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Corporate and Government Misbehavior
Including Whistleblowers, Corruption, Scandals, Cover-ups, Racism, and Other Illegal Acts

updated (6/02)

Government Misbehavior
Corporate Misbehavior
Whistleblowers

Government Misbehavior - including federal and municipal jurisdictions

Arms sales to Iraq. 1992. 1 videocassette (106 min.). Part 1: Robin Cook, Labor Party Shadow Secretary for Social Security, introduces a motion in the British House of Commons criticizing five government ministers for alleged involvement in the sale of machine tools to Iraq. Michael Heseltine presents the Conservative Party government's defense. Part 2: consists of the first 21 minutes of Senator Albert Gore's  (D-Tenn.) testimony report on the parts of the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro during the summer that focused on global climate changes. VHS 2175

Bella Vista: An unseen view of WWII. 1995. 1 videocassette (28 min.). Tells about a World War II internment camp at Fort Missoula, Montana where more than 1,000 Italian civilians were housed after their cargo and passenger ships had been seized by the U.S. government. The prisoners proceeded to make their new home a model city, complete with small businesses, musical and theatrical performances, gourmet food, and athletic tournaments. Uses interviews of former internees, archival footage, historical photographs and government documents. VHS 6199

The Best campaign money can buy. Election 92. 1992. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Discusses who the big money contributors are to Presidential campaigns. VHS 2490

Bill Moyers reports trading democracy. Baruch video. 2002. 1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.). "While the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement are still being argued ... corporate investors are using the obscure NAFTA provision to challenge laws designed to protect the public health, environmental regulations and even jury verdicts... This program details a system of private justice that is enabling companies to obtain what they have failed to achieve publicly America's legislatures or courts"--Publisher's website. VHS 6898

The Bombing of West Philly. 1987. 1 videocassette (60 min.). "I could hear the bullets all around me, hitting all around the house. I was forced back by gunfire," says Ramona Africa, the only adult survivor of MOVE, a small, violent, urban cult. Years of tension ended May 13, 1985, when police bombed Africa's house. The surrounding neighborhood burned out of control, leaving 250 homeless. The bombing of West Philadelphia by the police as a response to the MOVE situation is graphically portrayed. The ensuing fires, the deaths of members of MOVE, and the impact on the community are presented through film footage and conversations with community residents. VHS 4938

Counterfeit coverage. 1992. 1 videocassette (27 min.). Explores how Kuwaiti government over a 6-month period  uses one of the biggest public relations firms in America, Hill and Knowlton, to wage an unprecedented media campaign entitled "Citizens of a free-Kuwait" to argue the case for war. VHS 2506

Coverup: Behind the Iran Contra Affair. 1988. 1 videocassette (72 min.). An account of the first arms sale to Iran and the Reagan/Bush campaign's secret deal to torpedo Jimmy Carter in 1980. Discusses the shadow government of former CIA operatives, drug smugglers, top U.S. military personnel and others, and how their actions have impacted the course of history.  Includes evidence of the history of CIA involvement in drug running from the Vietnam heroin era to the Central American cocaine epidemic. First- hand accounts of the bombing of the press conference in La Penca, Nicaragua, discussing who the assassins were and why American journalists were the real targets. Oliver North's plan to suspend the U.S. constitution and how it became a Reagan/Bush tool to protect an unpopular foreign policy. VHS 594

Critical thinking in nursing: Lessons from Tuskegee. Educational horizons videos. 1993. 1 videocassette (43 min.). Critical thinking in nursing: lessons from Tuskegee sets two goals: first, it explores the theory and practice of critical thinking, defined in a wide, social, political and ethical sense. Second, it focuses this critical attention on a specific and uniquely provocative case of nursing practice--the participation of nurse Eunice Rivers in the infamous Tuskegee Syphilis Experiment. VHS 3235

The Deadly deception. 1993. 1 videocassette (60 min.). This program investigates the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male," a medical experiment conducted in Alabama from 1932-1972 in which Afro-American men believed they were receiving free treatment for syphilis, but were given worthless medicines by government physicians. The experiment was periodically written up in mainstream medical journals. The program outlines the history of the study, offers testimony from survivors and from doctors who administered it, and looks at what many consider the perversion of medical ethics and the doctor/patient relationship involved in carrying out such an experiment. VHS 2040

Dirty secrets: Jennifer, Everardo & the CIA in Guatemala. 1998. 1 videocassette (56 min.). Follows the efforts of Texas lawyer Jennifer Harbury to find the truth about her husband Everardo, a Guatemalan peasant revolutionary who "disappeared" after capture by Guatemalan government forces. Involvement by the CIA and other American governmental bodies in this and related events is revealed. VHS 4928

