Campbell is a professor of journalism at American University, after spending more than 20 years as a working journalist around the globe. His new book, "Getting It Wrong: Ten of the Greatest Misreported Stories in American Journalism" comes out Monday.

Not to give your book away, but what are the top misreported stories in America?

The book discusses media-driven myths that range from William Randolph Hearst's 1897 coverage of the rebellion in Cuba, all the way to the misreporting of the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005, when the news media reported a very apocalyptic scene of looting and raping ... which in fact did not happen. ... It was exceedingly exaggerated.

What is journalism doing right these days?

One of the things we're certainly doing right is experimenting very imaginatively and widely in the digital option. ... There was a time, maybe 10 years ago, when journalists were very wary of the Internet, and that wariness has dropped away.

What is journalism doing wrong these days?

There is a tendency to report in very similar terms. I think there's a need to get away from the "group think" that characterizes American newsrooms. There's a great need for intellectual diversity.

Fewer and fewer Americans are paying attention to the news. What is the antidote for this?

I think it really starts at a very early age, to cultivate a taste for keeping up with the news. ... I'm afraid I don't know the antidote, but it's certainly worth giving some thought to.

With news media facing hard times financially, what do you tell young journalists in your classes about getting jobs?

I tell them this is a very engaging and interesting time. This is a time when their ideas and their notions about what the field might look like can be readily explored and pursued.

-- Liz Essley