weekly look at how reporters for newspapers, television and other media are doing their jobs. He explores their methods, evaluates their results and questions their thinking. With his own strong background as a reporter, Nick understands how journalism works, and when it doesn't, he's not afraid to say so.
RECENT SHOWS
Swooning over Obama
Looking at today's primary in New Hampshire, it's easy to see the extent to which Barack Obama has supplanted Hillary Clinton as the Democrats' front-runner, at least if …
more >>
Mea Culpas
We all make mistakes once in a while. But for journalists, whose job often involves pointing out the errors of others, getting something wrong can be fatal to a career... …
more >>
Showcase of Dreams
In the top tier of glossy magazines, none covers celebrity, politics,
culture and scandal with quite the panache of Vanity Fair. Its pages offer a slick, impenetrable …
more >>
Rewriting History
If journalism is the first draft of history, we've got our work cut out for us. So many politicians are spinning their own fantastical versions of certain events that it's …
more >>
Dishonest Debate
So Karl Rove, after deciding things were a little too toxic in Bush's
White House, was out looking for a job. He knocked on the door at Time
magazine, offering his …
more >>
Bedfellows Unite
Did you hear the one about an executive at Fox News Channel telling a
New York publisher to lie about her affair with a former cop because it
might damage Rudy …
more >>
Gender Dynamics
Hillary Clinton can't catch a break. At least if you listen to her husband...
more >>
An Echo Chamber, Silenced
The writers' strike is playing havoc with fake news...
more >>
Smoke and Mirrors
I received a very unusual phone call yesterday. It was a Bush administration official, apologizing. With what seemed like genuine contrition, R. David Paulison, …
more >>
Sorrow in the Fire
One of the most traumatic things you can do as a reporter is cover a wildfire, not only because of the danger but because you're documenting the devastation that nature …
more >>
Pain and Potential
Before I get to how the media reacted to Al Gore's Nobel Prize, I want to mention the death of yet another journalist in Iraq...
more >>
Take Name, Wag Finger
I could start a regular feature called something like "Media Misdeeds and Mistakes," and I’d never lack for examples...
more >>
Ignorance and Buffoonery
I don't usually pay attention to Bill O'Reilly and Rush Limbaugh, mostly because they deal in ideologically-driven opinions and don't fall under the standard definition of …
more >>
The New Order
What will the journalism of the future look like? Will it continue to obsess over absurd, half-in-the-bag teenybopper celebrities, and insist on making up silly headlines to …
more >>
Program Details
Host
Reporter for The Baltimore Sun, KCRW's media critic Nick Madigan covers the latest scandal, intrigue or issue consuming the print and broadcast media.
Tapes & Transcripts
Click the Full Details link to view the complete transcript. Tapes are not available.
