Search results for

NPR's Joanne Silberner reports that the nation's blood supply may be stretched dangerously thin in years ahead. As the baby boomers continue to age, some experts are projecting more blood will be needed to keep them healthy, and the number of donors will continue to drop.

NPR's Michele Kelemen reports on concerns over the sale of Media-Most, Russia's largest private media group. The head of Media-Most says he was under duress last July when he agreed to sell his company in exchange for the government dropping fraud charges against him. Some say the charges were part of a Kremlin campaign to muzzle the media group's outlets, which have been critical of Putin.

NPR's Sylvia Poggioli reports the latest developments on Sunday's Presidential elections in Yugoslavia. Yesterday, the Yugoslav Federal Electoral Commission announced that opposition leader Vojislav Kostunica failed to win the 50 percent needed for an outright victory. Kostunica won 48 percent of the vote and President Slobodan Milosevic won 40 percent.

Mike Shuster talks with James Hersov, who's just produced The Great Dance: A Hunter's Story. The film is said to be the first production made in collaboration with the San, the first people of Africa. Hersov says the San still practice much of their indigenous culture, but elements of modern society are creeping into their lives. He says The Great Dance is an attempt to show how the San view their world.

NPR's John Burnett reports that as the bottom falls out of the Texas ranch economy, ranchers are turning to economic diversification -- such as ranch tourism -- to preserve their holdings. Tourism includes hosting mountain bike events or charging for admission to the bat cave. Some put a twist on the Tom Sawyer story by charging visitors to help with the ranch work.

A note on the life of Lee Erwin, a silent film organist who composed music for Charlie Chaplin, and classic films like "The Hunchback of Notre Dame." Erwin died last week at the age of 92.

Former presidential speechwriter Michael Waldman. His new book is called POTUS Speaks: Finding the Words that Defined the Clinton Presidency. (Simon and Schuster) From 1993 to 1999, Waldman was a special assistant and then chief speechwriter to Bill Clinton. During that time, he worked closely with the president to write or edit nearly two thousand speeches, including four State of the Union addresses and two inaugural addresses. Previously a public-interest lawyer and writer, Waldman is the author of Who Robbed America? A Citizen's Guide to the S&L Scandal. Since leaving the White House, he has taught at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University.

Linguist Geoff Nunberg has a commentary on the idea of community. A controversial recent book by Harvard political scientist Robert Putnam argues that community participation is in sharp decline in American life, but Nunberg says the word community is being used more frequently than ever.

Publisher Andre Schirrrin, director of The New Press, and former head of Pantheon books, talks about the New York publishing world from the business side. Hes just written The Business of Books, (Verso) described as part memoir, part history of contemporary publishing.

Representatives from the major film studios faced the Senate Commerce Committee today and promised to take steps to limit the marketing of violent R-rated films to children. The hearing came after a report by the Federal Trade Commission revealed that the studios sometimes target marketing campaigns at children too young to see R-rated films. NPR's Lynn Neary reports.