BOSTON — Monday night’s Democratic Senate debate was unseemly, bizarre and annoying.

BOSTON — From bad lighting to confusing jargon, WBUR Senior Media Analyst John Carroll said Monday night’s mayoral debate revealed little about the candidates and left voters with more questions than answers.

BOSTON — It’s been almost two weeks since Harvard professor Henry Louis Gates Jr. was arrested outside his Cambridge home for disorderly conduct — a charge that was dropped by Cambridge police after the arrest became public knowledge. But the news coverage has continued full blast. WBUR Senior Media Analyst John Carroll says the racially-tinged incident has brought out the “most” in the news media.

BOSTON — Beacon Hill lawmakers have yet to override any of Gov. Deval Patrick’s $150 million in budget vetoes, despite promises to do so — especially in the case of the $4 million cut in state funding for the Franklin Park and Stoneham zoos. WBUR Senior Media Analyst John Carroll says local newspapers haven’t been so wishy-washy.

BOSTON — To consider the value of the Boston Globe these days, and to talk about some potential buyers, WBUR’s Bob Oakes spoke with Senior Media Analyst John Carroll. He says it’s in the interest of management and the union to settle their differences as soon as possible.

BOSTON — the U.S. Senate passed legislation Thursday giving the Food & Drug Administration power to regulate the American cigarette market. WBUR’s Senior Media Analyst John Carroll says where there’s smoking regulation, there are fire drills in the tobacco industry.

BOSTON — Whichever way the Boston Newspaper Guild votes on Monday, the Globe as we’ve known it is yesterday’s news, says WBUR senior media analyst John Carroll. Even if the Globe’s parent New York Times Co. gets its $20 million in union givebacks, the paper-shredding at the local broadsheet has just begun.

BOSTON — The Service Employees Industrial Union, or SEIU, has launched an ad campaign targeting what is says are problems with patient safety and quality of care at Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center. But WBUR Senior Media Analyst John Carroll says the union’s eye is really on another objective.

BOSTON — Despite polls showing Boston Mayor Thomas Menino with a commanding lead over his three challengers, he’s launched an unusually early advertising campaign. WBUR Senior Media Analyst John Carroll says Menino’s traditional ad approach stands in stark contrast to his opponents’ new-media marketing efforts.

BOSTON — The Globe’s largest union is taking its case to the public — organizing a pep rally and launching a “Save The Boston Globe” petition on its website. But WBUR Senior Media Analyst John Carroll says indifferent readers are not the audience the union needs to appeal to.

BOSTON — The Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism has launched a three-million-dollar advertising campaign that mainly targets leisure travelers in New York and New England. But WBUR’s senior media analyst John Carroll says the campaign doesn’t travel well in some circles.

BOSTON — The Boston Globe is in the unfortunate position of having to document its own dismantling. The result? What’s known in psychological circles as repressed hostility. Or maybe not so repressed, says WBUR Senior Media Analyst John Carroll.

BOSTON — WBUR’s senior media analyst, John Carroll, says the slow-motion demise of newspapers is triggering the usual responses from the media.

BOSTON — Lately, the media world has been all a-twitter about Twitter, the micro-blogging service. But WBUR senior media analyst John Carroll says not everyone has jumped on the bandwagon.

BOSTON — There are already signs about how President Obama will govern and how the White House will communicate with Americans. We speak with WBUR senior media analyst John Carroll.

BOSTON — WBUR’s John Carroll says next month’s conversion of analog television broadcasting to an all-digital format
has unfolded like a bad sitcom.

BOSTON — A recent survey conducted by the Direct Marketing Association reveals more than half of U.S. ad spending this year will be dedicated to direct marketing. WBUR senior media analyst John Carroll says there’s a direct benefit from that approach to advertising.

BOSTON — It’s that time of year when people start to wrestle with their annual list of New Year’s resolutions. But take heart: WBUR senior media analyst John Carroll has a revolutionary new approach to that pesky problem.

BOSTON, Mass. — Our media analyst has a few choice words about the explosion of words the media now identify with just a first letter. He thinks it’s “D-word for dopey.”

BOSTON — As the U.S. economy continues to flounder, companies have increasingly looked for an edge in the shrinking marketplace. WBUR senior media analyst John Carroll says the struggle is written all over current advertising campaigns.