How the News CREATES the News ft. James David Dickson — Daily Persuasion with Joshua Lisec Ep. 310

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ABOUT TODAY'S EPISODE:

What if the “news” you consume every day isn’t reporting reality—but creating it?

That’s the premise of Daily Persuasion with Joshua Lisec Ep. 310: “How the News CREATES the News ft. James David Dickson.” In this episode, Lisec invites journalist James David Dickson to pull back the curtain on how media doesn’t just cover events—it shapes, frames, and even manufactures what society believes to be true. This isn’t just another conversation about news today. It’s a deep dive into journalism, disinformation, fake news, and the staggering media power to build narratives that determine how we think, vote, and act.

Lisec and Dickson reveal the mechanics of journalism ethics—how they are often bent, bypassed, or outright ignored to advance certain narratives. They discuss the erosion of local news today in favor of centralized, corporate-owned voices. Once, thick newspapers with competing perspectives were the norm; now, homogenized broadcasts dominate, where dozens of anchors across the country repeat the same words. This is where bias takes root—not necessarily in what is said, but in what is left unsaid. That silence is how the truth vs narrative battle gets lost.

James David Dickson, a seasoned reporter who moved from mainstream media to independent media, shares firsthand how journalistic independence allows stories to breathe—and how corporate ownership often crushes them. Together, Lisec and Dickson break down the reality behind “news today”: what makes it into the headlines, how it’s framed, and why the story you see may not be the story that actually happened.

But Daily Persuasion is never just about the news. Lisec shows how these patterns of narrative control teach us invaluable lessons in persuasion psychology. If an entire industry can engineer persuasion examples at scale—convincing millions of people to adopt beliefs, feel outrage, or dismiss inconvenient truths—then you can study those same persuasion techniques to sharpen your own influence. The difference, as Lisec stresses, is intent: you can use persuasive techniques ethically, to help others and lead them toward what benefits them.

Dickson explains how fake news operates less like accidental error and more like a deliberate manipulation tactic. Every choice—the angle of a photo, the cut of a soundbite, the order of the stories—creates perception. That’s not sloppy reporting; it’s a demonstration of narrative power. Once you understand this, you begin to see how persuasion examples in advertising overlap with news. Both industries rely on emotional hooks, repetition, and the illusion of authority.

Lisec makes the connection explicit: if you want to learn how to persuade someone to do something, study the techniques that journalists and editors use daily. Look at their framing, their “objective” language, their authority signaling. These are techniques of persuasion in writing you can adapt for your emails, presentations, or campaigns. Every story is a masterclass in how to influence people—for better or worse.

In Ep. 310, you’ll hear Lisec and Dickson discuss:
• The decline of local news today and what it reveals about media power.
• How disinformation thrives when journalists assume audiences won’t notice repetition and uniformity.
• Why truth vs narrative matters more now than ever in an age of mass fake news.
• How to spot subtle bias and protect yourself from manipulation techniques.
• Practical persuasion techniques that you can use ethically, drawn from how journalism frames reality.

Ultimately, How the News CREATES the News is both a warning and an invitation. A warning about the way news manufactures the very reality it claims to report—and an invitation to become conscious of how persuasion is used on you every single day. Once you see the mechanics, you can’t unsee them. And once you know them, you can use those same tools responsibly in your own life, career, and influence.

Tune in to Daily Persuasion with Joshua Lisec Ep. 310 and discover what’s really behind the headlines—because the fight between truth vs narrative isn’t just happening in newsrooms. It’s happening in your mind.