Summary: The Bush administration marketed and sold the war in Iraq to the American people. How and why did the press buy it, and what does that say about the role of journalists in helping the public sort out fact from propaganda? In this program, veteran journalist Bill Moyers, award-winning producer Kathleen Hughes, and their investigative team piece together the reporting and political spin that...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: The outbreak of World War II saw two motion picture experts from Germany and the United States battle each other with as much ferocity as any army or navy. Their respective missions: to ignite a public desire to wage and win a global conflict. This Bill Moyers program contains an interview with Fritz Hippler, chief filmmaker for the Nazi Party. Hippler unrepentantly claims to have spoken to the...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: Likened to "a strange religion. with millions of invisible believers," Radio Free Europe gave listeners in Eastern Bloc countries a much-needed alternative to government media. This program examines the impact of RFE broadcasts on Nicolae Ceausescu's Romania and the lengths to which Romanian authorities went to suppress U.S.-backed radio. Viewers learn how the 1977 Vrancea Earthquake enabled...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
View online at AVOD
Summary: Compiled by author, teacher, and curriculum advisor Ben Walsh, this program features 11 extracts on the Cuban missile crisis from various film archive sources. Clip selections and Walsh's commentary are organized around the following three topics: the build-up to the crisis, the actions and decisions of President John F. Kennedy in confronting the threat, and the outcome of the conflict in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
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Summary: As this Bill Moyers program makes clear, television became another member of the family in the 1960s, both reflecting and influencing the era. The times were chaotic and TV whirled us into that chaos while also holding up a mirror to it: the assassination and funeral of John F. Kennedy, the Vietnam War, the Apollo moon landing, the saga of the Civil Rights movement and Martin Luther King, Jr....
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2010
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Summary: In this classic program, First Lady Jacqueline Kennedy, just 32 years old, gives a guided tour of the newly redecorated White House. Jointly produced and broadcast by NBC and CBS, this program aired on Valentine's Day, 1962. One of the most popular newscasts in all of television history! President John F. Kennedy makes a brief appearance.
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2008
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Summary: No other totalitarian regime is as closely associated with an artistic movement as Nazi Germany. From the towering architecture of Albert Speer to the grandiose films of Leni Riefenstahl, art fed into and shaped Nazi ideals, reflecting back a world where Aryan strength triumphs over all enemies. Through art on a monumental scale, Hitler created a world-and a worldview-as enticing as it was...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2007
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Summary: With its images of violence, war, and radically foreign cultures, the stark realities presented by the new medium of television made an impression on those who studied the mind and behavior, causing them to reexamine the very essence of what it means to be human. This program features archival footage of the 20th century's most influential social scientists as they strive to define human...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2011
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Summary: Some stories are simply too good to be true. In this program, John Kampfner, political editor for the New Statesman (London), skewers heroic reports of the ambush, capture, and rescue of Private Jessica Lynch, calling them misrepresentations designed to bolster wavering support for the Iraq War. Kampfner also scrutinizes the controversial practice of embedding members of the news media in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2005
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Summary: In 2005, a handful of Danish cartoons sparked a worldwide debate over freedom of expression-and the freedom to express religious outrage. Was a violent Islamic backlash against caricatures of the prophet Mohammed justified? Can democracy and fundamentalism coexist in the global community? This program travels to Lebanon, Iran, Syria, Qatar, and Turkey, as well as to France and Denmark, in...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009
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Summary: This Wide Angle documentary goes behind the scenes at al-Jazeera's broadcast headquarters in Qatar during its nonstop coverage of the 2003 invasion of Iraq. The program highlights the Arab-language network's differences from its Western counterparts, yet also illustrates striking similarities between al-Jazeera's media sensibilities and those familiar to most Americans. The flow of world events...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: Twenty-five years after the Islamic Revolution, Iran is struggling for political reform. Some of the most visible signs of struggle can be found in the nation's media. This Wide Angle documentary goes behind the scenes at Shargh, one of Iran's new pro-reform newspapers, illustrating its efforts to report the news without incurring the "blade of censorship"-an ever-present threat from Iranian...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2006
View online at AVOD
Summary: There's a fine art to selling earlobe lifts, inflatable massage boots, and mini-staircases for arthritic dogs. This ABC News program enters the strange world of A. J. Kubani and his New Jersey-based company, Telebrands-a purveyor of quirky household products showcased in late-night TV infomercials. In a one-on-one interview, Kubani discusses his main strategy: identifying a mundane, irksome...
Format: software, multimedia
Publisher / Publication Date: Films Media Group 2009