Political Perspectives on 11/17/10

Host Marianne Barisonek speaks with journalist Russ Baker, author of "Family of Secrets: The Bush Dynasty, The Powerful Forces that Put it in the White House, and What Their Influence Means for America." With the recent publication of his memoir, former President George W. Bush is very much in the news and the media. This is a good time to get another perspective on the man and his family.

Russ Baker is an old-fashioned muckraking journalist and pamphleteer using the newest technologies. In his reporting and writing he brings the best of mainstream methods (balance and rigor) to the alternative media, and the best of the alternative media (passion for the truth and the larger story) to the mainstream. He focuses on getting past the rhetoric to expose the hidden levers and machinations that shape our world. Baker’s investigative reporting, analysis pieces, features, and essays on politics, power, and perceptions have appeared in many of the world’s finest publications.

Over the past two decades, Baker has produced hundreds of stories, most of them for magazines and newspapers — but also for television and radio — on a broad range of topics, from political revolutions to revolutionary humor. He is currently directing and producing his first documentary film.

Baker has received Society of Professional Journalists, Mencken and Common Cause awards, served as a panelist for the national conference of Investigative Reporters & Editors, and been a member of the adjunct faculty at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. He appears frequently in the electronic media to discuss current events. He is the co-founder of the journalism soirees that evolved into the company, MediaBistro.

http://russbaker.com/