When did  “amnesty” become such a dirty word? For our first “News or Noise” segment –where we take a look at media matters that may involve misunderstanding or misinformation— María Hinojosa talks to attorney Allan Wernick about the use of the word amnesty when it comes to immigration policy.

Click here to download this week’s show. Image courtesy of Flickr (Creative commons). 

“News or Noise?” is a dynamic multiplatform radio project produced by Latino USA to encourage listeners to think critically about the news. Supported by Chicago’s Robert R. McCormick Foundation as part of its “Why News Matters” initiative, this year-long series of radio reports will explore top stories in the news cycle around which there is extensive commentary, misinformation, confusion or misunderstanding. The companion “News or Noise?” online quiz, (schedule here), will ask listeners to put their critical reasoning skills to the test as they discern fact from fabrication about each news topic.

Allan Wernick is a professor at Baruch College and he is the director of Citizen Now program at the City University of New York. He is a published author on U.S. immigration and citizenship issues and he is also a columnist for the New York Daily News and King Features Syndicate.