Matt Taibbi | The Plight and Polarisation of Mainstream Media

John talks to distinguished American journalist and author Matt Taibbi about the current, perilous state of the media. Taibbi details the politicisation and polarisation of mainstream news media over the past 20 years. He unpacks what he believes to be the contributing factors to this descent, yet shines hope on the future of journalism, arguing that trust can and must be restored between the media and the public. Only after this will journalism be able to recover its important role as a pillar of healthy democracies.

Formerly a professional athlete and private investigator, Matt Taibbi has a formidable journalistic record. He has worked as a freelance reporter in the Soviet Union, a sports reporter for The Moscow Times, and, more recently, as a contributing editor for Rolling Stone Magazine.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
00:00 - Intro
01:40 - Why did you choose a career in journalism?
02:40 - What did you experience as a journalist in the USSR?
05:55 - Confidence (or lack thereof) in the media
10:12 - Reporting on the 2016 US election
13:36 - How has the media reported on the momentous events of recent months (COVID, BLM, impeachment)?
24:40 - Academia - undermining public harmony?
30:10 - The media & increasing political polarisation
34:16 "We've been getting people upset for profit"
36:30 - The perspective of "real Americans"
39:50 - Is the Biden administration healing divisions in the US?
43:00 - Will the growing Chinese threat aid cultural unity?
48:00 - Advice for aspirational young people
50:00 - Matt Taibbi's fascinating career
51:57 - Conclusion
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conversations feature John Anderson, former Deputy Prime Minister of Australia, interviewing the world's foremost thought leaders about today's pressing social, cultural and political issues.

John believes proper, robust dialogue is necessary if we are to maintain our social strength and cohesion. As he puts it; "You cannot get good public policy out of a bad public debate."

If you value this discussion and want to see more like it, make sure you subscribe to the channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtnYSEGViOnb7k8ezUaWUww?sub_confirmation=1

And stay right up to date with all the conversations by subscribing to the newsletter here: https://johnanderson.net.au/contact/

Follow John on Twitter: https://twitter.com/JohnAndersonAO
Follow John on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/johnandersonao/
Support the channel: https://johnanderson.net.au/support/
Website: https://johnanderson.net.au/
Podcast: https://johnanderson.net.au/podcasts/
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Matt Taibbi:
https://twitter.com/mtaibbi
https://usefulidiots.substack.com/