Episode Detail: Flashpoints USA - Flashpoints USA
The second edition of Bryant Gumbel and Gwen Ifilll's quarterly public-affairs series focuses on the media. Segments include an interview with Tom Brokaw on the state of the media; and reports on such subjects as the Jayson Blair scandal at The New York Times; media consolidation (including an interview with FCC chairman Michael Powell); whether journalists should have political agendas (including a profile of Bill O'Reilly); and the phenomenon of “pack journalism” (the case studied is the 2002 coal-mine flood in western Pennsylvania). Also: a roundtable discussion of media issues. Panelists include J. Max Robins (TV GUIDE), Ed Bark (Dallas Morning News) and Brooke Gladstone (National Public Radio).