The Doomed Voyage of the St. Louis. 1997. 1 videocassette (50 min.). "In May of 1939, the ship St. Louis departed Hamburg, Germany for Cuba. Onboard were 930 Jewish refugees fleeing the Nazi regime. In one of the darkest chapters in World War II, they would eventually be returned to the continent they tried to leave. .... Footage shows the ship arriving in Havana, where officials refused to allow the passengers to disembark. As the St. Louis steamed in circles off Florida and its passengers pondered their uncertain fate, immigration officials from various nations were contacted, but none, including the U.S., allowed them in. .... Eventually, the St. Louis returned to Europe, where, despite the heroic efforts of the ship's captain, most of the passengers became victims of the Holocaust. Featuring moving interviews with survivors, period news accounts and commentary from leading scholars ..." Summary taken from the A&E website: http://aetv.com. VHS 5560

Executive Order 9066. 1998. 1 computer laser optical disc. Uses personal photos, letters, home movies, official documents, archival films, and individual narratives to detail how more than 120,000 Japanese Americans were incarcerated in government-run camps on the West Coast from 1942 to 1944. Includes ten areas for exploration in text and multimedia including: (1) Before the war: Japanese Americans in American society; (2) Forced removal; (3) The camps; (4) Friends: non Japanese Americans who spoke out on the internee's behalf; (5)Life behind bars: vignettes of daily life; (6) Concentration Camps; (7)  Resistance: Japanese Americans fight their imprisonment; (8) Go for broke: Japanese Americans in the U.S. armed forces; (9) Returning to America: the closing of the camps; (10) The struggle for redress: work done to obtain the formal apology. CD ROM 49

Father Roy. 1997. 1 videocassette (55 min.). Describes the protests of Father Roy against the military assistance and training that the United States provides to Latin American countries at the U.S. Army School of the Americas. Richter, a human rights advocate, believes that all too often the graduates of the school have used their training in attacks against their own people and seeks to have the school closed. VHS 4666

The Hidden costs of the military. 1993. 1 videocassette (ca. 29 min.). Examines the indirect costs of the military establishment including veterans' benefits and the enormous cost of military weapons due to the specialized research and special rules for defense contractors. Recent attempts to create "dual use" from military research may or may not succeed. Includes film clips of statements by President Eisenhower, Secretary of Defense Les Aspin, Senator James Sasser, and citizens. VHS 2523

High crimes and misdemeanors. 1990. 1 videocassette (90 min.). Summarizes the covert operations that became the Iran-Contra Affair. Examines the involvement of the Reagan administration in the arms-for-hostages exchange, and explains the role of Iran, Israel, and Nicaragua in the affair. VHS 1236

Hollywood on trial. 1989. 1 videocassette (90 min.). Looks at the story of "The Hollywood Ten," a group of writers and directors who, in 1947, would not cooperate when accused by the U.S. government of possible communist loyalties. Details the hysteria and paranoia of the blacklist era through presentation of key events leading up to the cold war, actual footage of the Hollywood Ten and the 1947 House Committee on Un-American Activities hearings on Communist infiltration into the movie industry. Also has present-day interviews with formerly blacklisted actors, writers, producers, and directors. VHS 5165

In our children's food. 1993. 1 videocassette (56 min.). Traces the 30-year history of U.S. pesticide use, regulation, and scientific study and explores what is and is not known about the risks of agricultural chemicals in our food. Also examines how the government has failed to certify the safety of pesticides and why the only source of data on pesticide safety is the industry that profits from them. VHS 2552

Is this any way to run a government? 1994. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Focuses on excesses, abuse, and mismanagement in one government agency. Examines how the attempts to reorganize or downsize three sacred cows at the U. S. Dept. of Agriculture--the commodity subsidy programs, the Forest Service and the Rural Electrification Administration, have made no progress in the era of "reinventing government.".  VHS 3106

Japanese relocation. 1984. 1 videocassette (11 min.). Japanese relocation: Presents the U.S. government's official explanation for the removal of 110,000 persons of Japanese descent (two thirds of them US citizens) from the potential combat zone of the West Coast and their relocation in Arizona, Colorado, and Wyoming. Tale of two cities: Record of the effects of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. VHS 5900

Justice for sale. 1999. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Frontline and Bill Moyers investigate how campaign cash is corrupting America's courts. In the 39 states where judges are elected, special interest money is pouring into judicial politics, threatening to compromise judicial independence. This program focuses on three states - Texas, Louisiana and Pennsylvania - and documents efforts by special interest groups to influence judges and their decisions. Includes a rare interview with U.S. Supreme Court Justices Stephen Breyer and Anthony Kennedy who speak out about the threat to judicial integrity. VHS 6158

Kent State: The day the war came home. 2001? 1 videocassette (47 min.). This program looks back on the reasons for the violent attack on anti-Vietnam-war student demonstrators on the Kent State University campus in 1970. Shows the build-up of the protest against the Vietnam War, especially by the youth of the country and the Black Panthers, and follows the stories of the four students who were killed by National Guardsmen. Includes interviews with former students who witnessed the events including a wounded student-activist, a now paralyzed student, a former National Guardsman and a sociology professor. VHS 6686

