The Media Project
Fridays, 3-3:30 p.m.; Sundays, 6-6:30 p.m.
The "Media Project" is an inside look at media coverage of current events, featuring veterans of Capital District news coverage, including former Times Union Editor Rex Smith, Daily Freeman Publisher Emeritus Ira Fusfeld, former Daily Gazette editor Judy Patrick, and the former editor of The Saratogian, Barbara Lombardo, as well as Ian Pickus and David Guistina of Northeast Public Radio. The panel explores how the news media covers the issues of the day, challenges facing the industry, and whether journalists are meeting the ethical standards we expect. It's a half-hour of lively conversation that you won't want to miss if you care about how the news media is performing its essential task in our democracy.
Twitter: @_mediaproject
Email: media@wamc.org
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(Airs 06/06/25 @ 3 p.m. & 06/08/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Vice President of the New York Press Association and former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, and Mitra Kalita, veteran journalist, media executive, commentator, author and CEO of url-media.com. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara and Mitra talk about how media has changed over the years, and a deeper look at Mitra’s career and current venture.
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(Airs 05/30/25 @ 3 p.m. & 06/01/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, and WAMC News Director Ian Pickus. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara and Ian talk about the pressure on student reporters, the commencement speech by 60 Minutes anchor Scott Pelley, and much more.
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(Airs 05/23/25 @ 3 p.m. & 05/25/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, and Daily Gazette Editor Miles Reed. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara and Miles talk about whether the media is to blame for not uncovering President Biden’s cognitive decline, when A-I gets in wrong, and much more.
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(Airs 05/16/25 @ 3 p.m. & 05/18/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, and Daily Gazette Editor Miles Reed, and. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara and Miles talk about the importance of local media and sticking with a story, who decides what news is, whether reporters failed in their coverage of former President Biden’s cognitive abilities, and much more.
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(Airs 05/09/25 & 05/11/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Daily Gazette Editor Miles Reed, and Daily Freeman Publisher Emeritus Ira Fusfeld. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Miles and Ira talk about whether reporters should correct the President more aggressively when he makes false statements, whether niche journalism has a future, and much more.
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(Airs 05/02/25 & 05/04/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Daily Gazette Editor Miles Reed, and David Guistina, Media Project Producer, Morning Edition Anchor, and Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Miles and David talk about President Trump’s first 100 days in office and his policies impacting free speech and the media, and much more.
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(Airs 04/25/25 & 04/27/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, and WAMC News Director Ian Pickus. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara and Ian talk about WAMC taking a stand on behalf of open meetings, why the top producer at 60 Minutes says he can’t do the job anymore, and much more.
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(Airs 04/18/25 & 04/20/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, Daily Gazette Editor Miles Reed, and former Times Union Associate Editor Mike Spain. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Barbara, Miles and Mike talk about a listener letter about coverage of the Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez rallies, President Trump’s latest attacks on the news media, and much more.
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(Airs 04/11/25 & 04/13/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, Daily Freeman Publisher Emeritus Ira Fusfeld and Daily Gazette Editor Miles Reed. On this week’s Media Project, Judy, Barbara, Ira and Miles talk about coverage of the President’s tariff announcement, how local media covered the hands-off protests, and much more.
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(Airs 04/04/25 & 04/06/25 @ 6 p.m.) The Media Project is an inside look at media coverage of current events with former Times Union Editor, current Upstate American, Substack columnist Rex Smith, Judy Patrick, former Editor of the Daily Gazette, Barbara Lombardo, Adjunct Professor at the University at Albany and former Editor of the Saratogian, and Daily Gazette Editor Miles Reed. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara, and Miles talk about a survey that shows people are tuning back into the news, the difficulty of covering the Doge cuts, a poll that shows Americans, by a 2-1 margin, want to fund public broadcasting, and much more.