On the Media

Format

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.

OTM has covered topics such as the use of video news releases, net neutrality, digital broadcast flags, media consolidation, censorship, freedom of the press, disinformation, the influence of 24-hour cable news television coverage, media bias, and how technology is changing the media.

The show addresses questions about how the media are influenced or spun by politicians, corporations and interest groups with the intent to shape public opinion. This includes an OTM 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".

In the wake of the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, OTM shifted its editorial focus somewhat to give more time to reporting under-covered stories. Since then, OTM has produced a 2016 series on poverty, a 2019 series on eviction, a 2022–25 series on right-wing talk radio, shortwave broadcasting in the United States and Stuart Epperson, as well as a 2018 investigative series, in partnership with The Guardian, on what the media get wrong in coverage of white supremacists.

OTM's ongoing "Breaking News Consumer's Handbook" series 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.

History

On the Media first aired February 7, 1993, on WNYC as a local call-in show, initially hosted by Brian Lehrer, then Warren Levinson, and later by Alex S. Jones. During its early episodes it was called Inside Media, but the title was changed to avoid confusion with a same-named trade publication. 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, and On the Media did not have an editor.

In late 2000, Gladstone was brought in by WNYC's director of programming to rethink and relaunch the show. The newly formatted OTM debuted in January 2001, co-hosted by Gladstone and Bob Garfield. In May 2021, WNYC dismissed Garfield over alleged repeated violations of WNYC's anti-bullying policy. Gladstone continued as the show's sole host. In July 2024, longtime OTM producer Micah Loewinger was named Gladstone's co-host.

Since 2005, the program has also been available as a podcast.

The show was distributed by NPR until 2015, when WNYC began self-distributing the show.

OTM also publishes a weekly newsletter featuring news on current and past projects, as well as relevant links from around the web.

As of late 2022, the show reaches about 1.2 weekly million listeners across the United States.

As of March 2024, the show's website cited more than 300 public radio stations broadcasting the show.

Awards

Peabody Awards

A 2023 Peabody award was given to On the Media for its series "The Divided Dial", which charted the growth of and influence of the broadcasting company Salem Media Group and its impact on far-right politics.

A 2004 Peabody Award for excellence went to On 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".

Gracie Award

In 2017, producer Meara Sharma was awarded a Gracie Award for her production of the episode "Kidnapped", a special hour on how people around the world get news from Syria.

Edward R. Murrow award

In 2003, the show won the Edward R. Murrow Award for investigative reporting.

Mirror awards

In 2014 and again in 2015, On the Media won Best Single Story—Radio, Television, Cable or Online Broadcast Media at the Mirror Awards.

Other awards

In 2016, On the Media was awarded the Silver Gavel Award by the American Bar Association for its episode "Bench Press".

In 2012 and again in 2013, On the Media won the Bart Richards Award for Media Criticism.

The show was the 2003 winner of the National Press Club's Arthur Rowse Award for Press Criticism.

References

References

1. Institute, The Poynter. (2016-11-07). "Here's (some of) the best political journalism of 2016".
2. "Word Watch". On the Media.
3. Mullin, Benjamin. (2016-11-10). "On the Media's editorial meeting is a portrait of newsrooms after Election Day".
4. Newman, Judith. (2022-11-22). "On This Night, She Was the (Other) Story". The New York Times.
5. (May 28, 2025). "On the Media: The Divided Dial".
6. Edmonds, Rick. (2018-03-19). "Morning Mediawire: After drastic cuts at The Denver Post, what is Digital First's end game?".
7. "The Breaking News Consumer's Handbook".
8. Funke, Daniel. (2018-09-12). "9 tips to avoid spreading misinformation about hurricanes".
9. (September 21, 2018). "On the Media's Big Bang". New York Public Radio Archives & Preservation.
10. Wakefield, Jeffrey. (3 November 2017). "Brooke Gladstone '78".
11. Gladstone, Brooke. [http://transom.org/?p=7004 "Brooke Gladstone"], ''The Transom Review'' vol. 4, issue #1 (March 1, 2004). Sydney Lewis (ed.)
12. Phillips. (2006). "Public Radio: Behind the Voices". CDS Books.
13. [https://www.nytimes.com/2021/05/17/business/media/bob-garfield-on-the-media.html "WNYC Fires Bob Garfield, Co-Host of ‘On the Media,’"] from ''[[The New York Times]]'', 5/17/2021
14. (2021-05-17). "'On The Media' Co-Host Bob Garfield Fired Over Bullying Complaints". Gothamist.
15. Robey, Denise. (2024-07-24). "WNYC's On the Media Names Micah Loewinger Co-Host, Alongside Veteran Host Brooke Gladstone".
16. Friess, Steve. (April 5, 2006). "Podcasting Roils NPR Fund Raising". [[Wired News]].
17. Falk, Tyler. (2015-05-29). "WNYC to self-distribute Radiolab, On the Media".
18. [http://www.onthemedia.org/about/ "About ''On the Media''"]. ''On the Media'' website. Accessed March 12, 2024.
19. "The Divided Dial".
20. (April 9, 2005). "NPR Wins Peabody Award for Iraq Reporting".
21. "On the Media".
22. (21 March 2017). "2017 Gracie Winners". [[Alliance for Women in Media]].
23. "2003 NATIONAL EDWARD R. MURROW AWARD WINNERS". Radio Television Digital News Association.
24. (4 June 2014). "Winners Announced in Newhouse School's 2014 Mirror Awards Competition".
25. (12 June 2015). "2015 Mirror Awards Winners Announced".
26. "2016 Winners". [[American Bar Association]].
27. [https://web.archive.org/web/20120825182801/http://live.psu.edu/story/58880#rssCommunications Bart Richards Award honors 'On the Media'] [[Penn State University]] news. Accessed April 6, 2012.
28. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130509010144/http://news.psu.edu/story/271473/2013/04/02/arts-and-entertainment/media-repeats-bart-richards-award-winner 'On the Media' repeats as Bart Richards Award winner]. April 2, 2013. Penn State News.
29. [https://web.archive.org/web/20090522152428/http://www.wnyc.org/about/media_awards.html "WNYC AWARDS REPORT, 2004—2005"], WNYC website. Accessed Sept. 26, 2010.