2004
DECEMBER
December 16, 2004
Talking Libel
Terence Smith talks with a reporter and a media expert about a Massachusetts' judge defamation and libel lawsuit against the Boston Herald.

December 15, 2004
Street Sense
Terence Smith reports on the growing number of newspapers published and sold by homeless people.

December 8, 2004
Reporters' Privilege
Terence Smith speaks with Victoria Toensing, a former deputy assistant attorney general in the Reagan administration, and Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment attorney representing journalists Matthew Cooper and Judith Miller, about the reporters' legal battle to keep their sources confidential in the investigation into the leak of a CIA operative's name.

NOVEMBER
November 1, 2004
Calling the Race
Terence Smith leads a discussion with Linda Mason, vice president of CBS News, Bill Wheatley, vice president of NBC News, and Mike Silverman, vice president and managing editor of the Associated Press, about how the media plan to cover the election.

OCTOBER
October 28, 2004
Ad Watch
Terence Smith leads a discussion with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and Evan Tracey, president of the Campaign Media Analysis Group, about the political advertising war on television.

October 13, 2004
Embattled Beat
Reporters are risking their lives covering stories in conflicted Iraq. Terence Smith talks with Brian Rooney of ABC News, Rajiv Chandrasekaran of The Washington Post and Brian Bennett of Time magazine about the dangers and challenges of reporting from Iraq.

October 12, 2004
News or Views?
Democratic senators are campaigning for a federal probe into Sinclair Broadcast Group's decision to air an anti-Kerry documentary two weeks before the election. Mark Hyman, vice president of the Sinclair Broadcasting Group, Inc., and Howard Wolfson, senior adviser to the Democratic National Committee, join Terence Smith to discuss Sinclair's decision.

October 1, 2004
Forum: Political Advertising
Since the end of the Democratic and Republican national conventions, both the Kerry and Bush campaigns have launched ads aimed at reaching voters in swing states and the remaining undecided voters. How does each campaign know what ad message will appeal to certain voters -- and whether or not these ads succeed in reaching the targeted groups? An expert answers your questions about campaign advertising.

SEPTEMBER
September 22, 2004
Television Indecency
Is over-the-air programming too offensive? Terence Smith discusses the move against indecent broadcasts with Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., chairman of the Telecommunications Subcommittee of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Jonathan Rintels, executive director of the Center for Creative Voices in Media, a nonprofit organization dedicated to freedom of expression.

September 22, 2004
Ad War
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., and President Bush are waging the most expensive advertising war in presidential campaign history. Media correspondent Terence Smith discusses the campaign advertising strategies with Kathleen Hall Jamieson, Director of the Annenberg Public Policy Center at the University of Pennsylvania, and Ken Goldstein, associate professor of political science and director of the Advertising Project at the University of Wisconsin.

September 20, 2004
Eye of the Storm
CBS News announced that it could no longer vouch for the authenticity of the memos that called into question President Bush's service in the Texas Air National Guard. Margaret Warner explores the ramifications of this admission with Bob Zelnick, chairman of the Department of Journalism at Boston University, and Tim Rutten, media critic for The Los Angeles Times.

September 16, 2004
Eye of the Storm
Several document experts have raised questions about the authenticity of memos CBS News anchor Dan Rather cited in a 60 Minutes II report last week about President Bush's Vietnam-era service in the Texas Air National Guard. Terence Smith asks Ken Auletta, media columnist for the New Yorker, and Susan Tifft, a professor of journalism and public policy at Duke University, about the investigation into the documents' authenticity, the network's handling of the controversy and potential fallout for CBS News.

September 15, 2004
Fact Check
As Election Day approaches, President Bush and Democratic presidential nominee Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., criticize each other's spending records and proposals in their almost daily campaign appearances. Terence Smith evaluates the accuracy of some of these campaign claims with Brooks Jackson, director of the nonpartisan nonprofit research Web site FactCheck.org.

AUGUST
August 18, 2004
Hindsight
Washington Post media reporter Howard Kurtz wrote an article last week critical of his paper's coverage of prewar Bush administration claims about alleged weapons of mass destruction in Iraq. Terence Smith speaks with Leonard Downie Jr., executive editor of The Washington Post, and Michael Massing, a press critic and contributor to The New York Review of Books, about the media's coverage of prewar intelligence and why news organizations are beginning to publicly question their own reporting.

August 11, 2004
Protecting Sources
A federal judge held Time magazine reporter Matthew Cooper in contempt of court on Monday for refusing to testify before a grand jury investigating whether White House sources illegally revealed the identity of clandestine CIA officer Valerie Plame to certain journalists. Terence Smith discusses the merits of a prosecutor's right to subpoena reporters in criminal grand jury investigations and a journalist's privilege to protect the identities of confidential sources with former U.S. attorney Joseph diGenova and First Amendment lawyer Floyd Abrams, counsel for Cooper and Time magazine.

