3. – Free Speech and the Media
How
has the recent politicization of science and it’s communication to the public
affected society ?
Jonathan Haidt is a social psychologist at New York University’s Stern
School of Business. He received his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania
in 1992, and taught for 16 years in the department of
psychology at the University of Virginia, Here he discusses how science has
been politicized.
The
politicization of politics. Video – 9 min.
What’s the evidence for political bias in journalism
and the media today ?
Matt Taibbi: 2020
in Review: Media and the Left
Matt won a
National Magazine Award in 2008 for his columns and commentary at Rolling Stone
Magazine.
How can we know if major media outlets are censoring
news they publish ?
Who sets the criteria ?
Pulitzer-Prize
winning journalist Glen Greenwald looks at media bias. Glen Greenwald is no
friend of the right / conservatives. He identifies as left / progressive,
supported Bernie Sanders yet is very troubled about the current state of
journalism, and the news media platforms / outlets today.
How has the emerging political momentum affected the environment of
free speech in our democracy ? Four perspectives.
I.
Matt
Taibbi – The current state of the press & journalism, - 2021 - video clip
II.
Matt Taibbi, the free press / media, and the
election – Video clip
Few journalists have tossed more hand grenades or built
more of a reputation for themselves than Matt Taibbi, who in 2008 won a National
Magazine Award for his columns and commentary at Rolling Stone.
II.A. The Future of the
News – What Constitutes “Fake” News ? Is it a Matter
of Degree ? - video clip
Eric Weinstein, Sara Fischer, Ben Shapiro
Eric
Weinstein is managing director of Thiel Capital, Peter Thiel's investment firm,
a position he has held since 2015. He is also a research fellow at the
Mathematical Institute of Oxford University.
II.B. Pulitzer Prize-winning
journalist Glenn Greenwald on the difference of news coverage between Bush, Obama and Trump. – Video clip
II.C. Can we rely on the news ? What is (and isn't)
Journalism in the 21st Century.
Investigative
journalist James O’Keefe on The Portal, Ep. #026 with Eric Weinstein. – video clip
Eric
Weinstein is a managing director of Thiel Capital in San Francisco. He is also
a research fellow at the Mathematical Institute of Oxford University.
II.D. What are the current cultural
influences affecting the New York Times which caused journalist Bari Weiss to resign ?
KTLA 5 News - Bari Weiss resigns from New York
Times- Video Clip
Bari Weiss – Original
Resignation Open Letter
Excerpted Portions of the Letter -
“The
paper’s failure to anticipate the outcome of the 2016 election meant that it
didn’t have a firm grasp of the country it covers.
But the
lessons that ought to have followed the election—lessons about the importance
of understanding other Americans, the necessity of resisting tribalism, and the
centrality of the free exchange of ideas to a democratic society—have not been
learned. Instead, a new consensus has emerged in the press, but perhaps
especially at this paper: that truth isn’t a process
of collective discovery, but an orthodoxy already known to an enlightened few
whose job is to inform everyone else.
Twitter is
not on the masthead of The New York Times. But Twitter has become its ultimate
editor. As the ethics and mores of that platform have become those of the
paper, the paper itself has increasingly become a kind of performance space.
Stories are chosen and told in a way to satisfy the narrowest of audiences,
rather than to allow a curious public to read about the world and then draw
their own conclusions. I was always taught that journalists were charged with
writing the first rough draft of history. Now, history itself is one more
ephemeral thing molded to fit the needs of a predetermined narrative.
Showing up
for work as a centrist at an American newspaper should not require bravery.”
II. E. Slanted Journalism and the
2020 Election | Sharyl Attkisson
Sharyl Attkisson, Author, “Slanted: How the News Media
Taught Us to Love Censorship and Hate Journalism”. This speech was given at a
Hillsdale College National Leadership Seminar on February 19, 2021, in Phoenix,
Arizona.
III.
A. What happened at the Capitol Breach in Washington D.C. during the rally ? An Inside Look.
Video clip -
#1
Independent
journalist Jeremy Lee Quinn livestreamed the breach into the Capitol on January
6. He has been documenting social unrest across the country, including Black
Lives Matter, Antifa , MAGA and Proud Boys events,
along with the activities of various militia groups. In this interview he
discusses who he met there, the various ideological reasons they came, and how
mainstream news got a lot of it wrong.
B. What are The Effects of Political Alliances Within Traditional &
Social Media ?
Journalist Alison Morrow recently
served as Environmental Reporter for KING TV, the NBC affiliate in Seattle. She
is the recipient of two Emmy Awards, an Associated Press Award
and the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi Award for Excellence in Journalism from the
Society of Professional Journalists.
President Joe
Biden was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States while 15,000
National Guard members were stationed in what many called a
"militarized" DC. Associated Press reporter Mike Balsamo tweeted,
"Downtown Washington is basically a military and law enforcement fortress
a day before the inauguration. There are checkpoints at nearly every corner,
streets blocked off with giant trucks & National Guard troops continue
streaming in."
Meanwhile,
protestors were out in Portland and Seattle for the direct action which
included reports of smashed windows at the historic Starbucks in Pike Place
Market and the Democrat Party of Oregon, - no troops.
C. What is the reality vs the
perception of the protestors and protests in Portland Ore ?
Nancy Rommelmann is an author, and reporter in Portland for
Reason magazine. She discusses with Bret the current situation in Portland
Oregon.
DarkHorse Podcast with Nancy Rommelmann and Bret
Weinstein - video clip
Are News & Social Media technology creating information “Filter
Bubbles” ?
IV. 1. TED talk – Eli Pariser -
Video Clip
The unintended consequence of algorithms commonly used in newsfeeds and online
search-engines is to get trapped in a "filter bubble" and not be
exposed to information that could challenge or broaden our worldview. Eli Pariser demonstrates how this will ultimately prove to
be bad for us and bad for democracy.
2. British
View on US Election (Brendan O'Neill & Bret Weinstein) -
Video clip
Brendan O' Neill is an author and host of podcast The Brendan
O'Neill Show for Spiked. He discusses with Bret the current situation in the US
and how it relates to historical events.
Return
to Page one, National Debt