Once, mainstream news outlets transmitted controversy and debate. Today, they are increasingly the subject of controversy and debate -- which is a good thing, says media critic Jeff Cohen: "People need to be skeptical of the news they get from the press, TV, radio and the Internet." Cohen offers tools to help news consumers separate media fact from media fiction, and to understand the trend toward tabloidism. "We live in the most media-dominated culture in the world," says Cohen, "with a shrinking number of giant corporations wielding unprecedented power over the public mind."

Among the questions Cohen addresses:

• Are national media too cozy with the powers-that-be?

• What are the most censored stories of the year?

• What's missing from election coverage?

• Can corporate media owners and advertisers buy silence?

• Has news become just another entertainment genre?

• What is the role of independent, alternative media?

• How do news consumers become skeptical -- but not paranoid?

Since 9/11, Americans have been fearful of weapons of mass destruction. According to Cohen, Americans have reason to fear "weapons of mass distraction" -- the corporate-dominated media.

JEFF COHEN is the founder of the media watch group FAIR and author of Cable News Confidential: My Misadventures in Corporate Media. He has been a syndicated columnist, co-host of CNN's "Crossfire," and communications director of a presidential campaign.

For more information, contact: lectures@jeffcohen.org.