August 3, 2004
News Divisions
A recent Pew Center poll of Americans' news habits shows the stark electoral split in the country has filtered into the habits of news consumers. Terence Smith looks at the polls' numbers and how news consumers choices differ and why they choose certain news sources over others.

JULY
July 19, 2004
Campaign Adwatch
Viewers living in the so-called swing states of the presidential election have been inundated with more than 100 campaign ads since March -- much more than in other parts of the United States, according to a new study. Terence Smith speaks with Ken Goldstein, director of the University of Wisconsin Advertising Project and political science professor at the University of Wisconsin, about the data and the Kerry and Bush campaigns' media strategies.

July 15, 2004
Public Perceptions
How does the public shape its opinions of the presidential candidates, and what are the dominant images of the candidates at this point in the campaign? Terence Smith discusses the answers a new study provides to these questions with Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism, which conducted the study.

July 8, 2004
Leak Investigation
First Amendment attorneys went to court to ask a judge to quash the subpoenas served to journalists who allegedly received a leak from White House officials about the identity of a clandestine CIA agent married to outspoken Bush administration critic Joseph Wilson. Ray Suarez discusses Thursday's developments in the case with New York Times national legal correspondent Adam Liptak.

JUNE
June 25, 2004
Reel Politics
The Michael Moore film "Fahrenheit 9/11" opened to heated debate about its tactics and tone. Critics discuss the feverish reception to the politically charged film.

June 23, 2004
A Traveler's Guide
Jim Carrier, an award-winning journalist and author, discusses his book, "A Traveler's Guide to the Civil Rights Movement," with Terence Smith.

June 22, 2004
Air Wars
Ostensibly independent advocacy groups, known as 527s, have raised over $183 million so far this election cycle, most of which they will spend on television commercials endorsing one of the major-party presidential campaigns. Media correspondent Terence Smith examines the accuracy of these ads in a conversation with FactCheck.org Director Brooks Jackson.

June 10, 2004
Frozen in Time
The Bettmann Archive, a renowned collection of historical photographs and graphic images, celebrated the centennial of its founder, Otto Bettmann, with the dedication of the largest commercial film-preservation facility in the world. Terence Smith visits the Bettmann Archive and explores the process of preserving delicate historic images.

June 2, 2004
Air Wars
Television viewers in swing states have been under assault in recent weeks from the fierce air wars of presidential campaign commercials. Terence Smith examines the accuracy of some major Bush and Kerry campaign ads with Brooks Jackson, director of FactCheck.org.

MAY
May 26, 2004
Not Fit to Print
The New York Times published a critique of its own reporting on Iraq's alleged weapons of mass destruction, and the editorial board admitted its coverage was flawed and relied too heavily on suspect intelligence sources. Ray Suarez discusses the Times' self-assessment with Susan Moeller, a journalism professor at the University of Maryland, and Tom Rosenstiel, director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism.

May 25, 2004
Producer's Perspective
Don Hewitt, the founder and executive producer of 60 Minutes, is stepping down after 36 years of leading the popular newsmagazine. Terence Smith takes stock of the news business -- then and now -- with Hewitt.

May 21, 2004
New Details
The Washington Post printed new photos of alleged abuse at the Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad and posted a video of the incidents on its Web site. Terence Smith discusses the decision to publish the pictures with the Post's Executive Editor Leonard Downie.

May 14, 2004
Neglected News
The United Nations recently released a list of the top ten news stories that are rarely reported. Terence Smith reviews the list with Shashi Tharoor, the U.N. undersecretary general for communications and public information.

APRIL
April 30, 2004
Casualties of War
On a special edition of Nightline, Ted Koppel will read the names of all of the U.S. troops who have died in Iraq, but viewers of seven ABC stations owned by Sinclair Broadcasting will not able to see it. Terence Smith explores Sinclair's decision not to air the broadcast, which its executives say is politically motivated.

April 23, 2004
Images of War
Terence Smith leads a discussion about the controversy over showing the coffin pictures of the Iraq war's fallen soldiers with Bryan Whitman, deputy assistant secretary of defense for media operations, and Dana Milbank, a White House correspondent for The Washington Post.

April 22, 2004
Battlefields and Bylines
Covering the ongoing conflict in Iraq is proving to be a dangerous and deadly assignment for journalists. Terence Smith discusses the conditions for reporting in Iraq with John Burns, chief foreign correspondent of The New York Times, and Eason Jordan, executive vice president and chief news executive for CNN.

April 21, 2004
Breach of Trust
USA Today editor Karen Jurgensen retired under pressure Tuesday amid a fabrication and plagiarism scandal at the nation's largest newspaper. Terence Smith discusses the scandal and its fallout with USA Today Washington bureau chief Susan Page and Geneva Overholser, a professor of journalism at the University of Missouri and former Washington Post ombudsman.

