- Social:
University of Maryland
Professor of Broadcast Journalism at the University of Maryland; former long-time investigative reporter and author of Poisoning the Press: Richard Nixon, Jack Anderson and the Rise of Washington's Scandal Culture
PROFILE
Mark Feldstein
Guest
FROM Mark Feldstein
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Is there a point to presidential press conferences? President Obama gave his final press conference of the year. How useful are presidential press conferences in truly informing the public?
To the Point
Bradley Manning, Whistle-blower or Traitor? Army private Bradley Manning is now facing court-martial at Ft. Meade, Maryland on charges of aiding the enemy and espionage, among others. In a recent pre-trial hearing, Manning admitted he's the source of the 700,000 military and government documents uploaded to the Wikileaks website three years ago. The documents caused a sensation, and sparked dozens of stories in the press about the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and US secret diplomatic activity around the world. Manning's admissions could get him twenty years. The government's charges of aiding the enemy and espionage could get him life without parole. Is he a traitor, as his detractors say or a whistle-blower hero, as his supporters call him? Is the mainstream press even covering his case?
Recommended
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Previewing James Comey's blockbuster testimony Former FBI director James Comey testifies Thursday in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee, but his opening statement has been released. In it, he says he felt pressured by Donald Trump to declare loyalty to him and publicly clear him of any wrongdoing in the Russia investigation.
Design and Architecture
Securing Public Spaces, Super Wealthy Asians Vehicles are increasingly being used as weapons, as seen in the London Bridge attack over the weekend and in New York’s Times Square last month. The Compton-based company Calpipe is designing security bollards to help make public spaces safer. And novelist Kevin Kwan satirizes the “crazy rich” Asian jet set and their luxurious tastes in his latest book, “Rich People Problems.”
Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Accusations of lying fly between James Comey and White House During his testimony Thursday, former FBI Director James Comey accused President Trump and other White House officials of lying when they said the FBI was in disarray and its staff had lost confidence in him. President Trump’s lawyer said Comey was wrong -- that the president never asked for his loyalty, and never asked him to back off the investigation into former NSA director Michael Flynn.
Bookworm
George Saunders: Lincoln in the Bardo (Part I) Lincoln in the Bardo dramatizes a grieving President Lincoln as he visits the grave of his beloved son Willie, who died at age eleven. In the novel, the buried dead believe they're not dead -- "they're sick and refer to their coffins as "sick boxes."