LAPD blues. 2001. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Explores what is reportedly the worst corruption scandal in the history of the Los Angeles Police Department, the so-called Rampart scandal, uncovered in 1999.  Reveals a police force disgraced and demoralized by scandal but also questions the scale of the corruption. VHS 6646

Latin America: Intervention in our own backyard. Between the wars. 1991? 1 videocassette (26 min.). Series uses original newsreels, soundtracks and rare archival footage to document the years between World War I and World War II. This segment examines four decades of U. S. intervention in Latin America from the Spanish American War in 1898 until World War II. For over a century, the Monroe Doctrine was invoked to justify intervention in the Caribbean, Central and South America. Pan-American relationships deteriorated until 1933, when the policy of intervention is abolished and FDR's "Good Neighbor" policy is launched. VHS 630

The Lynchburg story. 1993. 1 videocassette (55 min.). In the early years of his century, authorities were obsessed with a belief that the "racial stock" of the country was in decline. By the 1930s, over half the states had enacted eugenic sterilization laws, giving states the right to forcibly sterilize citizens they deemed "unfit" to reproduce. Film tells the story of what happened at The Lynchburg Colony for the Epileptic and Feebleminded in Virginia. There, between 1927 and 1972, over 8,000 children and young teenagers were forcibly sterilized. The state claimed they had hereditary defects that would be passed on to their potential offspring: in fact most were simply poor, ill-educated and considered a financial burden on the state. Sterilization victims interviewed today indicate a devastating impact on their lives and a profound loss of self worth. These individual tragedies have a broader political context.  The sterilization law declared constitutional in the U.S. in 1927 became the basis of Hitler's eugenics program. It was the beginning of the Holocaust as sterilization gave way to killing undesirables. American biologist, Dr. Harry Laughlin, who drafted the legislation was awarded an honorary doctorate in Germany in 1936 for his contribution to "race hygiene." Goebbels was the guest of honor. VHS 5879

The McCarthy years. Good night and good luck: The Edward R. Murrow television collection. 1991. 1 videocassette (120 min.). Murrow's broadcasts show McCarthy's abuses of power and signal the emergence of television news as an influential force in American life. Uses original footage from the CBS See it now series to explore the roots and results of Senator Joseph McCarthy's search for Communist influences in the federal government. Cronkite highlights Morrow's groundbreaking work in the television news of his time. VHS 2955

The Military and the environment. 1992. 1 videocassette (ca. 29 min.). Looks at the military's handling of toxic wastes, especially those developed at nuclear facilities, that has led to environmental disasters and health hazards. This creates enormous costs for cleanup as well as the need to reduce the incidence of pollution as a result of current and future military operations. VHS 2522

Miss Evers' boys. 1997. 1 videocassette (118 min.). Based on a true story. In 1932, Nurse Eunice Evers is invited to work with doctors on the "Tuskegee Experiment" to study the effects of syphilis. When she learns the patients are being denied the treatment that could cure them, she is faced with a terrible dilemma - to abandon the experiment and tell her patients, or to remain silent and offer only comfort. VHS 5068

The Noriega connection. 199?. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Examines how agencies of the U.S. government, using Noriega as an intelligence intermediary, consistently ignored the heinous activities of the deposed dictator for nearly twenty-five years. Working from U.S. intelligence documents and interviews with sources in the Drug Enforcement Administration, the CIA, the Justice and State Departments, the film tracks the U.S. government's long and duplicitous relationship with the fallen dictator. VHS 787

Other people's money. 1990. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Explores the $300 billion savings and loan debacle by profiling the financial schemes of Charles Keating and his support from influential senators.  Examines the faulty government and regulatory interventions that allowed Lincoln Savings to become a $2.5 billion liability to the U.S. taxpayers. VHS 791

The Panama deception. 1993. 1 videocassette (91 min.). Offers a view of the invasion of Panama that was not given by the American media. Presents evidence of mass burials of civilian casualties and internment of homeless civilians, which was concealed by the U.S. military or went unreported. Also claims to reveal Pres. Bush's "secret agenda" behind the invasion: to keep U.S. military bases in Panama after the year 2000 in defiance of canal treaties.  VHS 2662

Point of order: A record of the Army-McCarthy hearings from the documentary file. 1984. 1 videocassette (102 min.). Documents the 1954 Army-McCarthy hearings through excerpts from the television footage shot by CBS News during the six weeks of hearings. Includes an introduction by Paul Newman, who places the excerpts in historical perspective.  VHS 115

Poison and the Pentagon. 1988. 1 videocassette (60 min.). The military is America's largest producer of toxic waste. Frontline reporter Joe Rosenbloom investigates the Pentagon's poor record of cleaning up its pollution that contaminates the ground water in communities across the country. Discusses the mishandling of hazardous waste by the U.S. military and the effects on the surrounding communities. VHS 772