April 15, 2004
A New Voice
The newest Arab-language television news channel is broadcast to 22 Middle Eastern countries from studios just a few miles outside the Washington beltway. Terence Smith looks at Al Hurra -- Washington's latest media outreach to Arab nations aimed at boosting the region's opinion of the United States.

April 15, 2004
Editors' Views
Margaret Warner gets perspectives on the Bush administration's responses to security concerns in Iraq and the broader post-9/11 world from editorial page editors Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Robert Kittle of the San Diego Union-Tribune, Bruce Dold of the Chicago Tribune and Frank Burgos of the Philadelphia Daily News.

April 2, 2004
Hidden Truth
The Toledo Blade published a Pulitzer-nominated series last October about the atrocities the U.S. Army unit Tiger Force committed in 1967, but as quickly as the revelations came out, they quietly disappeared. Terence Smith looks at the Toledo Blade's determination to uncover the 36-year-old story and why the mainstream media largely overlooked the Tiger Force series.

MARCH
March 29, 2004
Fallout From Richard Clarke
The editorial pages of American newspapers weighed in over the weekend on the allegations leveled by former White House counterterrorism chief Richard Clarke against his former bosses in the Bush administration. Terence Smith gets perspectives on the allegations from four editorial-page editors: Bruce Dold of the Chicago Tribune, Robert Kittle of the San Diego Union Tribune, Cynthia Tucker of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Frank Burgos of the Philadelphia Daily News.

March 22, 2004
Breach of Trust
USA Today reported Friday that its former foreign correspondent Jack Kelley likely fabricated substantial portions of at least eight stories. Terence Smith discusses the recent spate of scandals at major national newspapers and its effect on the public's perception of the media with Bill Kovach, director of the Committee of Concerned Journalists, and Geneva Overholser, professor of journalism at the University of Missouri and former ombudsman of The Washington Post.

March 9, 2004
Tom's Journal
Terence Smith talks with New York Times columnist Tom Friedman about his latest trip to Bangalore, India, where he examined the politics of outsourcing American jobs overseas.

March 3, 2004
Troubled Kingdom
The Walt Disney Co. faces an internal revolt led by Roy Disney, a former board member and the nephew of its founder, at a key shareholders' meeting in Philadelphia. Terence Smith takes a look behind the scenes of Disney's boardroom battle in a conversation with media analyst Tom Wolzien.

March 2, 2004
Growing Grass Roots
While the national media have largely concentrated on the Democratic presidential candidates, the well-funded Bush-Cheney camp has been quietly working for months on building support through a 21st century version of a grassroots communications network. Terence Smith provides a report.

FEBRUARY
February 20, 2004
Cyber Ads
Millions of computer users have been targeted by a stinging set of cyber attacks, not from a virus or worm, but from the campaigns of President Bush and Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass. Terence Smith discusses the impact of Web-based political advertising with Jonah Seiger, an Internet communications strategist and visiting fellow at George Washington University, and Ken Goldstein, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin.

February 12, 2004
Media Battle
Cable giant Comcast may face opposition from stockholders and federal regulators in its bid to buy Disney. Tom Bearden reports on the proposed media merger, and Jim Lehrer follows up in a conversation with industry analysts Andrew Schwartzman of the Media Access Project and Adam Thierer of the Cato Institute.

February 11, 2004
Indecency on Air
FCC Chairman Michael Powell asked Congress to increase by tenfold the fine for broadcasters who violate indecency laws. Tom Bearden reports on the debate over whether monetary fines are enough to police the airwaves.

February 6, 2004
Point, Click, Vote
Democratic voters in Michigan will participate in the largest and most ambitious Internet voting experiment in the United States to date. Of the tens of thousands who will vote in the Democratic caucuses on Saturday, roughly one-third will cast their ballots over the Internet. Terence Smith looks at the debate over Michigan's online voting.

February 4, 2004
Conversation: The Rose Man of Sing Sing
Historian and author James McGrath Morris chronicles the life and times of early 20th century newspaper editor Charles Chapin, a founding father of the 24-hour news cycle, in his new book, "The Rose Man of Sing Sing." Terence Smith speaks with Morris about Chapin's successes and failures, and his influence on early and modern journalism.

February 3, 2004
Going Wholesale
With seven states voting on the same date, many Democratic presidential candidates chose to take to the airwaves to try to broaden their reach. Terence Smith examines some of the candidates' television commercials.

JANUARY
January 28, 2004
The Hutton Report
British judge Brian Hutton issued his long-awaited report on the death of David Kelly, an expert on Iraqi weapons. Terence Smith examines the impact of the Hutton report on the British Broadcasting Corporation and Prime Minister Tony Blair.<

January 16, 2004
Candid Coverage
The broadcast networks are trying new approaches to minimize costs and maximize exposure in their coverage of Campaign 2004. Terence Smith traveled to Iowa to see what journalists are doing differently this year and how it is affecting the ways in which the candidates campaign.

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