Episode #18 The JSchool's Response to Changes in the Industry

In Episode #18 JSchool director Tom Hodson talks with Reform Radio host Bob Stewart about the impact that changes in the journalism industry are having on Ohio University's JSchool. Stewart is Associate Director for Undergraduate Studies in the JSchool, as well as occasional host of Reform Radio.

Episode #17 Matt Sienkiewicz, Live from Bethlehem film

In Episode #17, Live from Bethlehem Producer/Director/Cinematographer Matt Sienkiewicz talks with Reform Radio host Kevin Zieber about the film.

From the Live from Bethlehem web site: "Matt Sienkiewicz is an Emmy-nominated screenwriter and documentarian, as well as a PhD candidate at the University of Wisconsin. His credits include the award winning comedy series Windy Acres and the acclaimed television documentary Festa. His academic research focuses on Western involvement in Middle Eastern broadcasting initiatives and ethnic representation in American media. He has articles forthcoming in The Journal of Film and Video and The Community Media Reader."

About the film:

"Live From Bethlehem chronicles the struggles, failures and triumphs of the Ma'an News Network, the only major independent news source in the Palestinian Territories. Following the lives of the station's reporters, producers and photographers, this documentary provides an in-depth, balanced look into the challenges of making news in one of the world's most combative regions. A highly observational film, Live From Bethlehem focuses more on people than politics while still engaging with questions of gender equality and freedom of expression in the evolving Palestinian mediascape."

Episode #16 Media Reform and The Guild

Episode 16 features Guild member and former Plain Dealer reporter/columnist Scott Stephens talking with host Kevin Zieber about The Guild's position on media reform.

Amy Goodman, co-host of Democracy Now! (replay of Episode #13)

This week we repeated Episode #13 (from April) with Amy Goodman of Democracy Now! to call attention to the fundraiser at Casa on Aug. 22, 2009. The April broadcast of Reform Radio featured an interview of Amy Goodman, executive producer and co-host of the groundbreaking independent news program, Democracy Now! (The second part of "The Gnat and the Elephant" will air in May.) Over the years, Goodman and Democracy Now! have won numerous journalism awards including the George Polk Award for Radio Reporting, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, and the Society of Professional Journalists' Best Investigative Reporting Award. On March 31 she, along with Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald, received the first Izzy Awards, named in honor of the legendary investigative reporter and publisher, I.F. Stone. During the interview Goodman addresses the importance of independent journalism, why she became a journalist, and her experiences in the struggle to speak truth to power.

Goodman came to Athens and Ohio University on her 72-city tour of the country promoting independent journalism and public radio, and to broadcast Democracy Now! live from the television studio studios of WOUB. She also was one of two keynote speakers at the the first Shuneman Symposium on Photojournalism and New Media held April 9 by the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Her speech brought hundreds to Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Click on the media player below to hear Athenians' reactions to Goodman's address and their support for independent journalism programs as Democracy Now!

Episode #15 Media and Democracy, part 2

The July broadcast of Reform Radio continues the conversation with Ohio University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Algis Mickunas on the importance of independent, critical, truth-telling media in our democratic republic, the first part of which was rebroadcast in June. Truth telling by today's journalism stars is rare, as they function more as official mouthpieces for the corporate and governmental elite. Last week, the journalism icon and standard-bearer news anchor, Walter Cronkite, died. Glenn Greenwald in a recent Salon.com column starkly pointed out the differences between today's journalists and those cut in the mold of Cronkite, I.F. Stone, and Edward R. Murrow. The failure of media and journalists, as part of a constitutionally protected "fourth estate" Mickunas discusses.

