From WNYC in New York, this is on the media.

I'm Brooke Gladstone.

And I'm Bob Garfield.

Back now to our top story today, Syria under siege.

As a crackdown by the Assad regime only gets worse.

The government troop bombarded the rebellious city of homes.

Again, the slaughter continues.

The dictator Bashar al-Assad seems out to destroy all opposition. The situation in Syria is

beyond dire. Nearly one year into the uprising there, with the death toll estimated to exceed

5,000 souls, mostly civilians, the regime of President Bashar al-Assad shows no signs of backing down.

Last week, vetoes by China and Russia scuttled a United Nations Security Council resolution

calling for Assad to step down. And since then, activists and residents have reported

hundreds more deaths concentrated in the besieged city of Homs.

UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon said we are witnessing, quote, appalling brutality in Homs,

but in reality, tight restrictions on media in Syria are making it difficult for the world community

to witness anything there at all.

This is why, perhaps more so than any other conflict during the Arab Spring,

social media have played a crucial role in getting information out of the country.

Look, dead bodies, all in the ocean.

Look, this is all dead bodies. We're not animals. We're human beings. We're asking for help.

But in this new media order, some old media questions linger.

In a situation as horrific as serious, how do you walk the line between conveying the

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