Journalism

Political cartoonist Pat Oliphant. His jabs at the high and mighty are seen in more than 500 newspapers and numerous collections. Oliphant's depictions of American politics have earned him the anger of presidents and a Pulitzer Prize. The National Portrait Gallery in Washington, DC, has just opened an exhibit of 41 of Oliphant's cartoons, as well as his lesser-known sculpture, lithographs, and color work. The exhibit runs through November 25th, then tours nationally.

Reporter Tom Rose. Rose covered the 1988 rescue of three California grey whales that were trapped in the ice off Barrow, Alaska. The plight of those whales became an international media event. Rose has now written a book about the media hype surrounding the event, called "Freeing the Whales: How the Media Created the World's Greatest Non-Event." (Published by Birch Lane Press, division of Carol Publishing Group, NY).

Journalist John Hockenberry. For the past two years he's been National Public Radio's foreign correspondent in the Middle East, where he covered events from his wheelchair. He's also served as host for "All Things Considered," "SoundPrint," and other shows. In 1987 he won a Peabody and in 1988, a Unity in Media award. In March, he'll be hosting "Heat," a new nightly interview, performance, and call-in show over NPR.

Consumer electronics expert Howard Blumenthal. He writes a weekly syndicated newspaper column called "The Hi-Tech Home," and has also written "The Electronic Home Advisor," a guide to consumer electronics products. In his books and columns, Blumenthal writes about new developments like HDTV, and gives advice on buying everything from VCR's to laptop computers.

Photographer Cornell Capa. He's a former president of Magnum Photos, Inc. a collective of the world's most renowned photographers whose founders include, Cornell's brother, Robert Capa, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Maria Eisner and others. In 1967 he founded and directed the International Fund for Concerned Photography, an organization formed partly in memory of his brother, Robert, who was killed in Vietnam while on assignment. Cornell Capa has been a staff photographer for "Life" magazine and has published a number of books of photographs.

Columnist Mike Royko. For 26 years, Royko has written a daily column on happenings in his native Chicago and throughout the world, and he's just released his 6th collection of his writings. Along the way, Royko has earned the Pulitzer, the Mencken, and Pyle Award. His column is now carried in more than 500 papers. Royko also wrote "Boss," a best-selling portrait of Chicago mayor Richard Daley.

Syndicated columnist Ellen Goodman. Goodman's new collection of essays, called "Making Sense," examines the issues surrounding sexuality, feminism, abortion, parenting and childcare. Goodman's column appears in more than 400 papers nationwide, and in 1980 her writing earned Goodman the Pulitzer Prize. (NOTE: Ellen Goodman's been on Fresh Air before, but this is a new interview.)

Gossip columnist-turned novelist Michael Musto. Musto writes a column for The Village Voice (called La Dolce Musto) that follows New York City's avant-garde social scene. Musto's columns usually ignore the comings and goings of the Donald Trumps in favor of highlighting some about-to-be-discovered artist or performer. In 1986, Musto wrote Downtown, a guide book to the Manhattan party scene. His new book, Manhattan On The Rocks, is a novel about the party scene and the most sought after gossip columnist in New York.

Writer Alec Wilkinson. Cutting sugar cane is one of the most dangerous jobs in America. In Florida, workers are recruited from the West Indies in what some are calling modern day slavery. Wilkinson exposes the sugar cane industry in his new book "Big Sugar." Wilkinson's past books include "Moonshine: A Life in Pursuit of White Liquor," and "Midnights: A Year with the Wellfleet Police." Wilkinson is also a staff writer for the New Yorker; Big Sugar originally appeared as a series of articles in the magazine.

Reporter Robert Sam Anson. While a young reporter for Time Magazine in Cambodia during the Vietnam War, Anson was captured by the North Vietnamese and their allies in the Khmer Rouge. He's written a book about that experience, but also about Time's reporting of the war. For much of the war, according to Anson, Time's hawkish stance compromised the work of its reporters, himself included. Anson's earlier books include "They've Killed the President!": The Search for the Murderers of John F.