she said, are you that guy from npr? i was. she introduced me to her mother, the one who really wanted to talk to me, who had sent her daughter over to get me. i sat for part of the time next to them on a flight. they had a lot to tell me. she was a woman, currently living in texas, and she had grown up in the city of karachi. i had done a series of radio stories from there. she remembered them. she was an npr fan and a person from karachi. she was listening intensely closely. she was still from there, in a way. she said, you did fine. you got the news. there was so much more to say. you needed to get more. i was happy to hear her say that. that is why we were going back. i reported from karachi several times over the years and i got more interested and wanted to learn more. there is so much happening. >> the paperback edition of your book is out. what was the origins of this book? when did you first start working on and why karachi? >> it grew out of the radio series i mentioned in 2008. i had first been to karachi in 2002. it

end, it has made npr stronger. the network was criticized. a lot of claims were made that were factually untrue. there was a claim there is only one black man working at npr. i would look around and there were three african-american program hosts out of 10, there were black women, there was an african-american person. there were a variety of people. an incredibly diverse place. not as the verse as it could be, but better than a lot of media organizations. the people of different countries and ethnic backgrounds. you have somebody who went to harvard and someone like me. you have somebody from upstate new york, someone like me from indiana. a lot of different kinds of people. this character was drawn. in the end, i think it's strengthened us. you realize after a while that, people are going to say what they will say and you need to do your duty and your job. i believe we are doing something important for the country to try to get reliable information to people. it does not matter what anybody says. the second thing

come on. >> bill o'reilly is identified $130 million from npr because npr should be able to compete on its own. >> bill: correct. >> bill: to be clear, national public radio, npr, is part, just part of the public broadcasting umbrella in which again it's receiving close to $450 million this year alone. assisting governor romney's weak points, president obama apparently thinks he has an opportunity with this controversy. >> finally somebody is cracking down on big bird. elmo has been seen in a white suburban, he's driving for the border. governor romney's plan is to let wall street run wild again, but he's going to bring the hammer down on sesame street. >> bill: two things. the might suburban reference is to o. j. simpson and a wall street running wild line is very interesting, isn't it? the president is seen in conservative precinctness as being anti-capitalism. few years ago, that would have been dangerous territory for any politician. but now things have changed. the recession was brought on largely by greedy wall street corporations. trafficking in bogus mortgage paper. the folks k

because npr should be able to compete on its own. >> correct. >> bill: correct. our pal john stossel has been investigating the situation. here he is. what did you find out? >> that they don't need the money. i'm rich. i can live on my own. i don't need taxpayer money. >> bill: they are awash in money, right? >> sesame workshop has assets of $400 million. they license these things. >> bill: they sell the dopey duck you have got there, big bird. >> it's not a duck. it's something else. >> bill: they sell them in the stores in toys r us and all those places, right? >> yeah. >> bill: the kids buy them and everything they sell goes right to the sesame workshop. >> right. >> bill: yet, they want our taxpayer dollars. >> your point about bill moyer is strong one. because we should have separation of news and state that moneys taken from us to subsidize ideas we disagree with or npr, all things considered, i have to pay for that lefty propaganda? that's wrong. >> bill: okay. and not only that, but moyers, and this is the biggest con in the world, moyers and other people

. >> npr. >> npr. >> reporter: the word conservative, what does that mean to you?ink it's being comfortable with the status quo and being nervous about how that could change. >> reporter: they might as well have been watching the debate -- >> it is stronger now than when i came into office. >> reporter: on two different planets. >> unbelievable. >> reporter: afterwards, at the bar, something interesting. >> you really think that the republicans would outlaw birth control? >> yes. >> reporter: genuine debate and discussion. >> i think it's derailed in the la four years -- >> i think it's a steady progression. >> reporter: not that it changed anybody's minds. show of hands, who feels obama won this? and show of hand, romney? >> i'm undecided. can i do undecided. didn't have a chance to really absorb it as much as i probably would if i was at home. i think i'm undecided until i watch it again. >> reporter: among all of you, did you confirm your feelings about the other side or were you surprised by some things? >> what was surprising is that you don't interact much wi

