Bill Moyers talks to media critic John Leonard. Leonard gives viewers an inside look at how media consolidation and the quest for profits has made it difficult for journalists to find venues for independent views.

Leonard also talks about a book he recently edited called THESE UNITED STATES: ORIGINAL ESSAYS BY LEADING AMERICAN WRITERS ON THE STATE OF THEIR STATE WITHIN THE UNION. Essayists Sherman Alexie (Washington), Molly Ivins (Texas), Terry Tempest Williams (Utah), and many others contributed to this "eclectic selection of essays ranging from songs to sermons, polemics to personal history, cityscapes, landscapes and dreamscapes, which taken together form a unique, powerful, and inspiring portrait of contemporary America."

		John Leonard reviews books for THE NATION and HARPER’S, mixed media for CBS NEWS SUNDAY MORNING, and television for NEW YORK MAGAZINE. He has been the editor of the NEW YORK TIMES BOOK REVIEW and literary co-editor of THE NATION. His books include LONESOME RANGERS, WHEN THE KISSING HAD TO STOP, and THE LAST INNOCENT WHITE MAN IN AMERICA. John Leonard's New York Metro archive Articles in THE NATION by John Leonard Read the John Leonard essay mentioned in his interview with Bill Moyers: "How a Caged Bird Learns to Sing" Watch Bill Moyers' interview with John Leonard. (18:50)
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