Accessibility links
David Folkenflik Folkenflik is NPR's media correspondent.
David Folkenflik 2018 square
Stories By

David Folkenflik

In Britain, Calls To Regulate A Freewheeling Press

The 168-year-old British tabloid News of the World shut down last July after a widespread scandal that involved phone and voice mail hacking. Now there's a debate about placing new regulations on the British press. Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

Media

In Britain, Calls To Regulate A Freewheeling Press

The British voice mail hacking and police bribery scandal has led to calls for government regulation of the press in one of the world's greatest democracies. Perhaps surprisingly, though, the boisterous British press already operates under more constraints than their U.S. counterparts.

In Britain, Calls To Regulate A Freewheeling Press

Listen · 4:32
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/145348645/145359447" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Don't Get Your Hopes Up Over This Political Coverage

Former Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman speaks to reporters before a campaign stop in Concord, N.H. In interviews, Huntsman has said that his goal in New Hampshire is to "beat market expectations." Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Matthew Cavanaugh/Getty Images

It's All Politics

Don't Get Your Hopes Up Over This Political Coverage

Pundits, reporters and campaigns have put a lot of energy into setting expectations for the candidates' performances. But playing the expectations game doesn't always land you on top or, for that matter, anywhere at all.

Don't Get Your Hopes Up Over This Political Coverage

Listen · 3:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/144958429/144984564" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
The News Tip: Some Of Us Are Just Political Visitors

Republican presidential candidate Newt Gingrich speaks to reporters during a campaign stop on Dec. 28 in Mason City, Iowa. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images

The News Tip On Weekend Edition Sunday

The News Tip: Some Of Us Are Just Political Visitors

With election season in full swing now, the sheer amount of media coverage can be daunting to anyone trying to follow the races. While political reporters are down in the trenches, they can lose sight of those who are not full-time residents of the land of political obsession.

The News Tip: Some Of Us Are Just Political Visitors

Listen · 4:36
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/144854040/144862791" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
With 'Lie Of The Year' Controversy, Fact Checking Comes Under Scrutiny

A screen grab from "America the Beautiful" by The Agenda Project. According to PolitiFact, videos like this one used elderly actors to falsely suggest that Rep. Paul Ryan's Medicare plan would adversely affect current senior citizens. The Agenda Project/YouTube hide caption

toggle caption
The Agenda Project/YouTube

It's All Politics

With 'Lie Of The Year' Controversy, Fact Checking Comes Under Scrutiny

Liberals reacted with anger after PolitiFact charged Democrats with the "Lie of the Year." Have the fact checkers damaged their cause?

With 'Lie Of The Year' Controversy, Fact Checking Comes Under Scrutiny

Listen · 4:53
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/144136535/144149744" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Media

CNN's Piers Morgan Testifies In Phone-Hacking Case

CNN host Piers Morgan testified by video conference Tuesday before the panel investigating British press practices. Morgan has repeatedly denied allowing phone hacking while he was a high-profile tabloid editor in London.

CNN's Piers Morgan Testifies In Phone-Hacking Case

Listen · 3:57
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/144057761/144056125" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Why Is Times Columnist Gail Collins So Obsessed With Mitt Romney's Dog?

This 1982 family photo provided by the Romney campaign shows the Romney family during summer vacation: from left, Mitt, Tagg, Ben, Matt, Craig, Ann and Josh Romney. Seamus, unfortunately, is not pictured. His fateful voyage to Canada occurred the following summer. Anonymous/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Anonymous/AP

It's All Politics

Why Is Times Columnist Gail Collins So Obsessed With Mitt Romney's Dog?

New York Times columnist Gail Collins has already cited the dog in just shy of three dozen columns. She says such moments can reveal character — in this case, Romney's rigid emphasis on efficiency.

Politics

Why Mitt Romney's Dog Is Getting A Lot Of Press

New York Time columnist Gail Collins has written extensively about the idiosyncrasies of presidential families. But her fascination with Mitt Romney may take the cake. Dozens of her columns have cited the tale of Mitt Romney tying his dog in a crate to the roof of his station wagon and driving the family on vacation.

Why Mitt Romney's Dog Is Getting A Lot Of Press

Listen · 3:56
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/144001605/144000106" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Obituaries

Writer Christopher Hitchens Dies At 62

Journalist and essayist Christopher Hitchens has died from complications of cancer of the esophagus. He was 62. The writer has been closely identified with leftist ideas but has traveled across the ideological spectrum with his support of some conservative causes, including the launch of the Iraq War.

Writer Christopher Hitchens Dies At 62

Listen · 5:11
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143820308/143820289" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
Writer Christopher Hitchens Dies At 62

Writer and commentator Christopher Hitchens died Thursday. He was 62. Amanda Edwards/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Amanda Edwards/Getty Images

Obituaries

Writer Christopher Hitchens Dies At 62

The influential writer and cultural critic died Thursday at the age of 62 from complications of cancer of the esophagus. Hitchens confronted his disease in part by writing, bringing the same unsparing insight to his mortality that he had directed at so many other subjects.

Now In Need, Romney Welcomes Media

Former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney appears on the Fox News program Huckabee on Dec. 3. The Republican presidential candidate has made a number of media appearances recently, mostly on Fox. He scarcely spoke to the media until the last week or so. Henny Ray Abrams/AP hide caption

toggle caption
Henny Ray Abrams/AP

Mitt Romney

Now In Need, Romney Welcomes Media

Until the last week or so, GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney has made himself scarce to the media, delivering only tightly honed messages. He now has a newfound eagerness to talk to reporters — some of them, at least.

Now In Need, Romney Welcomes Media

Listen · 5:20
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/143519086/143532209" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Europe

British Panel Told Phone-Hacking Was Necessary

The wide-ranging inquiry into criminal abuses by the British press has led to testimony about relationships and careers damaged by tabloid excess. Newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. are at the heart of the scandal. A former features editor for one of those papers stole the show at Tuesday's hearing.

British Panel Told Phone-Hacking Was Necessary

Listen · 3:39
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/142929296/142929436" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript
By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following

Former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich has relished attacking the journalists questioning him during the GOP debates. Scott Olson/Getty Images hide caption

toggle caption
Scott Olson/Getty Images

Newt Gingrich

By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following

Gingrich may have found his voice by turning the tables on the political press. Republicans have been doing this fourth-estate two-step for decades — quite explicitly at least since Richard Nixon and Spiro Agnew in 1968. That might work for the back of the pack, but how will it play for a front-runner?

By Attacking The Media, Gingrich Built A Following

Listen · 4:33
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/142421000/142437677" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript

Media

Murdoch Son Grilled Over Phone-Hacking Scandal

A steady drip of revelations in the News Corp. phone-hacking scandal has called into question James Murdoch's testimony before a parliamentary committee in July. Murdoch has been asked back to clarify the discrepancies.

Murdoch Son Grilled Over Phone-Hacking Scandal

Listen · 4:31
  • Download
  • <iframe src="https://www.npr.org/player/embed/142220833/142220811" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player">
  • Transcript