pbs did not give me a show, npr did not just give me a show, i had to get to a place to owning. and yet i see people who are more gifted and talented than i am the they do not want to put the muscle behind their own idea. you talk about making this first film for $50,000. it made its money three or four times over. >> eight times. tavis: this was a project you had invested. $50,000 for somebody who has nothing may seem like a lot of money but that is not a whole lot of money. you just have to make the choice that you believed in your idea and you had a good idea to put your money where mouth is. you put your 50 grand up and it made your money. that is a long way of asking whether or not in the world we live today with all this available through technology and all you can do at your computer at your house and the minicam, howmuch of this is excuse making now where we do not at least put the project out there and try to make it happen? >> the films are being made. the industry is gone. the barriers to get it distributed at a level where you make it to this character difficult. the

an npr correspondent.i said at monday's national conversation that in puerto rico's steve is the first voice i hear in the morning, and he is. while melissa is a very competent and informed female voice, which i hear in the late afternoon on my way home. she was in china preparing for a weeklong broadcast with npr when a massive earthquake struck in may, 2008 and major news organizations around the world rely on her extensive reporting on the destruction and relief efforts. so now, i have many henry kissinger stories. i won't spend the full 15 minutes he demanded, but i will tell you -- [laughter] a few of them. let's try this. this past valentine's day he was my gate. well, what really happened is henry and i contacted our dear friends andrea mitchell and alan greenspan. we did this says separately about spending the evening with them and then we all ended in a downtown washington hotel room full of hearts and flowers. henry iain dhaka also sit next to each other at the defense policy board meetings and w

npr doesn't pay me. i don't work for national public radio, never have. this weekly series is on public television stations but we don't get any money from p, either. we raise the funds ourselves, as anyone who can read would know. you can see who our funders are right there, before and after every broadcast. so if anything, we're putting money into public tv. over the years our programs have raised millions of dollars for stations across the country. that is a fact. big bill's whole debate with jon stewart was like that. even when he offered up a morsel of praise for anyone, he tripped over the facts. he gave a thumb's up to jor ras anmaria elena salinas, who were guests on moyers & company last week, for putting president obama's feet to the fire on immigration reform. >>> a promise is a promise. and with all due respect, but you didn't keep that promise. >> but he had their network wrong, too. >> and that was a best interview by the way, these telemundo people. that was the best one so far in the campaign. >> they're on univision, bill. not telemundo,

after his speech npr's melissa black will introduce the other panelists and moderate a discussion. melissa, who won't introduce herself so i'm going to say something about her, is a 26-year veteran of npr and has been hosting all things considered since 2003 after nearly a decade as an npr correspondent. i said at monday's national conversation that npr's steve is the first male voice i hear in the morning, and he is, while melissa is a very competent and informed female voice which i hear in the late afternoon on my way home. she was in china preparing for a weeklong broadcast with npr when a massive earthquake struck the region in may 2008, and major news organizations around the world relied on her extensive reporting on the destruction and relief efforts. so now i have many henry kissinger stories. i won't spend the full 15 minutes he that happenedded, but -- he demanded, but i will tell you a few of them. [laughter] let's try this. this past valentine's day he was my date. well, what really happened is that henry and i contacted our dear friends, andrea mitchell and alan green

. >> bill o'reilly is identified $130 million from npr because npr should be able to compete on its own. >> bill: correct. >> bill: to be clear, tional blicadio sar j rtthub bcag umbrella in which again it's receiving close to $450 million this year alone. assisting governor romney's weak points, president obama apparently thinks he has an don big bird.ith th elmo has been seen in a white suburban, he's driving for the border. wa std a,rney'plan io don sesame street. >> bill: two things. the might suburban reference is to o. j. simpson and a wall street running wild line is very interein isn't it? esis s i nsticiess g anti-capitalism. few years ago, that would have been dangerous territory for any politician. but now things have changed. the recession was brought on largely by greedy wall street corporations. beeofa st es.n bogus mortg at all true. but what we are seeing now is the baby out with the bath water syndrome. instead of reforming wall street with effective oversite, mr. obama a the left continu ak i rpmenn bertsshe enemy. the left wants the government to largely control the e

