British Prime Minister David Cameron says there needs to be a public inquiry into allegations that the NewsCorp.-owned newspaper News of the World hacked mobile phones to listen to voicemails of murder and terrorism victims. The latest allegation against the Murdoch tabloid is that a private investigator employed by the paper hacked into the personal accounts of family members of soldiers killed in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

The Egyptian revolution has transformed more than just the government. For decades, freedom of the press was out of reach for most of the Egyptian media, but the revolution has changed all that — to an extent. Some topics such as the military are still left unreported by most traditional outlets. Blogs like "Tahrir Diaries," a website run by 25-year-old writer and activist Mona Seif, are one of the few sources reporting on military trials and violations. 

All week long we're talking with some of our favorite guests from 2010 about the year that was…the good, the bad, and the ridiculous. Today, our subject is the year’s big breakups, and our guest is author, humorist, and newshound Andy Borowitz. But rather than just talk about or look at the breakups, we’re also inviting listeners to participate and answer a quiz that we’re calling the Takeaway’s 2010 Breakup Quiz.

All week long we're talking with some of our favorite guests from the past year about the year that was. Today we're having a conversation about the teachable moments of 2010. What lessons can we take away from the major world events of the past year?

As 2010 winds down, we're getting predictions for what the world will look like in 2011. All week long, we'll be talking with writers, critics, and big thinkers about topics ranging from politics to population, conflict and culture. We speak with Daniel Franklin, executive editor of the Economist and editor of the feature, “The World in 2011,” along with Joanne Lipmann, founding editor-in-cheif of Portfolio Magazine.

For fifteen years CNN’s Larry King Live was a staple of nighttime cable television. It was the most watched program on the network and its host held court to musicians, movie starts, heads of state and newsmakers of the day. Maybe that’s what prompted Lady Gaga to ask him whether or not his name was really "King Larry?" But last night, Larry King wrapped his final episode in an interview with a star-studded show where even current and former presidents found time to make an appearance. Will he be missed, and can he be replaced?

CNN turns 30 today, but the anniversary is bittersweet for the Cable News Network. Its ratings are in a slump and the competition for a constant stream of news seems to be getting even more fierce as the internet attracts viewers away from TV to the screens of smart phones and computers.  

On Wednesday, Google refined a program to help struggling news organizations limit readers' unpaid access to some news content. It's called the "First Click Free" program, and it means news consumers may be asked to register or subscribe once they've clicked on the website of a particular news outlet through Google News more than five times per day. It's all part of the continuing shakeup over whether or not reading news online should continue to be (mostly) free. For a look at what this might mean for those of you who get most of your news online, we talk to Steven Brill, the founder of Journalism Online.

We talk to Chris Lydon, former host of NPR's The Connection and creator of Open Source radio. He has covered Senator Kennedy throughout his years as a reporter. We also talk with Jeff Zeleny, White House correspondent at The New York Times who is on Martha's Vineyard waiting for President Obama to speak about Kennedy's death and legacy.

It's no kind of overstatement to say that CBS News legend Don Hewitt invented television news. As a producer he helped shape the careers of such respected news luminaries as Edward R. Murrow and Walter Cronkite at a time when broadcast television was just emerging from radio's shadow. He made news into hour-long, genre-spanning programs. Hewitt created 60 Minutes in 1968; the show was a huge success and helped turn correspondents like Morley Safer, Diane Sawyer, and Mike Wallace into household names. His death at 86 comes as another new medium, the internet, looms over the future of existing broadcast and print media. To talk about the life and legacy of Don Hewitt, we talk to New York Times reporter Jacques Steinberg and Hewitt's long time friend and former CBS producer Jeff Gralnick.

The Takeaway is taking a look at the news scorecard for the week including Obama selling his embattled health care plan, Secretary of State Clinton taking aim at North Korea, and a Harvard professor facing down police from inside his own home. Here to help tally who's up and who’s down is friend of The Takeaway Marcus Mabry, the international business editor at The New York Times, and Reihan Salam, fellow at the New America Foundation and co-author of "Grand New Party: How Republicans Can Win the Working Class and Save the American Dream."

Walter Cronkite, an icon in television news, had retired in 1982. In his post-anchorman career he had become critical of the state of journalism today, even having a few regrets from his own career. Joining The Takeaway to talk about Cronkite's criticism of journalism is The New York Times Media Reporter, Brian Stelter.

Walter Cronkite died at the age of 92 on Friday night after a long bout with cerebrovascular disease. Cronkite revolutionized television news and the role of the news anchor, and was once called the most trusted public figure in the U.S. To help The Takeaway remember this television news legend is his former Executive Producer for the CBS Evening News, Sanford Socolow.

In the video below, Walter Cronkite looks back on his own life.

Michael Jackson’s death last Thursday dominated nearly every single media outlet in the U.S. This non-stop coverage irritated people who wanted to hear news about two ongoing wars involving American troops, unrest in Iran or any other topic. Did the media overdo it? Or did Iraqis care about Michael Jackson, too? Joining The Takeaway is Don Gomez, an Iraq War Veteran and Spokesperson for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

This week news congealed around three stories: The swine flu outbreak, Senator Specter’s departure from the Republican Party and President Obama’s first 100 days in office. But in a world where there are over six and a half billion people, why aren't more stories covered?

Joining The Takeaway to talk about the news food chain is Mark Jurkowitz. He is the associate director of the Pew Research Center’s Project for Excellence in Journalism. And to talk about the stories that should have made the headlines is Salon Columnist Glenn Greenwald.

When reading the news it is easy to have an opinion about whether the person involved was acting ethically. But no one is more entitled to that opinion than Randy Cohen. He writes The Ethicist column in the New York Times Magazine and is the author of the new Moral of the Story column in the New York Times. He joins The Takeaway with his ethical take on the news of the day.