48 min
Ep. 5: Why democracy needs a free press with Thom Shanker and Kelly S. Kennedy Vet Our Democracy Podcast
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- Politics
Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, once mused that given the choice between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter". Ever since modern democracy emerged in The Enlightenment, the press (media) has served a critical role in keeping citizens informed of current events and holding the powerful to account through greater transparency. Today, in the age of the 24-hour news cycle and Internet, citizens have access to more information than ever. Considering our realities are constructed from the information we consume beyond the immediate range of our five senses, it is increasingly important for Americans to know where to go for timely and accurate news and to know how and why bad actors might be trying to influence our thinking and decisions. In this episode, Ellen and Joe chat with long-time NY Times Pentagon reporter Thom Shanker and Army veteran, author, and investigative journalist Kelly S. Kennedy (who broke the burn pit story BTW) about the role of a free and vigorous press in our democracy.
For more, check us out at www.wetheveterans.us and on LinkedIn and Instagram.
Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, once mused that given the choice between “a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter". Ever since modern democracy emerged in The Enlightenment, the press (media) has served a critical role in keeping citizens informed of current events and holding the powerful to account through greater transparency. Today, in the age of the 24-hour news cycle and Internet, citizens have access to more information than ever. Considering our realities are constructed from the information we consume beyond the immediate range of our five senses, it is increasingly important for Americans to know where to go for timely and accurate news and to know how and why bad actors might be trying to influence our thinking and decisions. In this episode, Ellen and Joe chat with long-time NY Times Pentagon reporter Thom Shanker and Army veteran, author, and investigative journalist Kelly S. Kennedy (who broke the burn pit story BTW) about the role of a free and vigorous press in our democracy.
For more, check us out at www.wetheveterans.us and on LinkedIn and Instagram.
48 min