Writers and commentators debate the dichotomies on the left and right in the press and television news.Eric Alterman is the author of the national best seller What Liberal Media? The Truth About Bias and the News. He is the media columnist for The Nation, the "Altercation" Weblogger for MSNBC.com, and a senior fellow at the Center for American Progress. In 2004, he will publish The Book on Bush: How George W. (Mis)Leads America, as well as When Presidents Lie: Deception and Its Consequences.
Tucker Carlson regularly ignites and defuses lively debate as co-host of CNN's ever-charged Crossfire. Mr. Carlson also serves as a political analyst for CNN. He is a longtime newspaper and magazine writer, having covered politics, campaigns, crime, and restaurants for dozens of publications.
Al Franken is an actor, Emmy Award-winning writer and producer, political satirist, best-selling author, and screenwriter. Perhaps best known for his work on Saturday Night Live, Mr. Franken was part of its original writing team and an actor on the show. His newest book, Lies and the Lying Liars Who Tell Them: A Fair and Balanced Look at the Right, became one of the most talked about books of 2003.
Patricia Cohen, Arts & Ideas Editor at The New York Times, was hired in 1997 to create and launch Arts & Ideas, the culture section that appears each Saturday in The New York Times. She now edits and regularly writes for the section.
This TimesTalk event was recorded on January 11, 2004.