Media and Democracy (replay of Episode #10)

The June broadcast of Reform Radio is a rebroadcast of episode 10, featuring the first of a two-part conversation with Ohio University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Algis Mickunas. Mickunas is world renowned for his scholarship on contemporary European philosophy, Marxism, phenomenology and hermeneutics. In this segment Mickunas discusses the relationship of the media and a healthy, functioning American democracy. Mickunas says that democracy requires an active, involved citizenry that keeps an eye on not only its elected representatives but its media as well. "If we don't participate, democracy is gone. Democracy doesn't grow on trees, doesn't sit in some sort of a brain cell," says Mickunas. Mickunas explains how and why citizens must be involved with their governments in order to legitimate them and keep them focused on the people's business, and how media is intimately involved in the political process. He also outlines how media have neglected their roles as the constitutionally privileged, so-called "fourth estate." Be sure to tune in next month for the second part.

Episode #14 The Gnat and the Elephant

The May broadcast of Reform Radio airs the second of two interviews with an award-winning former business reporter for Gannett newspapers (White Plains, N.Y.), Demetrius Patterson. Patterson, who is also a graduate of the Midwest Workshop for Minority Journalists, which was sponsored by the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, delves into the details of his demise as a reporter after breaking what should have been, perhaps, the biggest story of his journalism career. He was featured on ABC's Nightline after reporting on racism throughout General Motors management which precipitated systemic failures in its minority dealership program. After heated accusations and lengthy legal battles, Patterson learned that some stories, as documented by Into the Buzzsaw and Project Censored, are too hot for corporate America and mainstream news media. The show will be rebroadcast Thursday, May 21, at 9 a.m. (EST) on WOUB 1340 AM (www.woub.org).

Episode #13: Amy Goodman, co-host of Democracy Now!

The April broadcast of Reform Radio features an interview of Amy Goodman, executive producer and co-host of the groundbreaking independent news program, Democracy Now! (The second part of "The Gnat and the Elephant" will air in May.) Over the years, Goodman and Democracy Now! have won numerous journalism awards including the George Polk Award for Radio Reporting, the Alfred I. duPont-Columbia Award for Excellence in Broadcast Journalism, and the Society of Professional Journalists' Best Investigative Reporting Award. On March 31 she, along with Salon.com blogger Glenn Greenwald, received the first Izzy Awards, named in honor of the legendary investigative reporter and publisher, I.F. Stone. During the interview Goodman addresses the importance of independent journalism, why she became a journalist, and her experiences in the struggle to speak truth to power.

Goodman came to Athens and Ohio University on her 72-city tour of the country promoting independent journalism and public radio, and to broadcast Democracy Now! live from the television studio studios of WOUB. She also was one of two keynote speakers at the the first Shuneman Symposium on Photojournalism and New Media held April 9 by the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. Her speech brought hundreds to Templeton-Blackburn Alumni Memorial Auditorium. Click on the media player below to hear Athenians' reactions to Goodman's address and their support for independent journalism programs as Democracy Now!

The show will be rebroadcast Thursday, April 23, at 9 a.m. (EST) on WOUB 1340 AM (www.woub.org).

Posted by Kevin Sanders 04/19/09 at 10 AM.

Episode #12: The Gnat and the Elephant

The March broadcast of Reform Radio airs the first of two interviews with an award-winning former business reporter for Gannett newspapers (White Plains, N.Y.), Demetrius Patterson. Patterson, who is also a graduate of the Midwest Workshop for Minority Journalists, which was sponsored by the E.W. Scripps School of Journalism in the late 1980s and early 1990s, delves into the details of his demise as a reporter after breaking what should have been, perhaps, the biggest story of his journalism career. He was featured on ABC's Nightline after reporting on racism throughout General Motors management which precipitated systemic failures in its minority dealership program. After heated accusations and lengthy legal battles, Patterson learned that some stories, as documented by Into the Buzzsaw and Project Censored, are too hot for corporate America and mainstream news media. The show will be rebroadcast Thursday, March 19, at 9 a.m. (EST) on WOUB 1340 AM (www.woub.org).

