These segments often consist of interviews with reporters about the challenges they face in covering controversial issues, as well as media scholars and analysts.

[citation needed] The show addresses questions about how the media is influenced or spun by politicians,[1] corporations and interest groups with the intent to shape public opinion.

This includes an OTM feature that covers the media's use of terminology that may engender biased points of view, such as the use of hot-button issues and code words like "Michael Moore," "torture," "evangelical" and "islamofascist".

[2] In the wake of the election of Donald Trump to the U.S. presidency, OTM shifted its editorial focus somewhat to give more time to reporting undercovered stories.

[7] On the Media first aired February 7, 1993 on WNYC as a local call-in show, initially hosted by Brian Lehrer, then Warren Levinson, and later by Alex S. Jones.

During its early episodes it was called "Inside Media," but the title was changed to avoid confusion with a same-named trade publication.