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| Other names | OTM |
|---|---|
| Genre | News (media analysis) |
| Running time | c. 50 minutes |
| Country of origin | United States |
| Language | English |
| Home station | WNYC |
| Syndicates | 300 public radio stations viaWNYC Studios |
| Hosted by | Brooke GladstoneMicah Loewinger |
| Produced by |
|
| Executive producer | Katya Rogers |
| Edited by | Brooke Gladstone |
| Recording studio | New York City |
| Original release | 1993 – present |
| Audio format | Stereophonic |
| Opening theme | Ben Allison, composer |
| Website | www.onthemedia.org |
| Podcast | Podcast |
On the Media (OTM) is a public radio show and podcast fromWNYC Studios that primarily covers the media. Since relaunching in 2001 withBrooke Gladstone as host, the show has received at least 10 awards, including twoPeabody Awards.
OTM explores how the news and other media influence the public's world view. Many stories center on events of the previous week and critique how they were covered in the news. These segments often consist of interviews with reporters about the challenges they face in covering controversial issues, as well as media scholars and analysts.[citation needed]
OTM has covered topics such as the use ofvideo news releases,net neutrality, digitalbroadcast flags,media consolidation,censorship,freedom of the press,disinformation, the influence of24-hourcable news television coverage,media bias, and how technology is changing the media.[citation needed]
The show addresses questions about how themedia are influenced orspun by politicians,[1] corporations and interest groups with the intent to shape public opinion. This includes anOTM feature that covers the media's use of terminology that may engender biased points of view, such as the use of hot-button issues and code words such as "Michael Moore," "torture," "evangelical" and "islamofascist".[2]
In the wake of the election ofDonald Trump to the U.S. presidency,OTM shifted its editorial focus somewhat to give more time to reporting under-covered stories.[3] Since then, OTM has produced a 2016 series on poverty, a 2019 series on eviction,[4] a 2022–25 series on right-wing talk radio,shortwave broadcasting in the United States andStuart Epperson,[5] as well as a 2018 investigative series, in partnership withThe Guardian, on what the media get wrong in coverage of white supremacists.[6]
OTM's ongoing "Breaking News Consumer's Handbook" series[7] advises the public on how to tell good reporting from bad during the early hours and days of coverage of "a big, tragic story", such as coverage of hurricanes.[8]
On the Media first aired February 7, 1993, on WNYC as a local call-in show, initially hosted byBrian Lehrer, then Warren Levinson, and later byAlex S. Jones. During its early episodes it was calledInside Media, but the title was changed to avoid confusion with a same-named trade publication.[9] In 1997, the show went national in a magazine-style format, hosted by Brian Lehrer. During this period,On the Media was under-resourced, Lehrer had commitments stemming from his own daily show, andOn the Media did not have an editor.[10]
In late 2000, Gladstone was brought in by WNYC's director of programming to rethink and relaunch the show.[11] The newly formattedOTM debuted in January 2001, co-hosted by Gladstone andBob Garfield.[12] In May 2021, WNYC dismissed Garfield over alleged repeated violations of WNYC's anti-bullying policy.[13][14] Gladstone continued as the show's sole host. In July 2024, longtimeOTM producer Micah Loewinger was named Gladstone's co-host.[15]
Since 2005, the program has also been available as apodcast.[16]
The show was distributed byNPR until 2015, when WNYC began self-distributing the show.[17]
OTM also publishes a weekly newsletter featuring news on current and past projects, as well as relevant links from around the web.[citation needed]
As of late 2022, the show reaches about 1.2 weekly million listeners across the United States.[4]
As of March 2024, the show's website cited more than 300 public radio stations broadcasting the show.[18]
A 2023 Peabody award was given toOn the Media for its series "The Divided Dial", which charted the growth of and influence of the broadcasting companySalem Media Group and its impact on far-right politics.[19]
A 2004Peabody Award for excellence went toOn the Media with the judges writing, "On the Media reminds us that the messenger is always part of the message and must be examined as such".[20][21]
In 2017, producer Meara Sharma was awarded aGracie Award for her production of the episode "Kidnapped", a special hour on how people around the world get news from Syria.[22]
In 2003, the show won theEdward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting.[23]
In 2014[24] and again in 2015,[25]On the Media won Best Single Story—Radio, Television, Cable or Online Broadcast Media at theMirror Awards.
In 2016,On the Media was awarded theSilver Gavel Award by the American Bar Association for its episode "Bench Press".[26]
In 2012[27] and again in 2013,[28]On the Media won the Bart Richards Award for Media Criticism.
The show was the 2003 winner of theNational Press Club's Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism.[29][non-primary source needed]
Gladstone's work earned the attention of New York's flagship public radio station, WNYC, which wanted her to relaunch a failing show called On the Media, which had promise but was under-resourced and lacked an editor.
NPR's On the Media: Commercials That Masquerade as News. Case in Point: The World Business Review