Episode #11: Film as Alternative Media

The February broadcast of Reform Radio, "Film as Alternative Media," discusses the use of film to introduce a variety of ideas, information and perspectives into the pubic arena. Featuring in this segment are Ruth Bradley, director of the Athens International Film and Video Festival; Jack Wright, Ohio University film professor; and Jeff Wray, Michigan State University professor and Ohio University film school graduate. Film has long served as a means of shaping and/or enlarging public thinking and dialogue for a variety of reasons -- from "Birth of a Nation" to "Fahrenheit 911" -- in ways traditional news media have been behind the curve or shied from. The show will be rebroadcast Thursday, Feb. 19, at 9 a.m. (EST) on WOUB 1340 AM (www.woub.org).

Episode #10: Media and Democracy

The January broadcast of Reform Radio features one of three conversations with Ohio University Professor Emeritus of Philosophy Algis Mickunas. Mickunas is world renowned for his scholarship on contemporary European philosophy, Marxism, phenomenology and hermeneutics. In this segment Mickunas discusses the relationship of the media and a healthy, functioning American democracy. Mickunas says that democracy requires an active, involved citizenry that keeps an eye on not only its elected representatives but its media as well. "If we don't participate, democracy is gone. Democracy doesn't grow on trees, doesn't sit in some sort of a brain cell," says Mickunas. Mickunas explains how and why citizens must be involved with their governments in order to legitimate them and keep them focused on the people's business and how media is intimately involved in the political process. He also outlines how media have neglected their roles as the constitutionally privileged, so-called "fourth estate."

Episode #9: Karen Zolka

The December broadcast of Reform Radio features an interview with Karen Zolka, a graduating E.W. Scripps of Journalism senior. Zolka, who earned an foreign correspondent internship with the Associated Press, goes to Israel in January 2009. Her interest in the news and journalism, she says, began as a child in elementary school and continued through her high school education, during which she studied television journalism and had several internships. Zolka also was the president of the Society of Professional Journalists at Scripps for two years. She talks about her journalism education and her vision of how journalism should serve the public.

CounterPost (replay of Episode #7)

The November broadcast of Reform Radio is a rebroadcast of Episode #7, "CounterPost," (see below) featuring retired E.W. Scripps School of Journalism professor Thomas Hodges and Velma Lopez and Brittany Benton of the Latino Student Union. This episode of Reform Radio was originally broadcast Sept. 21, 2008.

Episode #8: mephisto radio (Leipzig University)

The October broadcast of Reform Radio features guests from mephisto radio, a student radio station at Leipzig University (Germany). Christoph Peters and Miriam Behrendt were part of a group of faculty and students who traveled to the United States in September to cover the 2008 election, as well as to visit student media operations and take part in classes at Ohio University. Peters and Behrendt also discuss the changes that have taken place in Germany since the Berlin Wall came down in 1989.

Episode 8 podcast

Episode #7: CounterPost

The September broadcast of Reform Radio features a lively conversation about a controversial column, “Broad Stripes and Bright Stars: America’s party being crashed since the first settlers left England,” published in Ohio University’s student newspaper, The Post, in 2007. The column, by Chris Yonker, generated vigorous, critical protests and responses from OU’s Latino Student Union, students and faculty, as well as defenses of Yonker’s column. To its credit, a considerable number of these were published in The Post. Reform Radio invited persons from both sides of the controversy to join in on a conversation about the column. Although Reform Radio invited Yonker, Post editors, and members of The Post’s editorial board, all declined. Joining the show were Velma Lopez and Brittany Benton of the Latino Student Union and retired E.W. Scripps School of Journalism professor Thomas Hodges.

The Post’s editorial position on the column can be read here.

Episode 7 podcast

Episode #6: Education and Democracy

The August broadcast of Reform Radio, featured Ohio University Emeritus Professor of Philosophy Algis Mickunas, who discussed the importance of education, which he considers the "fifth estate," to democracy. Mickunas has written several books and articles about democracy, tracing its roots back to Athens, Greece. A truly educated populace, say democratic theorists as Mickunas, is crucial for the maintenance of an effectively functioning democracy. In addition, throughout the show, several questions are posed from a quiz on freedom of speech. You can download the brief quiz and answers.

