She responded that when she started promoting this book it was hard at first to be the interviewee, instead of the interviewer, but she soon grew used to it.
As far as whether she shares that diagnosis she pointed me to a section of the book where she writes this: "Well, I can't really process things unless I'm reporting them, you know what I mean? "Like when the Twin Towers fell - my station was nearby we had to evacuate. And my show was suspended for a week... so I couldn't report it. Couldn't explain it to other people. So I couldn't explain it to myself. My head almost exploded. But when my mother died... I recorded it... and that was a relief."
I always, when I do interviews, invite others to suggest questions. One friend and colleague asked this question: "A lot of people think shows like NPR's On The Media, like CNN's Reliable Sources, are far too easy on the media, failing to ask tough questions or examine the real impact on the public policy debates of the media's choice of what to cover. Do you think On The Media takes an adequately critical look at today's media environment?"
"Certainly that is our intention," she replied. Some will tell her and the show that it's doing a great job, while others will say it's not. Obviously, though, it is never their goal to make excuses for the news media.
I thought it'd be appropriate to end the interview- since this will be published on the internet - by talking about the Internet. I liked the perspective Brooke provided, that just as some say the Internet is making us dumber, so did some say that about the television (Neil Postman et al), and radio before that and books before that. How would she summarise the impact of the Internet on us.
She responded that the technology today is causing unprecedented situations. For example, 80 percent of the world can now talk to each other - at least in theory - through Facebook. We have world news and less important information coming at us faster and so we have to be more adept at how we process and deal with all this data.
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