On the Media
Sundays at 3pm
On The Media decodes what we hear, read, and see in the media every day, and arms us with critical tools necessary to survive the information age.
While maintaining the civility and fairness that are the hallmarks of public radio, On The Media tackles sticky issues with a frankness and transparency trusted by one million people a week. Winner of Edward R. Murrow Awards for feature reporting and investigative reporting, the National Press Club's Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism, and a Peabody Award.
Find a list of recent episodes of On the Media below. To learn more about the show, click here.
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Former RNC Chair Ronna McDaniel was hired and swiftly fired from NBC News following a newsroom revolt that drew attention to her participation in election denialism. But the hiring of former politicos in TV news is widely practiced. Take Diane Sawyer, George Stephanopoulos, and Jen Psaki — just to name a few. This week, Michael Socolow, a media historian at the University of Maine, talks to Micah Loewinger about the history of the revolving door; what should disqualify a political operative from working in journalism; and the contemporary hunger for partisan news. This is a segment from our March 29, 2024 show, Boeing Conspiracy Theories Take Flight. Plus, the Politics to TV News Pipeline.
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It took all of a few hours for conspiracy theories to take off about the tragic bridge collapse in Baltimore. These theories followed similar themes—ones we've seen play out in rightwing media circles around troubles at Boeing, the airplane manufacturer. Boeing is once again facing scrutiny following several high-profile manufacturing errors over the past few months, including a door that flew off an Alaska Airlines plane mid-flight in January. David Gilbert, a Wired reporter covering disinformation, traces the evolution of conspiracy theories about Boeing and why disasters are fertile ground for them to thrive. Micah speaks with Katya Schwenk, a reporter at The Lever, about what conspiracy theories obfuscate about the real quality control issues at Boeing that have been uncovered by reporters. This is a segment from our March 29, 2024 show, Boeing Conspiracy Theories Take Flight. Plus, the Politics to TV News Pipeline.