Episode 6 podcast

Episode #5: John Felton

The July broadcast of Reform Radio featured John Felton, a 1975 OU graduate and freelance writer and editor. Felton has practiced journalism for almost 40 years, beginning in 1970 covering Dayton city hall for the Journal Herald, reporting on foreign affairs for the Congressional Quarterly in Washington, D.C., through the 1980s, and was a foreign desk editor and assignment editor for National Public Radio in the early 1990s. He also published a 730-page history of the Middle East in 2007. Since 2003 he has conducted quarterly reviews of its news coverage for NPR.

Reform Radio talked with Felton about his journalism career, particularly his roots in Ohio and his evaluations of NPR’s coverage of sensitive news and issues, such as the invasion and occupation of Iraq, the failure of American journalism in the lead-up to the Iraq war, and the Pentagon's military analyst program.

Episode 5 podcast

Episode #4: National Conference for Media Reform 2008

The June episode of Reform Radio features a conversation with graduating Ohio University senior Alex Thompson and Athens Messenger reporter Elizabeth Goussetis about their experiences at the National Conference for Media Reform 2008, which was held in Minneapolis, June 6 to 8. Thompson majored in video production and Goussetis is a 2006 graduate of OU’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism. NCMR2008, which featured more than 200 presenters and attracted almost 4,500 attendees over the weekend, focused on the media reform movement, envisioning the future of our media system, harnessing new technology for change, and achieving concrete policy victories through sustainable organizing. Among the presenters and speakers were Amy Goodman of Democracy Now!, Arianna Huffington of the Huffington Post, Bill Moyers, U.S. Sen. Byron Dorgan, Dan Rather, Phil Donahue, Federal Communication Commission Commissioners Michael Coop and Jonathan Adelstein, and Robert McChesney of the Free Press, which organizes the conference. There are highlights from the conference on the Athens Free Press website. The episode first aired Sunday, June 15, at 12:30 p.m. and will air again Thursday, June 19, at 9 a.m., on 1340 AM WOUB in Athens. Episodes are simulcast on the WOUB Web site, woub.org. This program will be available as a podcast shortly. Thanks for supporting Reform Radio, your voice for alternative media in Southeastern Ohio.

Episode 4 podcast, National Conference for Media Reform 2008

Episode #3: Marshall Thompson

The third episode of Reform Radio features an interview with Marshall Thompson, an Iraq War veteran and Army journalist. This former Army reservist and E.W. Scripps graduate student undertook a 27-day walk through Utah, his home state, shown in his award-winning documentary, “A Soldier’s Peace.” Thompson was in Athens for the “We Want Better Media Conference 2008,” sponsored by Campus Progress and Athens Free Press, during which his movie was shown. In the 30-minute interview, second-year Ohio University journalism student Amy Nordrum and Reform Radio executive producer Kevin Sanders talk with Thompson about his experiences in the military, Iraq, and making the film. The episode first aired Sunday, May 18, at 12:30 p.m. and aired again Thursday, May 22, at 9 a.m., on 1340 AM WOUB in Athens. Episodes are simulcast on the WOUB Web site, woub.org. Thanks for supporting Reform Radio, your voice for alternative media in Southeastern Ohio.

Episode 3 podcast, Marshall Thompson

Episode #2: Media Reform Conference

Hello all, Athens Free Press will be hosting another episode of Reform Radio as part of Conversations from Studio B on WOUB 1340 AM in Athens. This month we will be talking to three students from Ohio University's Scripps School of Journalism who are planning a media reform conference for Athens in May. These students are putting a lot of dedicated and hard work into this process, and I'll be talking to them about what may be in store for the conference. The episode will air originally on Sunday, April 20 at 12:30 p.m. on 1340 AM WOUB in Athens, and then again on Thursday the 24th at 9 a.m. The episode should also be simulcast on the WOUB website, woub.org. So, take a listen, and as always, see you on the radio!

Episode 2 podcast