Beat the Press

After months of anticipation, the James 'Whitey' Bulger trial is finally underway, and the media is covering it with a vengeance. In some ways that’s a good thing, but in other ways… the jury is still out.

(From the June 14, 2013 show)

More and more media outlets are partnering with all kinds of bedfellows to boost an image, get larger distribution, or to make a few more bucks - WGBH included - but one such partnership between WCVB Channel 5 and NStar struck some viewers as particularly strange.

(From the June 14, 2013 show)

Budget woes, bureau closures, and layoffs are headlines long associated with the commercial network news divisions. Now though, that's happening at PBS NewsHour, and it's prompting some to rethink public television's signature newscast.

(From the June 14, 2013 show)

Our panel's rants and raves of the week for June 14, 2013.

The criminal trial of James Whitey Bulger is destined to be the media event of the summer, but some of the journalists who've covered Bulger for years might have missed out. That's because Bulger named Shelly Murphy and Kevin Cullen of the Boston Globe and Boston Herald columnist Howie Carr to his witness list, which could have prevented them from covering the trial. Shelley Murphy says that for Bulger, it's personal.

(From the June 7, 2013 show)

Door knocking is one of the less savory aspects of TV news. That's when a reporter reaches out to someone touched by tragedy asking for comment. While many people are anxious to talk, others are not, and an incident in Providence this week shows what can happen when sensitivity is lacking.

(From the June 7, 2013 show)

Extreme journalists, scientists, or thrill seekers? The death of three veteran storm chasers has the media questioning whether it's encouraging reckless behavior in pursuit of dramatic video.

(From the June 7, 2013 show)

Our panel's media rants and raves for June 7, 2013.

Sometimes a dog with a bone is a good thing, a case in point being the Boston Herald's persistent coverage of welfare abuse and EBT card fraud. This week, the state auditor released a report validating the Herald's reporting.

(From the May 31, 2013 show)

Tensions between the Obama Administration and the press reached a boiling point this month after two high-profile investigations targeting journalists. This week, Attorney General Eric Holder tried to extend an olive branch, offering to meet with news organization off-the-record, and leaving them divided on whether to accept.

(From the May 31, 2013 show)

The sudden announcement this week that a major newspaper had cut its entire photo staff to focus on video sent shockwaves through journalism circles. It's also a vivid illustration of how quickly the newspaper business is changing.

(From the May 31, 2013 show)

Our Beat the Press panel's media rants and raves of the week.

(From the May 31, 2013 show)

When Lt. Governor Tim Murray announced this week that he was leaving that post early to become head of the Worcester Chamber of Commerce, the press leapt to all kinds of speculative conclusions as to why. For some, it was just the latest example of how the Boston press is cool to politicians from central and western Massachusetts. Watch the segment... and tell us what you think. Did Murray get a fair shake from the press?

(From the May 24th, 2013 show)

There are political disputes, controversies, and kerfluffles, but nothing quite captures the attention of the Washington press corps like a full-throated scandal. So what's the threshold, and who decides when it's really a scandal?

(From the May 24th, 2013 show)

Another day, another controversy pitting the Obama Administration against the press. This time, the government is going after Fox News's James Rosen, and casting a very wide net.

(From the May 24th, 2013 show)

Our Beat the Press panel's media rants and raves for the week of May 24th, 2013.

Call it the world of wishful thinking. The media is salivating at the prospect of a televised Whitey Bulger trial. They'll lobby the courts. They'll seek a waiver from the federal government. They'll take it to the Supreme Court, but the reality is... it's NOT going to happen.

(From the May 17, 2013 show)

With its aggressive prosecution of whistle-blowers and leaks, the Obama Administration's relationship with the media has been tense for some time. But now, following revelations that the Justice Department secretly obtained Associated Press phone records, friction between the president and the press may be at an all-time high.

(From the May 17, 2013 show)

Another snooping scandal escalated this week, this one perpetrated by reporters at Bloomberg News who secretly accessed the accounts of Bloomberg's business clients. Bloomberg says it has put an end to it, but serious questions about what took place are just beginning.

(From the May 17, 2013 show)

Our Beat the Press panel's media rants and raves for the week of May 17, 2013.

After the attacks on the US Consulate in Benghazi, Libya, last September, which killed four Americans including Ambassador Chris Stevens, Fox News consistently framed the story as a cover-up, while most other outlets framed it as a political dispute. Those fault lines were resurrected in coverage of this week's congressional hearings.

(From the 5/10/2013 show)

One of the most horrifying kidnapping cases in years broke earlier this week in Cleveland, Ohio, where a man is charged with holding three women captive for a decade. But out of that horror, some in the media found humor in would-be rescuer Charles Ramsey.

(From the 5/10/2013 show)

This week, Bostonians' hearts warmed to the tale of a scrappy kid from Brookline who used Twitter to get into the college of his choice. But while the story got a lot of traction, it was also based on a false premise.

(From the 5/10/2013 show)

Our panel's media rants and raves for the May 5th, 2013 show.

Gays and lesbians can now get married in ten states, they can serve openly in the military and in Congress, and even the Boy Scouts are slowly coming around. So when NBA player Jason Collins came out this week, the media wrestled with how to place it in context.

(From the May 3, 2013 show)

Media critics aren't exactly movie stars, so their names and faces aren't household names. The one possible exception is Howie Kurtz, who rose to prominence at The Washington Post and CNN before taking a job with The Daily Beast. But now, the media critic himself is at the heart of the criticism.

(From the May 3, 2013 show)

Nearly three weeks after the Boston marathon bombings, the national media is still covering the story aggressively, camping out in Copley Square. That's reasonable as long as the story is still developing. But at some point, the national press may find that it's overstayed its welcome.

(From the May 3, 2013 show)

Our panel's media rants and raves for the week of Friday, May 3, 2013.

Beat the Press received a New England Emmy nomination for its December 14, 2012 show. Recorded on the evening of the Newtown shootings, our panel discussed the news coverage from that day and how the media deals with national tragedies.

News organizations have been covering the marathon bombings virtually around the clock for the past two weeks. A lot of that coverage has been outstanding, but as with any breaking news story there's often a combination of the good, some bad, and a little ugly.

(From the 4/26/13)