This week on CounterSpin: the Enron verdicts are in, much to the chagrin of former chairman (and George Bush buddy) Ken Lay and CEO Jeff Skilling. And many in the media are rendering their verdicts too, suggesting that the Enron case brings to an end a lamentable chapter in corporate malfeasance. But what was the media doing all that time? We'll hear from L.A. Times media writer Tim Rutten.

Also on CounterSpin today, the disastrous explosion at the Sago coal mine in West Virginia was mere months ago, but does that mean that, when another five miners were killed in Harlan County Kentucky on May 20, reporters were ready to move beyond funeral coverage and start seriously tracking accountability? Our guest says his research indicates a national press corps still unwilling to trace responsibility for mine safety as high as it goes. Peter Dreier is a professor of politics at Occidental College.

Links:

—Enron's Press Pass, by Tim Rutten (L.A. Times, 5/27/06)