Curiosity Now‪!‬ Torben Trapp

Walter Cronkite, the late great US journalist, once said: "Journalism is what we need to make democracy work". We're very much in agreement with him, which gives us all the more reason to hold the media accountable, when they don't live up to that high standard. Over time, media ownership was centralized in the hands of very few very big companies, whose first priority appears to be profits, rather than quality journalism. We saw the rise of ratings-driven entertainment-first journalism, where narratives and opinions, rather than facts and investigative reporting dominate television news.  Now, is the time to change course!



Main sources:

There is merit to the left-wing critique of the media: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/03/08/business/media/bernie-sanders-media.html 

Consolidation of Media ownership: https://www.businessinsider.de/international/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6/?r=US&IR=T 

The electable candidate almost always loses: https://thehill.com/opinion/campaign/484355-why-bernie-sanders-is-electable 

The NYT justifies waiting so long with publishing the Tara Reade accusation: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/13/business/media/joe-biden-tara-reade-new-york-times.html?auth=login-email&login=email 

CNN President argues for treating politics like sports: https://www.nytimes.com/2017/04/04/magazine/cnn-had-a-problem-donald-trump-solved-it.html 

The media is facing a lot of criticism in countries like the US, the UK or Germany. While Donald Trump is just referring to them as Fake News, whenever it's convenient and because he doesn't like to be held accountable, there are very good reasons to criticize the Media on a lot of things. In this teaser episode, I'll focus on two central points, that have been raised many times over the years already. Yet, the criticism is probably more valid and urgent today than ever before. More on that in my next Episode.

Main sources: 

George Orwell on the bias of the media in the UK: https://orwell.ru/library/novels/Animal_Farm/english/efp_go 

Walter Cronkite on the media: https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106796633&t=1588193179586

CNN treats politics like sports, explained by Vox: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4pS4x8hXQ5c

The media in the US is owned by the wealthy: https://www.businessinsider.de/international/these-6-corporations-control-90-of-the-media-in-america-2012-6/?r=US&IR=T ; https://www.forbes.com/sites/katevinton/2016/06/01/these-15-billionaires-own-americas-news-media-companies/#15360732660a   

 

The financial industry and investment behavior of big corporations have changed significantly since the late 1970s, resulting in absurd levels of wealth and power accumulation at the very top. Companies are giving away almost all their money for stock buybacks and dividends instead of raising wages, increase investments or safe money for a recession. It is time to re-democratize those companies, stop their terrible management practices, and put workers and stakeholders first.

Main sources:

Johannes on Medium: https://medium.com/@jobull

Companies spend almost all their money to enrich shareholders: https://hbr.org/2014/09/profits-without-prosperity

How stock buybacks have disrupted investment behaviour: https://www.vox.com/2018/8/2/17639762/stock-buybacks-tax-cuts-trump-republicans

Bailouts reward terrible management decisions: https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2020/03/27/opinion/coronavirus-bailout.html

Inspired by Anand Giridharadas, who called our time "The age of curiosity", we have to understand that young and old people make very different choices when it comes to elections. Still, young voices are not as much represented in the public discussion and their turnout is significantly lower - Let's change that. 

Most important sources:

Anand calls out the media: https://www.mediaite.com/tv/like-out-of-touch-aristocrats-msnbc-analyst-calls-out-democratic-establishment-chris-matthews-after-bernie-nevada-win/ 

The gap between the old and the young: https://www.nybooks.com/daily/2020/01/13/the-center-blows-itself-up-care-and-spite-in-the-brexit-election/