then the npr political editor for the issues in the 2012 house and senate races. and later, the latest on the civil war in syria. "washington journal" is next. ♪ >> good morning and welcome to "washington journal." as campaign 2012 hits its final month, the presidential candidates are using the economy to frame their vision for the future and what they would do for the american dream. we saw a jobs numbers that showed an unproven unemployment rate. we would like to hear your opinions. has the american dream been downsized? you can also share your opinion on social media. send us a tweet by writing @cspanwj. you can also join the conversation on facebook. or you can e-mail us. the front page of "the washington post"looks out with the call life of a salesman. he always finds to -- he always seems to find optimism in the worst of circumstances. here is another chance. the story profiles this man building and installing pools. how he had to downsize his business, cut employees, and work even harder to find jobs. let's take a look at the content. it says -- what do you

>> dana: the npr poll that came out today has the two candidates at 49/48.ting thing about the poll, i thought, bob, i don't know if you had a chance to look at it there with auz an eight-point swing for romney in the poll from npr. >> kimberly: the important point is obama is losing ground since the piv the first debate where people got a chance to see who romney is and what he stands for. that is true. >> bob: made progress but it's been frozen. >> dana: he is lucky he has good governors in place. >> greg: the real question is will the media use a natural disaster to prevent a political one? >> dana: great point. >> kimberly: i believe you said that and the answer is yes. >> greg: i try to sum things up. >> dana: you're next. coming up, newspaper endorsements, covered by presidential campaigns. and a lot of president obama supporters in 2008, are now supporting governor romney. greg has that list when we come right back. ♪ chances are, you're not made of money, so don't overpay for motorcycle insurance. geico, see how much you could save. seems they haven'

npr host mark memmott went and apologized to her. this thing so much, but actually the real people who should apologize are the guys who make the ads. my god especially if you live in a swing states like colorado where she does. ad after ad after ad, abigael, we hear you. we feel your

like this from npr. romney goes on offense. pays for it in first wave of fact checks. oh no! mitt could lose the fact checking race. quick, some fact checker should research how many electoral college votes the swing state of fact checkelsvannia has. because-- because i think-- i think-- i think it's even fewer than north i don't give a [bleep]. folks, the fact check mafia is just a bet because romney won by pivoting. exactly like his senior advisor eric fernstrom said he was going to do after the primary. >> everything changes. if is almost like an etch-a-sketch, you can kind of shape it up-- shake it up and we start all over again. >> stephen: and everyone agrees last night mitt was pretty sketchy. >> he said things that were just not accurate. >> mitt romney presented with us the ultimate etch-a-sketch behavior last night. >> romney has been accused of etch-a-sketch. last night was his greatest achievement. >> stephen: let me show you just how great an achievement it was. before the debate, mitt's campaign said romney will come across as empathetic. but here's what mitt ha

. >> npr says emily owens m.d.one of the best shows of the year. >> we shot this pilot months ago so we've been sitting on this waiting for people to see it. i can't wait. i'm excited. >> she looks a little bit like mom. >> she looks just like her. >> emily owens, m.d., premiers tonight on cw 44, cable channel 12. >>> it is no secret we live in wine country. now there's a list to prove it. >> today trip advisor announced the winners of is travelers choice award. the awards recognized the top wine hot spots based on pop you layer teen. in at number one is sonoma county. second best spot, next doirn napa valley. number six on the list, paso robles, 200 miles south of san francisco. >> is it me or does that sound like a no-brainer? if you don't like the wine, go for the food. the food is fantastic. >> it is going to be a nice weekend, right? i'm already thinking weekend, and it's tuesday. >> these next couple days will be the best of the week. that offshore wind is going to start blowing tonight. we are going to see t

on the newshour tonight, npr's peter overby analyzes the big money behind the ad wars. >> woodruff: plus we have two takes on close congressional contests, starting with gwen

. >> ask juan about the npr poll. >> go ahead, dana. >> let's talk about the npr poll. an 8-point swing? >> there's a margin of error, dana. hold on. dana was around in '08, i'm sorry, back in '04 when the poll said that kerry was going to win in a landslide. didn't happen, did it? >> thank goodness. >> that's right, dana. just think for a second. romney has never been ahead. >> sean: he's ahead now. >> in the real clear politics. >> sean: juan, juan, juan. >> colorado, wisconsin. i can keep going. never, ever. >> sean: listen, you can be as delusional if you want. i absolutely like when you live in denial, but here's the reality, dana. romney has florida sewn up, in my opinion. >> oh, my god, come on. >> sean: in virginia the latest poll shows romney ahead. rasmussen shows romney ahead by two in ohio. i would say it's dead even but it's also pennsylvania, wisconsin, it's michigan, and pennsylvania -- minnesota. no matter what they try to say today, there's no way that chicago -- the obama campaign in chicago thought that seven or six days before an election they were g

