Letters


October 18, 2002



BROOKE GLADSTONE: And now for some of your letters. Listener Debbie Polhemus writes to compliment us for our questioning of Al Jazeera managing editor Ibrahim Halal on the cable channel's political sympathies. She continues, however: "I was left dissatisfied with your questions about Al Jazeera's evenhandedness regarding coverage of civilian casualties. What does evenhanded mean in today's wars? OTM has reported that the Pentagon won't count civilian dead; that aid organizations can't be trusted; that reporters are kept far from the battlefield. What is the neutral yardstick against which Al Jazeera should be measured?"

BOB GARFIELD:The Reverend Richard T. Kunzman of Pine City, New York wrote to upbraid us for including a guest's term "nuthouse" for St. Elizabeth's Psychiatric Hospital in Washington. "When educated and sophisticated people make such remarks, how will we ever get beyond the stigma of mental disease?"

BROOKE GLADSTONE:Finally Robin Edgerton of New York City writes to expand on our story about Marvel Comicbook superhero The Thing's Jewish heritage. Rival DC Comics also had a Jewish superhero --Colossal Boy -- a.k.a. Gim Allon.

BOB GARFIELD: Please send your letters to onthemedia@wnyc.org and don't forget to tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name. [MUSIC]

BROOKE GLADSTONE: Coming up, stories that transfix us. Today an anonymous sniper; 15 years ago, a baby named Jessica.

BOB GARFIELD: This is On the Media from NPR.