Recently in SpotLight Radio Show Category

Multiple Emmy Award winning journalist, Author, filmmaker and "News Dissector" Danny Schechter, talks about his latest book Plunder, Investigating Our Economic Calamity and the Subprime Scandal.

Danny Schechter has spent decades as a "truth teller" in the media as an independent filmmaker. Danny is also co-founder of the the award-winning company Globalvision.  In Debt We Trust, America Before the Bubble Bursts was the first to expose Wall Street's connection to subprime loans, predicting the economic crisis that his latest book Plunder investigates. Danny was among the first to investigate and cover the S&L crisis. He predicted and warned of this current credit squeeze -long before it became reality.

If you are concerned about our economy and want to know the truth -and what Danny's thoughts are on this current crises...this is a show you won't want to miss!  

Tune into the live show on SpotLight today at 1:00PM EDT by going to BlogTalkRadio.com/spotlight

UPDATE: If you missed the live show -her is the audio and link to various options for you to listen, share, and download. 



More on our Guest: Danny Schechter, nicknamed "The News Dissector," is a television producer, independent filmmaker, blogger, and media critic who writes and lectures frequently about the media in the United States and worldwide. His career began as the "News Dissector" at Boston radio station WBCN. Later, Schechter was a producer for the ABC newsmagazine 20/20. He produced 50 segments for ABC and won two national Emmy Awards and was nominated for two others. Schechter joined the start-up staff at CNN as a producer based in Atlanta. In all, Schechter has reported from 49 countries.

Danny helped found, and serve as the executive producer of, Globalvision, a New York-based television and film production company. He founded and executive-produced the series South Africa Now and co-produced Rights & Wrongs: Human Rights Television. His work specializes in investigative journalism and producing programming about the interface between human rights, journalism, popular music and society.

Danny Schechter is also the executive editor of MediaChannel.org, for which he is the "blogger-in-chief" and writes a nearly-3000-word daily blog entry on media and society

Everyone has an online reputation, whether they realize it or not. When those party photos and videos that you believed were private end up being published online, they can affect your life for a very long time.

Parents, teachers, employers, and even prospective daters Google you, read your profiles and profiles of your friends, and what they discover, may not paint you in a light that is well thought-of!

Did you know that employers are not only searching your Facebook and MySpace profiles for information on you, but they are now contacting your online friends as resume checkers?
 
Is your online reputation hurting your job chances?

Are cyber-bullies affecting your kids?

Is there anything you can do about "digital dirt" and online gossip?

Tune into SpotLight Thursday, October 24th at 1:00 PM EDT

Michael Fertik, CEO and Founder of ReputationDefender.com
 
Michael will talk about the types of services his company offers and just how heavy your online reputation can weigh on every aspect of your life -and even the lives of your family.

As always, if you miss a live show -it will always be available on this blog, and remain in our archives for listening at your convenience,  downloading to Mp3, or sharing by going to ListenToSpotLight.com after each show

UPDATE: The show was very informative and we are pleased to let you know that Michael Fertik, CEO of ReputationDefender.com has offered SpotLight listeners a free trial of their services, My Child, My Privacy and My Reputation by going to repuationdefender.com and using the promotional code COOL08.
Listen or share show by clicking on appropriate links in the below box.

 



The traumatic story Michael Fertik discussed on Spotlight today, is highlighted in this 20/20 video...
 

Curtis Arnold, Author and Founder of the popular website CardRatings.com was our guest on SpotLight today. Curtis offered tips on dealing with credit card offers and provided his educated views and and insight into the credit card industry. 

Curtis has been educating consumers about credit cards since 1998 and has been featured by hundreds of media outlets including The Wall Street Journal, Good Morning America, The New York Times, USA Today & The Today Show. Curtis talks about his new book, How You Can Profit from Credit Cards: Using Credit to Improve Your Financial Life and Bottom Line. and how he came to write it! I've read it and it's full of information and tips on how to be a savvy credit wise consumer.

As always, if you miss a live show -it will always be available on this blog, and remain in our archives for listening at your convenience,  downloading to Mp3, or sharing by going to ListenToSpotLight.com after each show.

Last week, Congress passed the $700 Billion bailout bill for the economy. Though we are told to be patient, so far, it hasn't worked.

What's more, some of the most important things that could have been included in the bill to protect homeowners and taxpayers were not.

Friday on SpotLight, Jim and I will once again welcome Ira Rheingold, Executive Director & General Counsel of the National Association of Consumer Advocates (NACA) as our guest.

We will talk to Ira about the bailout bill, what he believes was left out of it, what should have been put into it, what he learned about the Congressional hearings...and what it all means to you.

UPDATE: Here is the show.


As always, if you miss any of our live shows, don't worry -they will always remain available in our archives.

All shows are available for listening, sharing, downloading on mp3, and all podcasts will be available on this blog and through iTunes immediately after the show.

Upcoming shows include:

10/16  Curtis Arnold, Author, Advocate & Founder of CardRatings.com: Credit Cards; Learn who has the best ratings, offers and rewards

10/23  Michael Fertik, CEO and Founder of  ReputationDefender.com: Your Online Reputation May be Costly to your Future

10/30  Danny Schechter, Producer, Director, Author & Emmy winning Journalist; The Subprime Scandal and Wall Street -How did we get here?

11/6   New "Red Flag Rules" ; What are they all about and who needs to know? (Guests tba)

For all shows go to: ListenToSpotLight.com on the Blog Talk Radio Network;
 

Last month, more than 1 million people were evacuated due to hurricanes. New Orleans, Houston, Galveston and a host of other cities were impacted. And for those who were unfortunate enough to lose their home or their business, their ordeal is just beginning. Not only are losses like these financially devastating, but uninformed consumers can actually make their situation much worse by trying to deal with their insurance company on their own. What most consumers don't know is that they can hire their own representation to help them through the process, and that this type of help can be surprisingly affordable.

