Guest Host Jon Beaupré opens the phones to talk about U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder's decision to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate CIA operatives. Also, he checks in with Molly Peterson about water pumps in New Orleans. Then, News Corp. has proposed that major newspapers form a consortium to charge for digital content. Could this model work? And, a look at the popularity of online gaming.
CIA interrogators in the harsh spotlight
U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder has appointed a special prosecutor to investigate CIA operatives who allegedly choked detainees and threatened them with gunshots and power drills. Agents and contractors who used harsh interrogation techniques approved under the Bush administration could now face criminal prosecution. Are we seeing accountability, at last? A blow to counterterrorism? Or, mere scapegoating? Jon Beaupré opens the phones to listeners.
Guest:
Siobhan Gorman, Intelligence Correspondent for the Wall Street Journal
New Orleans Pumps Under Pressure
Failed levees and water pumps were just some factors behind the devastation left by Hurricane Katrina. Yet, nearly four years later, many of those water pumps would not work in another major storm. Guest host Jon Beaupre talks to KPCC's environmental reporter Molly Peterson about the condition of New Orleans as the city approaches the anniversary of Hurricane Katrina.
Guest:
Molly Peterson, KPCC’s Environment reporter
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Rupert Murdoch says Google and news aggregators are stealing content and newspapers shouldn’t take it anymore. He’s now calling on major news publishers to create a consortium and charge for digital content. Is this the call to arms that newspapers need in order to survive? Or a losing battle against free Internet content? Guest host Jon Beaupre explores the winding road to making content profitable again.
Guests:
David Carr, Columnist, New York Times
Ken Doctor, News industry analyst for Outsell, a research and consultancy organization for the information industry
Gordon Crovitz, Co-founder, Journalism Online, former publisher of the Wall Street Journal
WoW: The phenom of online gaming
Despite the recession, subscription massive multi-player online games (MMOG’s) are booming. According to one estimate, membership of virtual worlds grew by 39% in the second quarter of 2009 to approximately 579 million. While newspapers and websites like Facebook and Twitter search for ways to make money, games such as World of Warcraft, Entropia Universe, Club Penguin and Second Life are turning nice profits. Who are the players lurking behind the avatars? What can gaming teach us about normal life? Guest host Jon Beaupre peers into the virtual world and asks listeners about the games people play.
Dmitri Williams, assistant professor at the USC Annenberg School for Communication, where he is a part of the Annenberg Program on Virtual Communities