I've been out of town, and out of the blogosphere. Upon my return, I got this interesting update (thanks Mary Eileen) about Bill Moyer's upcoming show:

From: "Public Affairs" Date: Thu Apr 3, 2003 4:23:59 PM America/Chicago To: undisclosed-recipients:; Subject: This week on NOW with Bill Moyers Reply-To: "Public Affairs Television "@webmail.thirteen.org NOW with Bill Moyers Friday, April 4, 2003 at 9pm on PBS (Check local listings at http://www.pbs.org/now/sched.html) ============================================================= This week on NOW: * Will truth in journalism be another casualty of war? Bill Moyers interviews Greg Mitchell about the media's coverage of the war. * NOW looks at big media and the future of free press in BIG MEDIA. * Bill Moyers interviews writer Susan Sontag, one of America's most celebrated public intellectuals, on image vs. reality and her new book REGARDING THE PAIN OF OTHERS. ============================================================= GREG MITCHELL The war you see may depend upon which channel you're watching. In his 30 year writing career, Greg Mitchell has edited several national magazines and written eight nonfiction books for major publishers. Currently, he serves as editor of EDITOR & PUBLISHER, weekly magazine covering the newspaper industry in North America. Bill Moyers talks to Mitchell about how the war in Iraq is being covered by the media. ============================================================= BIG MEDIA As the FCC considers further deregulating corporate media ownership rules this spring, big media may get even bigger. NOW goes inside the debate over relaxing restrictions that could result in multi-billion dollar media conglomerates gaining more control over the nation's radio and television airwaves. Opponents of media consolidation fear that giving these giants a free pass to let the marketplace rule could severely affect the ability of journalists to be independent. If deregulation does take place, can democracy survive without the diversity of ideas presented by a truly free press? ============================================================= SUSAN SONTAG Bill Moyers interviews writer Susan Sontag, about the gap between the images and the realities of war. The author of several novels, including the National Book Award-winning IN AMERICA, and many works of non-fiction including AGAINST INTERPRETATION, ON PHOTOGRAPHY AND ILLNESS AS METAPHOR, her books are translated into 32 languages. Susan Sontag's new book, REGARDING THE PAIN OF OTHERS, could not have come at a more opportune moment. In it, Sontag explores how we can have compassion for others we do not know, the power of images, of photographs and memory, and the persistence of war. ============================================================= NOW WITH BILL MOYERS continues online at PBS.org (www.pbs.org/now). Log on to the site to view a timeline of media regulation; read a primer on the media ownership rules under debate; see timeline of Susan Sontag's writings; find more about assessing media coverage of the war in Iraq; and more