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Margaret Sullivan, media columnist of The Washington Post and former public editor of The New York Times, joins Merrill Brown on this episode of Media Download. They discuss the media's coverage of this presidential campaign and the upcoming presidential debate between Trump and Clinton.

Tom Hall, Executive Director of The Montclair Film Festival joins us to discuss the festival now on its 5th year. During this year's festival they'll be unveiling major motion pictures, releasing student made films, independent films and hosting conversations with famous directors, actors and more.

Tom Hall is responsible for development, fundraising, sponsorship, education, marketing, event planning, strategic partnerships, and year-round programs. He has previously worked at Sarasota Film Festival, newportFILM, Nantucket Film, Festival, Hamptons Film Festival and more.

We are joined by Evan Matthews, Assistant Professor of Exercise Science and Physical Education at Montclair State to discuss benefits and risks of popular smartwatches and Fitbit bands. These trendy gadgets offer us new ways to monitor and improve self-health. Anyone of any age can have a "personal health assistant" that tracks and uses vital information to promote a healthier lifestyle. But are there risks of storing all of this personal data? Exercise scientist Evan Matthews discusses health benefits and potential disadvantages to personal health trackers. Matthews is a cardiovascular physiologist who has helped launch new publications in his field.

Mark Green, NYC's first Public Advocate and author/editor of 23 books, latest being next month's Bright, Infinite Future: A Generational Memoir on the Progressive Rise joins us to discuss the upcoming NY primaries on April 19th.

Joe Nocera, sports business columnist at The New York Times, discusses the “Indentured” Athlete -

Inside Rebellion Against the NCAA."

Matt Katz, a political reporter for WNYC radio and resident Chris Christie expert. Matt is the creator of the Chris Christie Chronicles blog as well as the host of the Chris Christie Tracker radio podcast. He is the recipient of the 2015 Peabody award for news coverage of the infamous Bridgegate scandal as well as a winner of the Livingston Award for international reporting while in Afghanistan.

Today we were joined by Dr. Joel Penney to discuss live streaming and digital privacy. Dr. Penney is an Assistant Professor in the School of Communication and Media here at Montclair State, specializing in new media, critical/cultural studies, and political communication and theory. Dr. Penney is currently working on a book project that explores how citizens participate in political marketing campaigns in the digital age.

On this episode we talk to Chris Poland, founder and president of Eclipse Records, about the state of the music industry from an indie label perspective. The Recording Industry Association of America has announced that streaming will now counts towards song and album sales. As a rights owner, Poland has seen the change in consumer consumption habits from compact discs to downloads and then to streaming and he shares his perspective with us.

Eclipse Records is a boutique indie rock record label in North Jersey that gained national recognition with the release of Mushroomhead XX.

Engineer/ Producer: Nicole Liberti

Associate Producer: Kishon Springer

Social Media: Juan Contla, Shakira Perez and Francesca LaBianco

When the presidency of the United States is at stake and not just a reality TV show competition, what is the media’s responsibility in this pattern of coverage and in considering the visibility of all candidates? Why is media coverage of Trump so superficial? Only recently has the media started looking at his business performance and his campaign claims. What might be the impact of serious media scrutiny of Trump’s presidential bid? Jonathan Alter,journalist, best-selling author, television producer, and Daily Beast columnist joins us this week to discuss. Jonathan is also a contributing correspondent to NBC news and MSNBC. And he’s now working on a massive biography of former President Jimmy Carter. With the campaign gaining a great deal of student interest, we’re fortunate that Jonathan is teaching a course here at Montclair state, on how to write and report on politics.

Producer & Engineer: Juan Contla

Associate Producers: Francesca LaBianco & Shakira Perez

Social Media: Francesca LaBianco

Executive Producer: Anabella Poland

Jack Rico, journalist, founder, and Editor-In-Chief of ShowBizCafe.com - an entertainment website which combines American and Latino mainstream pop culture. He is also the Entertainment Contributor for the TODAY show, MSNBC, Telemundo and NBCNews.com. Jack has covered the issues of race at the Oscars extensively and we are thrilled he is here to offer some insight as well as sharing his predictions for Oscars 2016.