Rex Smith

There was a time, back when I was in my 20s, when what seemed to matter most to the American voters who lived around me was the apparent shortage of lids for canning jars. I was working for a Midwestern congressman then, and just about all people talked about across our rural district when they encountered their representative in Congress was – yep! – the canning lid shortage.

(Airs 02/09/24 @ 3 p.m. & 02/11/24 @ 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 and Vice President for Editorial Development for the New York Press Association, Barbara Lombardo, former Editor of the Saratogian and Adjunct Professor at the University, and WAMC News Director Ian Pickus. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara, and Ian talk about a new program at the State University of New York designed to put student journalists to work in news deserts, police coverage, Tucker Carlson’s interview with Vladimir Putin, and much more.

Not long ago, along a country road in the Mohawk Valley, I saw what struck me as an odd sight: an Amish fellow driving a tractor. You know, the Amish are known for horse-and-buggy transportation, because of rules in their culture limiting technology that the elders fear could introduce what they consider foreign ideas. So, as I understand it, Amish people can’t drive a car, but they can hire somebody to drive them; and while many Amish communities permit technology powered by 12-volt batteries, none allow 120-volt electricity. So, no, I don’t get the tractor thing.

(Airs 02/02/24 @ 3 p.m. & 02/04/24 @ 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 and Vice President for Editorial Development for the New York Press Association, Barbara Lombardo, former Editor of the Saratogian and Adjunct Professor at the University, and Daily Freeman Publisher Emeritus Ira Fusfeld. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara, and Ira talk about a terrible first month of 2024 for newspapers, how the decline of local news impacts local communities, a journalism ethical dilemma, and much more.

They say there are no atheists in foxholes, but you sure don’t find them on the campaign trail, either. One of the striking data points in Donald Trump’s march toward a third straight Republican presidential nomination this year is how firmly evangelical Christians have lined up behind him. Of course, the Christian right has been almost entirely Republican for years now – 80 percent of white evangelicals voted Republican in 2020. But some of Trump’s opponents in the party thought that this year, they might be able to peel the church folks away from him. After all, the guy is – just my opinion here, folks – a mean-spirited, philandering, lying, cheating authoritarian who advocates policies that slam the door on refugees and immigrants, that perpetuate racism, and that further the wealth inequity here and abroad.

(Airs 01/19/24 @ 3 p.m. & 01/21/24 @ 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 and Vice President for Editorial Development for the New York Press Association, Barbara Lombardo, former Editor of the Saratogian and Adjunct Professor at the University, and WAMC News Director Ian Pickus. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara, and Ian talk about the decline of Sports Illustrated, the hypocrisy of Sean Hannity, and much more.

About four in 10 Americans believe in ghosts, and half of those people say they’ve seen one. I’m not in their camp, but I’ve sometimes found myself wishing to bump into some of those who have left this side of the veil.

(Airs 01/19/24 @ 3 p.m. & 01/21/24 @ 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 and Vice President for Editorial Development for the New York Press Association, Barbara Lombardo, former Editor of the Saratogian and Adjunct Professor at the University, and Daily Freeman Publisher Emeritus Ira Fusfeld. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Judy, Barbara, and Ira talk about whether the media has overplayed coverage of the Iowa caucuses, a listener letter on whether a journalist needs to be experts, and much more.

In the men’s locker room at the rather posh club just up the street from our state capitol, you’ll find everything that a well-groomed male politician — or anybody who wants to look like one — might need after a workout and a shower: anti-perspirant and hair gel, packages of single-use toothbrushes pre-treated with minty toothpaste, a rack of disposable razors and, notably, a big canister of 8-inch combs soaking in aqua-blue disinfectant. But one day a while back, there were no combs to be found, which I casually mentioned to a longtime lobbyist who was shaving at the next sink.

(Airs 01/12/24 @ 3 p.m. & 01/14/24 @ 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, former Editor of the Saratogian and Adjunct Professor at the University, and WAMC News Director Ian Pickus. On this week’s Media Project, Rex, Barbara, and Ian talk about the New York Public News Network, the media’s obsession with inflation, what journalists should do when politicians say misleading things, and much more.