The Politics of greed. 1987. 1 videocassette (60 min.). As corruption scandals rock New York City, the careers of dozens of high officials are being destroyed. Frontline takes an inside look at the seamy side of urban politics and asks whether this is any way to run a government. Takes an inside look at the corruption scandal of politicians in New York City. Detailed look at the investigation of the Parking Violations Bureau. VHS 4965

Protectors and polluters. 1993. 1 videocassette (29 min.). In the process of protecting our nation, the U.S. military has polluted thousands of sites within and outside of our country.  The program examines efforts to clean up the mess and to reduce the amount of pollution created (still one ton of toxic waste per minute). Can this land be reclaimed or have local economies been destroyed and permanent health hazards created? VHS 2521

Public lands, private profits. 1994. 1 videocassette (60 min.). An investigation of the impact of the mining laws pertaining to public lands, which have not been changed since the late 1800's. Discusses the pending legislation in the U.S. Congress that would require companies to begin paying royalties on gold extracted from public lands. Specifically cites the increase in heap leach mining as a major problem, and includes some discussion of the major EPA cleanup project under way at a closed heap leach mine near Summitville, Colorado. Those interviewed include Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbit,  and John A. Knebel, the current president of the American Mining Congress.  VHS 3469

Rabbit in the moon. 1999. 1 videocassette (85 min.). A documentary/memoir about the lingering effects of the World War II internment of the Japanese American community. Visually stunning and emotionally compelling, the film examines issues that ultimately created deep rifts within the Japanese American community, reveals the racist subtext of the loyalty questionnaire and exposes the absurdity of the military draft within the camps. These testimonies are linked by the filmmakers' own experiences in the camps and placed in a larger historical context. VHS 5958

Scandalize my name: Stories from the blacklist. 2000. 1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.). Looks at a troubled period in American history, the 1950s -- a time of blacklists, loyalty oaths, slandered reputations, and the "Red Scare." Some of the hardest hit people were African-American performers and celebrities who were already victims of racial prejudice. Film looks at the stories of these African-Americans, like Paul Robeson, Hazel Scott, Jackie Robinson, and Harry Belafonte, whose loyalties were questioned. VHS 6177

So you want to buy a president? 1996. 1 videocassette (87 min.). Investigates the expected $500 million flowing into the 1996 presidential campaign. Explores what big financial donors want for their campaign contributions, and documents how the process works. VHS 4007

Summer of judgment: The Watergate hearings. 1983. 1 videocassette (116 min.). Pt. 1: Covers the formation of the Watergate Committee and the early days of the hearing, including the testimony of John Mitchell and John Dean.  --Pt. 2: Describes the committee's discovery of Nixon's taped conversations and recounts the testimony of top aides John Ehrlichman and Robert Haldeman on campaign procedures.  Also examines the House Committee impeachment procedures and effects of Watergate on the American political system. VHS 4713

Waco, the big lie. 1 videocassette (ca. 30 min.). A critical look at the federal policy and role that led to fire and death at the Branch Davidian Compound in Waco, Texas, on April 19, 1993. Film presents an alternative view about the events as it argues that the communal house was the property of a long established religious group, several of the members had outside jobs, the amount of ammunition present was vastly overestimated, the group did nothing to provoke the attack by the FBI and the details about the final attack leading to the all consuming fire were false as the fire was set by the FBI.  VHS 3430 pt.1

Waco, the big lie continues. 1 videocassette. Another look at the federal involvement in the Waco incident and the subsequent cover-up.  VHS 3430 pt.2

Waco: the rules of engagement. 1997. 1 videocassette (136 min.). A documentary film about the tragic series of events that occurred outside Waco, Texas in April 1993, in which 4 federal agents were killed along with 86 men, women and children of the Branch Davidian compound.  DVD 1658, HOME USE COLLECTION VHS 4820

Washington's other scandal. 1998. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Program reveals the heart of a Washington where money - not sex - is the obsession. Shows how both political parties, cynically and shamelessly, contrived to bend and break campaign laws in the '96 election to the point that some experts argue that money - or access to money - has been so exclusionary in the electoral process that it amounts to a denial of basic civil rights. Uses White House videotapes and candid interviews with White House insiders to argue that Clinton's 1996 re-election campaign was one of the most reckless fund-raising operations in the history of American politics. On the Republican side program exposes shell organizations like the company called Triad which were established to accept large donations outside the limits of the law and offer anonymity to wealthy donors. Also looks a the case of Oklahoma's impoverished Cheyenne/Arapaho tribes engulfed not only by the frenzied chase for campaign dollars, but also - after the '96 election -  by Washington operators who continued to try to fleece them. VHS 5605

Watergate. 1994. 3 videocassettes (ca. 225 min.). In-depth analysis of the notorious political scandal in the words of the perpetrators and prosecutors. VHS 879-881

Watergate: A third-rate burglary. Watergate. 1994. 1 videocassette (90 min.). President Nixon declared war on his "enemies" and a secret police force took shape in the White House. When the president's men were caught red-handed in the Democrat's Watergate offices, exposure threatened.  A massive cover-up, orchestrated by the President himself, seemed to succeed with Nixon's landslide 1972 re-election. VHS 2879

What happened to Bill Clinton? 1995. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Was it White Water or the media? Was Clinton too liberal or too   conservative? Was it Hillary or Rush Limbaugh? Is there a character issue or a  backlash against the 1960s?  Seven of the country's sharpest political thinkers ask: What happened to Bill Clinton? VHS 3011

When cops go bad. 1990. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Shows how the war on drugs is corrupting America's cops and gives the story behind the largest current police corruption scandal in the country, which has seven Los Angeles sheriff's deputies on trial. VHS 1229

Unfinished business: The Japanese American internment cases. America : a cultural mosaic. 1992. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Tells the stories of three Japanese-Americans, Fred Korematsu, Gordon Hirabayashi, and Minoru Yasui, who resisted the military orders to intern the Japanese-Americans and remove them from the West Coast after the attack on Pearl Harbor. Focuses on the three men's lives and the reasons behind their decisions to take their cases to the Supreme Court.  VHS 2950

Watergate: The conspiracy crumbles. Watergate. 1994. 1 videocassette (90 min.). The cover-up begins to crumble when John Dean, the designated fall-guy, turns stool pigeon. The existence of the Oval Office tapes is revealed. Nixon tries to strong-arm FBI into shutting down the Special Prosecutor's office, and a tarnished vice-president is forced to resign. VHS 2880

Watergate: The fall of a president. Watergate. 1994. 1 videocassette (45 min.). Nixon's next, hand-picked Special Prosecutor uncovers evidence so damning that the President's staunchest supporters begin to defect. The House Judiciary Committee raises the specter of impeachment and slowly tightens the noose. A once-proud President Nixon resigns in disgrace. VHS 2881

Who owns our government? Listening to America with Bill Moyers. 1994. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Bill Moyers examines the effect of political contributions on public policy. Shows how campaign contributions to key committee members of Congress helped cause the savings and loan debacle; how a loophole in the campaign finance law is permitting large cash contributions to undermine the public financing of presidential campaigns; and how special interest money from the $700 billion health care industry is preventing health care reform. VHS 3444 

Corporate Misbehavior

American dream. 1992. 1 videocassette (98 min.). True story of a workers 1985-1986 strike against Geo. A. Hormel & Company in Austin, Minnesota. When the company made $2 million in profits and then cut their worker's salary by $2 an hour, the workers had only one option: strike. VHS 2650

Bill Moyers reports: Trading democracy. Baruch video. 2002. 1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.). "While the benefits of the North American Free Trade Agreement are still being argued ... corporate investors are using the obscure NAFTA provision to challenge laws designed to protect the public health, environmental regualtions and even jury verdicts... This program details a system of private justice that is enabling companies to obtain what they have failed to achieve publicly America's legislatures or courts"--Publisher's website. VHS 6898

Borderline cases: Environmental matters at the United States-Mexico border. 1997. 1 videocassette (65 min.). Filmed in three border regions (Matamoros and Brownsville; Tijuana and San Diego; Ciudad Juarez and El Paso), documentary describes problems caused by factories built in Mexico at the US - Mexico border which did not need to comply with US environmental regulations and also presents proposals and projects to remedy the border's deteriorating environmental conditions. VHS 4320

The Buffalo Creek flood: An act of man. 1975. 1 videocassette (40 min.). Examines the February 26, 1972 flood caused by the failure of the Pittston Company's coal waste dam on Buffalo Creek in Southern West Virginia which killed 125 people and left 4000 homeless. Mixing actual footage of the flood and its immediate wake with interviews with survivors, union and citizens' representatives and Pittston officials, the film probes the causes and effects of the disaster. Evidence shows that company officials knew of the hazard in advance of the flood and that the dam was in violation of state and federal regulations, yet Pittston denied any wrongdoing, calling the disaster "Act of God.". VHS 3381

Buffalo Creek revisited. 1984. 1 videocassette (31 min.). Presents a documentary on the collapse of a company-owned coal-waste dam that took more than 125 lives in the West Virginia coalmining region of Buffalo Creek in 1972. Uses newsreel footage, old photographs, newspaper headlines, aerial views, and an automobile tour. VHS 3382

Cigarettes who profits? who dies? 1994. 1 videocassette (49 min.). Looks at the dangers of smoking and the power of cigarette advertising, featuring former cigarette models who are now dying of cigarette-related cancer. Discusses the tobacco industry's efforts to promote smoking and export products to developing countries. VHS 3726

Deadly deception: General Electric, nuclear weapons and our environment. 1993. 1 videocassette (29 min.). Exposes the human and environmental effects of General Electric Company's nuclear weapons facilities. Plant workers have been poisoned by radiation and asbestos; neighboring homes have experienced cancers and birth defects. Shows the activists who worked to inform the public and stop the company's dangerous activities.  After years of pressure, on April 2, 1993, GE sold its Aerospace Division. VHS 3598

Death in the West. 1982? 1 videocassette (VHS) (32 min.). Repeat of the documentary Death in the West : The Marlboro man, originally broadcast by Thames Television in 1976 as well as a follow-up of the six cowboys characterized in the film as the Marlboro man. VHS 6842

Erin Brockovich. 2000. 1 videodisc (132 min.). Erin Brockovich is a feisty young mother who convinces attorney Ed Masry to hire her and promptly stumbles upon a monumental law case against a giant corporation.  Erin's determined to take on this powerful adversary even though no law firm has dared to do it before.  The two begin an incredible and sometimes hilarious fight that will bring a small town to its feet and a huge company to its knees. DVD 306

Fear and favor in the newsroom. 1996. 1 videocassette (56 min.). Examines the need to protect freedom of the press and investigative journalism in the United States when newspapers and television stations are owned and influenced by large corporations hostile to media exposure. Examines case studies of investigative journalists who have been dismissed or forced to resign because of "too aggressive" journalistic practices and cases of censorship mandated by television and print media management. VHS 3989

Food Lion vs. PrimeTime Live: Jury finds ABC guilty of fraud. 1998? 1 videocassette (16 min). Using segments of the ABC News PrimeTime Live broadcast on Nov. 5 and Nov. 12, 1992 and also segments edited out, film discusses the fraudulent behavior of ABC News PrimeTime Live during its investigation of Food Lion supermarkets. Film, made for Food Lion, points out that although there was over 43 hours of tape, ABC edited it down to 10 min. of on-air time. Film argues that ABC set out to create news, not report it, and edited its material to support a predetermined point of view. VHS 5616

Global dumping ground. 1990. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Program investigates America's shadowy new industry-the international export of toxic waste-revealing how shipping deadly wastes to third-world countries has become an enormous business in the US. Moyers interviews various people who are involved with the disposal of toxic waste materials. VHS 6164

The great American bailout. 1991. 1 videocassette (58 min.). An inside look at the causes and costs of the savings and loan scandal of the 1980's. Explores similar problems in the banking industry. VHS 1859

Hand that feeds. 1996. 1 videocassette (14 min.). Chris Wallace interviews journalists, media executives and others about the suppression of news reports that criticize or offend advertisers.  Most of the examples involve auto dealers and the major concern is that investigative journalism in television, newspapers and other media is unable to protect consumers if it cannot cover legitimate stories. VHS 4228

Harlan County U.S.A. 1980. 1 videocassette (97 min). Documents the 1973 Kentucky coal miners' strike against the operators of the Brookside mine and the Duke Power Company, which resulted from the company's refusal to honor the national contract of the United Mine Workers of America. In the summer of 1973, the men at the Brookside Mine, in Harlan, Kentucky, voted to join the United Mine Workers of America. Duke Power Company and its subsidiary, Eastover Mining Company, refused to sign the contract. The miners came out on strike. Viewpoints of mineworkers, mine-owners, and union official are shown.  VHS 39

Hidden cameras, hard choices. 1997. 1 videocassette (46 min.). ABC News looks at the way it collects information - in particular its use of the hidden camera in photojournalism. Discussion arises because of the legal case in which Food Lion sued ABC News because of hidden camera coverage used in a 1992 PrimeTime Live story. In that story Diane Sawyer presented an undercover investigation of Food Lion supermarkets, exposing internal labor problems and major food handling blunders. Food Lion won the case and received 5.5 million dollars in punitive damages. 4853

How to steal $500 million. 1994. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Tells the story of Phar-Mor's rapid rise and stunning fall, and reveals how the company's top executives were able to hide a $500 million shortfall from the company's auditors for five years. VHS 3340

In our own backyard: The first Love Canal. 1982. 1 videocassette (59 min.). Combines footage of public events and interviews to examine the ways that residents in the Love Canal area, their scientific and legal advisors, and government officials understood and responded to the discovery of toxic wastes in Niagara Falls, New York. VHS 1609

Inside the tobacco deal. 1998. 1 videocassette (60 min.). For forty years, Big Tobacco successfully defeated every effort by the federal government and the public health community to hold it responsible for the deaths of millions. Then, on the strength of a handshake, two Mississippi lawyers (Mike Moore, Mississippi's Attorney General and attorney Dick Scruggs) declared war on tobacco, eventually convincing the industry in 1997 to hand over $368 billion, while at the same time triggering a massive criminal investigation of Big Tobacco. This program goes inside their battle with Big Tobacco. VHS 5609

The last cigarette. 1999. 1 videocassette (82 min.). Shows segments of the 1994 U.S. House of Representative's Health and the Environment Subcommittee hearings on tobacco products and health, during which the CEOs of the major tobacco companies testified.  Interspersed with the House hearing segments are television advertisements and clips from motion pictures showing people using tobacco products. Includes discussion of the addictive effects of nicotine, the industries' marketing strategies, and the executives' statements that use of tobacco products is neither addicting nor damaging to health.  There is no narration.  Viewers are to draw their own conclusions. VHS 6843

Marketing booze to blacks. 1990. 1 videocassette (17 min.) ; sd., col. Beer, wine and liquor companies spend more than $2 billion each year promoting their products - and one of their main targets is Afro-Americans. Film examines the impact of alcoholism and other alcohol-related problems in the black community, looks at the messages in alcohol ads and raises questions about the industry's support of civic groups. VHS 1897

Matewan. 1987. 1 videocassette (134 min.). A labor leader seeking to organize the workers of a company town sets off a powder-keg of racial hostility, corruption and betrayal in this tale of the bitter clash between unionist miners and the tyrannical coal company owners in the hill country of Matewan, West Virginia, in the 1920's. DVD 1651, HOME USE COLLECTION VHS 511

The Molly Maguires. 1990. 1 videocassette (123 min.). A dramatized account of the Molly Maguires, a secret society of Irish American coal miners in 19th century Pennsylvania. James McParlan (Richard Harris) is a detective on undercover assignment for the mine owners; Jack Kehoe (Sean Connery) is the leader of the Molly Maguires. VHS 3891

The Nicotine war. 1995. 1 videocassette (57 min.). This program tells the story of Food and Drug Administration chief David Kessler's attempt to regulate tobacco.  This industry has defied regulation for more than thirty years. VHS 3141

Pack of lies: The advertising of tobacco. 1992. 1 videocassette (35 min.). Expose of the advertising strategies of the tobacco industry, revealing the cynical and manipulative way in which the "pack of lies" is spread, and new generations of nicotine addicts are created. VHS 2049

The Politics of tobacco. 1994. 1 videocassette (22 min.). The program is divided into three segments. Part 1: Ms. Roberts interviews Congressmen who support or oppose the tobacco lobby and  shows news footage of the declining influence of the tobacco industry due to recent attacks on it. -- Part 2: Roberts travels to Harrison County, Ky., where Congressman Scotty Baesler and tobacco farmers discuss the economic changes in the area in recent years due to changes in the tobacco industry and in government policies regarding it. -- Part 3: Norman Ornstein discusses the political and economic impact of using tobacco taxes as one of the three main sources of finance for the proposed national health care system. Is financing the most vulnerable part of the health care bill? VHS 2667

Prescriptions for profit. 1989. 1 videocassette (58 min.). Goes behind the labels and hype to consider the economic, social and ethical questions that arise when big business is mixed with human suffering and a large dose of advertising. The development, approval and marketing of a new drug can take from 7 to 10 years and cost up to $125 million. To insure adequate monetary return, drug companies have turned to marketing techniques that include celebrity endorsement and promotion that sometimes avoid mention of dangerous side effects. VHS 774

Quiz show. 199? 1 videodisc (133 min.). Fame and fortune become a hotbed of scandal when a Washington investigator uncovers corruption beneath the TV's hottest quiz show's glittering facade. The scandal implicates both the wildly popular champion and the disgruntled ex-champ. DVD 164

The Quiz show scandal. 1991. 1 videocassette (ca. 60 min.). When CBS premiered "The $64,000 Question" in 1955, the show was a national phenomenon and attracted 47 million viewers in ten weeks. A congressional investigation revealed that many of the quiz shows were a fraud. The scandal rocked television during its formative years and had considerable impact on the broadcast industry and a still naive America. This documentary features Charles Van Doren, a contestant on The $64,000 Question. VHS 1689

Silkwood. 1995. 1 videocassette (131 min.). Based on the true story of Karen Silkwood who is poisoned by plutonium. Silkwood worked at the Kerr McGee atomic plant in Cimarron, Oklahoma. She wants to visit her children in Texas but is told by her supervisor that she must find somebody to work her hours. Returning from the depressing visit, she finds the plant shut down for decontamination. She is suspected of sabotaging the plant to get time off. She voices her protest at the indifference and denial of her company and loses her job, many of her friends and her life in a mysterious accident. DVD 1647, HOME USE COLLECTION VHS 3496

Smoke screen. 1996. 1 videocassette (12 min.). Lesley Stahl shows scenes from motion pictures, mostly recent ones, in which stars are smoking.  She interviews young smokers, Califano, and people involved in movie-making about the influence movies have in encouraging young people to smoke. VHS 4156

Toxic trials. 1986. 1 videocassette (60 min.). This program examines the origin of hazardous waste in Woburn, Mass., and follows government and private investigators as they try to assess the extent of contamination.  It also explores the controversial subject of possible health effects, and whether epidemiologists can identify these effects in a scientifically reliable way. VHS 5145

TV reality? Signal to noise: life with television: Media literacy series. 1996. 1 videocassette (ca. 57 min.). Signal to noise: the ratio of the strength of a desired signal to that of unwanted noise. Series evaluates the hold TV has had on our perceptions of ourselves, our world, and the future. This segment focuses on the information function of television, and addresses concerns that the profit motive has corrupted this public service. VHS 4722

Who's killing Calvert City? 1989. 1 videocassette (60 min.). Calvert City, Kentucky, is at war with itself over the legacy of pollution and toxic waste from the chemical plants that are the heart of its economy. Program examines the struggle between citizens and industry giants, like GAF and BF Goodrich. Looks at the views of the politicians, plant executives, chemical manufacturers, and concerned environmentalists who fear the plants are jeopardizing Calvert City citizens' lives, but who also insist that a pollution panic has been stirred up that could ruin Calvert City's economic future. VHS 885

Whistleblowers

The A.C.L.U: A history. 1998. 1 videocassette (57 min.). Looks at the life of Roger Baldwin and surveys the history of The American Civil Liberties Union he founded, an organization that has supported the rights of the individual against the majority and the government. Traces the ACLU's history from its inception through dozens of legal challenges over the past century, including the Scopes trial, the 1930s labor strikes, Japanese internment, the HUAC hearings and blacklisting, the Vietnam war crimes trials, the American Nazi party's bid to march in Skokie, Illinois, and others. VHS 5539

The awful truth: the complete first season. 2000. 3 videocassettes (ca. 300 min.). Shot in his trademark "guerilla video" style, each episode is filled with observations that bridge comedy and controversy and places Michael Moore in the middle of today's hot topics. VHS 6761

The awful truth the complete second season. 2002. 3 videocassettes (300 min.). Compilation of the second season episodes of The awful truth, in which Michael Moore skewers politicians and the public alike as he places himself squarely in the middle of today's most controversial issues and events. The twelve half-hour episodes are filled with scathingly funny observations and humorous rants that boldly and ironically provide valuable commentary on today's cultural landscpe. VHS 6762

Change makers: The struggle for consumer rights. 1995. 1 videocassette (56 min.). The story of the historic struggle to obtain and defend consumer rights since World War II. Twenty five consumer leaders share their successes, their failures, and their insights on consumer issues. VHS 4146

Integrity in public service earning the public's trust. 1993. 1 videocassette (20 min.). Discusses ethical issues in government service. VHS 1974

Manufacturing consent: Noam Chomsky and the media. 1992? 2 videocassettes (167 min.). Explores the political life and times of the controversial author, linguist and radical philosopher, Noam Chomsky. Highlighting his analysis of media, Chomsky focuses on democratic societies where populations not disciplined by force are subject to more subtle forms of ideological control. VHS 2507 pt.1,2

Necessary illusions: Thought control in a democratic society. 1989. 3 videocassettes (159 min.). Professor Chomsky lectures on how the press' interpretation of events shapes societal views and the danger thought control poses to democracy. In democratic societies, populations are not disciplined by force but are subject to more subtle forms of ideological control. VHS 2312 pt.1-3

Ralph Nader. Talking with David Frost. 1994. 1 videocassette (57 min.). David Frost talks with consumer advocate Ralph Nader. VHS 3281

Tell the truth and run: George Seldes and the American press. 1996. 1 videocassette (111 min.). A documentary on the life and work of George Seldes, America's most important press critic. The film includes archival footage and photographs, and provides a fresh perspective on 20th century history, while raising profound questions about America's news media. VHS 4288

Best of TV nation, vol. 1. 1994. 1 videocassette (ca. 120 min.). Michael Moore, the creator of the critically acclaimed "Roger & me," sets out with a TV crew and correspondents to "hilariously expose the excesses of corporate America and examine the absurdity of modern politics and popular culture"--Container. VHS 4661

Best of TV nation, vol. 2. 1995. 1 videocassette (ca. 116 min.). Michael Moore, the creator of the critically acclaimed "Roger & me," sets out with a TV crew and correspondents to "hilariously expose the excesses of corporate America and examine the absurdity of modern politics and popular culture"--Container. VHS 4662

Whistleblowers. 1987. 1 videocassette (24 min.). Looks at the consequences of telling the truth when people expose wrong doing and corruption. Examines the treatment of employees who reported the illegal dumping of sludge by the Raritan Township Municipal Utilities Authority in N.J and explores the role and fate of whistle blowers in our society with author Alan F. Westin and engineer Roger Boisjoly who warned against the launch of the Challenger. VHS 705

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