BOB GARFIELD:
We'll read a few of your letters in a moment, but first this update. We've reported on Josh Wolf, a blogger arrested and jailed for refusing to give federal prosecutors videotapes he made during an anti-globalization protest in July of 2005. He was released this week after spending 226 days in prison, the longest any journalist has served for protecting source materials. Wolf had maintained that the prosecutors intended to use the tapes not to find lawbreakers but to identify protesters.

He was freed after reaching an agreement with the United States Attorney's Office to submit raw footage of the demonstration, but he will not have to identify any of the people he filmed. Meanwhile, he's posted the whole videotape on his blog.
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
You sent us quite a few letters this week, most on our interview about the upcoming Terror Channel sit-com called Jihad to Be There. Tony Commons wrote in to say it was, quote, "very funny, I do hope that next week you'll tell us just how many OTM listeners thought it was real."
BOB GARFIELD:
Well, judging from the mail, not too many, but a few, including one major news organization north of the border. Most of you realized at some point that it was an April Fool's Day stunt, though some of you had to google just to make sure.

The response was mostly positive, ranging from "brilliant," "hilarious" and "nicely done," to "tasteless," "racist" and "insensitive."
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
Among the naysayers was Alice M. Curtis, who, after noting that all the characters in our fictional sit-com were named Abdul, had this to say, quote, "I am a counselor in an elementary school where we really do have a lot of boys named Abdul. I cringe to think of our children being subjected to this kind of cultural assault. Our local NPR station aired this story on April 1st. I thought it might be a hoax, but since the program originally aired on March 30th, I'm afraid it might be true. If it's all a joke, it's just not funny, and if it's real, I'm not laughing."
BOB GARFIELD:
We also received a lot of mail regarding my interview with journalist Nina Easton, who talked about the benefit of being married to a political consultant. Listener Joan Budd gave us a good laugh when she wrote, quote, "Congratulations on an excellent April 1st hoax. I'm sure I'm not the only listener who was initially fooled by your interview with Fortune's Washington Bureau Chief Nina Easton, on the important topic of coziness between political reporters and those they cover.

However, when Ms. Easton referred to media critics as 'navel gazers' while being interviewed on a media analysis program, well, that was [LAUGHS] just too arrogant to be believable. And your dry response was the final giveaway. Well done."
BROOKE GLADSTONE:
Keep those jeers and cheers coming to onthemedia@wnyc.org, and please tell us where you live and how to pronounce your name.