. >> ask juan about the npr poll. >> go ahead, dana. >> let's talk about the npr poll. an 8-point swing? >> there's a margin of error, dana. hold on. dana was around in '08, i'm sorry, back in '04 when the poll said that kerry was going to win in a landslide. didn't happen, did it? >> thank goodness. >> that's right, dana. just think for a second. romney has never been ahead. >> sean: he's ahead now. >> in the real clear politics. >> sean: juan, juan, juan. >> colorado, wisconsin. i can keep going. never, ever. >> sean: listen, you can be as delusional if you want. i absolutely like when you live in denial, but here's the reality, dana. romney has florida sewn up, in my opinion. >> oh, my god, come on. >> sean: in virginia the latest poll shows romney ahead. rasmussen shows romney ahead by two in ohio. i would say it's dead even but it's also pennsylvania, wisconsin, it's michigan, and pennsylvania -- minnesota. no matter what they try to say today, there's no way that chicago -- the obama campaign in chicago thought that seven or six days before an election they were g

they have been written up chronicle and "new york times" and npr which i didn't realize and they're the go to place and it's an honor to bring you both forward today. to let you know about the stoles. craig is from new york but came to san francisco and graduated from the culinary institute of america and won a james berd

and a new npr poll has romney up 48-47, again, one point.ut the npr poll also finds that president obama has a 12-point lead in the battleground states, where it matters. >>> i will come on "morning joe" are you sure you can fit in there? [ chuckles ] ♪ ♪ [ male announcer ] around view monitor with bird's-eye view. nice work. [ male announcer ] introducing the all-new nissan pathfinder. it's our most innovative pathfinder ever. nissan. innovation that excites. ♪ >>> i will come on "morning joe" and i will shave off my mustache of 40 years if we lose any of those three states. >> welcome back to "hardball." that was david axelrod, famous for his mustache. he's with the obama campaign, sounding very bullish on their chances, obama's chance of carrying michigan, minnesota, and of course, pennsylvania. these three states haven't been given much time or attention by the media or the money spenders until lately. that's because the romney camp and their cohorts in the super pac world announce they're now going to start advertising there. they're po

they have been written up chronicle and "new york times" and npr which i didn't realize and they're the go to place and it's an honor to bring you both forward today. to let you know about the stoles. craig is from new york but came to san francisco and graduated from the culinary institute of america and won a james berd award and numerous accolades and annie is a restaurant our and icon here. >> >> and over seeing the hiring and the pizza locations and won the wait staff awards result of the efforts and they're hard working entrepreneurs and a beloved restaurant and i want to thank you guys for opening up the restaurant in the district and look forward to working with you for years to come so congratulations. [applause] >> well, thank you for having a restaurant appreciation month to start with, and thank you supervisor for nominating us, and thanks to our staff mostly for -- the 45 staff out of 200 total who work at california street and they're the ones that do it everyday, and thanks to them that we're standing here. they're amazing so thanks to them and our customers -- the other

joining us now is npr correspondent peter overby, who took a look at super pacs. for almost 20 years you've been covering the way money drives politics in america. a lot of money is being spent this time around. how much? do we know? >> well, the group of ads that we looked at, all the broadcast ads from april through the first week of october, about a half billion dollars worth of ads which is just phenomenal >> suarez: roughly equally by the two campaigns or is one outspending the other? >> the obama campaign and its allies are somewhat outspending the romney campaign and its allies. but not by that much. >> suarez: the independent groups, have they been coordinating ad buys with each other? they can't talk to the campaigns. but they're allowed to talk to each other. has that made a difference? >> yeah. the independent group action is almost entirely on the republican side. that's because the romney campaign had lean months, and the independent groups with their unlimited contributions coming in were able to make up for that. the best example of the coordination