This week on SpotLight, Jim and I interviewed Glenn Nahmias, a public adjuster with Metropolitan Adjustment Bureau.

This interview is a must for all homeowners. Whether you face the wrath of Mother Nature, a natural disaster such as hurricanes, tornadoes, wild fires, floods, -or have a house fire. Glenn talks to us about various insurance coverages you should consider (some I never heard of) for your financial safety, your rights when dealing with insurance companies, and how to make sure that you receive the best possible settlement from your insurer after such a loss. To learn more about scams directed at victims of a natural disaster see earlier blogs: Disasters & Identity Theft.

Listen to the show here or download to Mp3 by going to BlogTalkRadio.com/spotlight.

Consumer forums and communities offer a wealth of information, as well as provide a great sense of camaraderie, validation, guidance and knowledge from other consumers who understand what it's like when faced with credit nightmares, debt problems, mortgage issues or corporate wrongs.

Meet Kristy Welsh, founder of CreditInfoCenter.com, a longtime consumer friendly community, and Author of the book, Good Credit Is Sexy and the brand new Financial Fitness Workbook that can be found on Kristy's site.


Do you know the differences between debt negotiation, debt settlement and debt counseling?

Listen to our show SpotLight and get some tips and advice on how to deal with paying off accumulated debt, with the least amount of damage to your credit.

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some other great consumer forums:

Creditboards.com

Cardratings.com
 
MsFraud.org

We've all heard the reports; Illegal immigration costs the country billions of dollars each year. How  much does it really cost? Two economic studies report two very different findings. Catch our show SpotLight, this Tuesday, August 12th @ 1:00 PM EDT and hear;

Part 2 of our 2 part series: The Costs of Illegal Immigration with Mike Farrell and Gordon H. Hanson

UPDATE: We are pleased to announce that Immigration Attorney Carmen Chavez will be an additional guest.

Mike Farrell, Author, Activist & Actor, best known for his eight years on M*A*S*H and five years on Providence. Mike Farrell is also a writer, Author, director and producer; co-chair emeritus of Human Rights Watch in Southern California; spokesperson for Concern America; and co-founder of Artists United to Win Without War.

Mike Farrell's book: Just Call Me Mike; A Journey To Actor and Activist

"...but I don't want to be put into somebody's category. I'd rather just talk and let whoever's listening take it in, see if it fits and figure out how they feel about it -- and maybe even why. Pigeonholing does the public's thinking for them, and kind of insults them in the process. I don't want to be part of that. Because it's been quite a trip, this journey of mine. So if someone wants to discuss -- or debate -- the issues, I'm happy to do that, but I'd rather not start off with a label that sets someone's teeth on edge.

Say I'm a "liberal" and some think they know my views on everything. They start dialing the phone or writing an angry letter without even knowing what I'll say. Or others think we agree, when we might not."

Click here to see events for Mike Farrell

Purchase book: Here

Follow Mike's daily travels on his Huffington Post tour blog!

To learn more about Mike Farrell's efforts visit mikefarrell.org

Gordon H. Hanson is the Director of the Center on Pacific Economies and Professor of Economics at UCSD, where he holds faculty positions in the Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies and the Department of Economics.  Professor Hanson is co-editor of the Journal of Development Economics, a research associate at the National Bureau of Economic Research, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, and a senior research fellow at the Bureau for Research and Economic Analysis of Development. MORE

Gordon Hanson's book: Why Does Imigration Divide America?: Public Finance And Political Opposition To Open Borders

Immigration is an issue capable of dividing otherwise like-minded people. Identify a group whose members tend to agree on political issues; liberals, conservatives, isolationists, internationalists, environmentalists, free marketers and one will tend to find that within the group there is no strong majority opinion about US immigration policy. This important new book examines how public finance shapes individual preferences towards immigration policy in the United States.

On Full Focus, Professor Gordon Hanson discussed the conclusions of a new report which says that contrary to popular belief, immigrant workers are having a positive effect on nearly all workers in the Golden State - mainly in the form of higher salaries and expanded business opportunities.

A new report from the Public Policy Institute of California or PPIC says that overall immigrant workers have helped California's economy. The study says there's no indication immigrant workers took jobs from native workers and that from 1990 to 2004 average real wages for native workers went up by 4 percent.

For more information on Professor Gordon H. Hanson and his reports visit Council on Foreign Relations, a Non-partisan Resource for Information and Analysis

Download PDF: The Economic Logic of Illegal Immigration

Carmen Chavez, Immigration Attorney and Executive Director of the Casa Cornelia Law Center  CCLC is a 501(c)(3) public interest law firm providing quality legal services to victims of human and civil rights violations. CCLC has a primary commitment to indigent persons within the immigrant community in Southern California. CCLC seeks to educate others regarding the impact of immigration law and policy on the community and the public good.

The legal services are provided by four attorneys and three Board of Immigration Appeals accredited representatives. Volunteer law clerks and interns from the community's law schools and universities support this professional staff. Community volunteers also assist with foreign language interpretation, among other services. Over fifty attorneys from the private bar also participate on a volunteer basis in our programs, providing direct legal services.

How do you think we should handle immigration reform? Listen to both part 1 & 2...and then you decide.

This hot topic was a request from our SpotLight listeners. We have opted to provide information in a fair and balanced way with two shows that include opposing economic studies and viewpoints.

Tune in for Part 2  here on Tuesday, August 12th @ 1:00 PM EDT

Show Call-in Number: (718) 664-6583 for questions or email the show questions in advance

If you miss any of our live shows, don't worry -they remain available in our archives.

If you missed part I you can find it here with all other SpotLight shows: