In less than 10 minutes each Tuesday, TriStatesRadio (WIUM-FM 91.3 and WIUW-FM 89.5) airs “Shoptalk,” an informal, roundtable discussion of media issues hosted by the station's News Director, Rich Egger (pictured above, left) and featuring print journalist Bill Knight and broadcaster Mike Murray.
This summer, topics have included a possible change to Illinois' Open Records law criticized by advocates of open government; the role media played in the days after a devastating tornado tore through Joplin, Mo.; how the news media view education; an FCC report suggesting news outlets could make money from on-line ad tracking; the use of aggregation by web sites such as the Huffington Post; and the phone hacking scandal involving the Rupert Murdoch-owned media.
Also, TriStatesRadio’s Southeast Iowa correspondent Jason Parrott (above, right)hosted two July episodes featuring Keokuk reporters Megan Spees and Cindy Iutzi from the Daily Gates City newspaper, in which the trio discussed an FCC report noting a shortage of in-depth, local journalism and also how the media handled the Casey Anthony trial and the accusations of sexual assault against Dominique Strauss-Kahn, who resigned as head of the International Monetary Fund.
The station archives podcasts of past shows at http://www.publicbroadcasting.net/wium/news.newsmain?action=section&SECTION_ID=1366
