I always enjoy NPR's / WNYC's On the Media. They always provide fresh perspectives about what's happening in chaotic world of media. Recently they've had some great stories about how DVRs actually increase commercial viewership, the good the bad and the ugly of paid vs free content and an interesting episode devoted to the death spirals of the music industry. 

Here are a few of my favorite stories:

TV's Unlikely Ally

As the DVR became more and more popular, many in the TV industry feared that commercial-skipping would destroy the medium. But it turns out many DVR-users still watch commercials. Bill Carter of the New York Times says the numbers are startling and the DVR actually helps ratings.

Is Paid Content Nigh?

News Corp and The New York Timeshave suggested they might start charging for web content. Last weekNewsday did start charging for access to its website. Does this mean the days of completely free news websites are over? Steven Brill is founder ofJournalism Online, a company that works with over a thousand news organizations to help monetize online content. He says the moment has come to pay up.

They Say That I Stole This

Twenty years ago a series of lawsuits criminalized the hip-hop sampling of artists like Hank Shocklee and Public Enemy. And yet, two decades later, artists like Girl Talk have found success breaking those same sampling laws. OTM producer Jamie York talks to Girl Talk, Shocklee and Duke Law professor James Boyle about two decades of sampling - on both sides of the law.

Charting the Charts

The music charts have traditionally relied on album sales and radio plays to rank songs and albums. So what do the charts mean today when there are so many other ways to listen to music? OTM producer Mark Phillips reports that charts as well as the very notion of popularity are changing.