Out of the Echo Chamber: Conversations on Trust, Media and Democracy

How does emergent order guide communities in times of disorder and misinformation? Neil Chilson, expert on technology policy at the Charles Koch Institute and former chief technologist with the Federal Trade Commission, joins the podcast to discuss emergent order and the role it plays in online societies. Hear insights from his upcoming book — to be published in December 2020 — on enabling emergent order in public policy and private life. Large global events are affecting people in various ways; Chilson reminds us that order does not always have to exist with someone at the helm.

The world’s relationship with the internet has changed in the face of the global pandemic. But how would the internet behave if humans suddenly vanished from Earth? How would robots, surveillance cameras and servers react? Professor Laura DeNardis of American University takes on these questions and more as she shares insights from her book, The Internet in Everything: Freedom and Security in a World With No Off Switch. Discover how the rising absorption of the internet into the wider span of consumer and industrial life means that the internet is no longer functioning solely as a tool for communication, but also as tool of control. Join DeNardis and host Jonathan Rothwell as they discuss these concerns as they relate to internet privacy, security and freedom.

Should we be skeptical of the content returned by search engines like Google? How are people in various communities represented, and how does big tech’s reliance on ad money distort the information they provide? Professor Safiya Umoja Noble, co-director of the UCLA Center for Critical Internet Inquiry, joins the podcast to shed light on search engine discrimination and examine insights from her book on racist and sexist algorithmic bias in commercial search engines, Algorithms of Oppression. We discuss her claim that search algorithms privilege the perspective of white males and her mission to reverse these practices and get her thoughts on new Gallup-Knight research on the public’s concerns over internet content.

How much of our news is computer-generated? Northwestern University Assistant Professor Nick Diakopoulos discusses his new book, “Automating the News: How Algorithms are Rewriting the Media,” and shares insights on how AI is shaping the future of news media. While technologies like bots and targeted templates are used in both editorial and business news realms, the amount of attention received because of these efforts is often manipulated by news organizations.

Kate Klonick of St. John’s Law School joins the podcast to discuss the quality of information found on social media, how to deal with inauthentic information online and how social media platforms govern user-posted content. Klonick also discusses technology’s anchoring role in fostering an informed and engaged society, as well as the areas where law and technology intersect.

Policymakers, academics and journalists explore the policy implications of the local news crisis: how do we confront a news landscape in which local journalism is supported by a constellation of founding sources? Hear the live recording of Knight-Gallup’s recent policy discussion and report launch event in Washington, D.C.

We often hear about how social media creates echo chambers, but it also brings people together to raise awareness about injustice and create political pressure to rectify it. Professor Sarah J. Jackson, of the University of Pennsylvania, shares insights from the upcoming book that she cowrote: #HashtagActivism: Networks of Race and Gender Justice. The book uncovers “how marginalized groups use Twitter to advance counter-narratives, preempt political spin and build diverse networks of dissent.” We discuss the influence and history of activism and identity politics in the internet age.

Motivated by the 2016 election discourse, David Plazas wanted a change, so he created Civility Tennessee, a campaign to restore faith in each other. In his research, Plazas found that Americans have a deep craving for renewing their sense of unity. In this episode, Plazas goes in-depth on how Civility Tennessee serves as an important tool for discussing issues leading up to the 2020 election in a civil and respectful way. Plazas is the Opinion and Engagement Director for the USA TODAY NETWORK-Tennessee and The Tennessean where he serves as an editorial writer, opinion columnist, op-ed editor and an editorial board member. You won’t want to miss this episode.

The business model of the local news industry is broken. As the number of newspaper journalists continues to decrease, newspaper owners must be creative, disciplined and agile in seeking new revenue streams and ensuring that the quality of the stories they create are not affected by lack of resources. In this episode, Jonathan chats with Penelope Muse Abernathy, Knight Chair in Journalism and Digital Media Economics at the University of North Carolina, to discuss the declining sense of community in the news industry and other challenges that journalists and newspaper owners face today.

In this episode, American Enterprise Institute scholar Yuval Levin discusses how the professionalization of American journalism has led to a lack of diversity in newsrooms and contributed to a loss of public confidence in the fourth estate. After years of standardization of good practices and commitment to ethics, seen as essential to the quality, credibility and respect of journalism, the news media are experiencing the costs associated with their institutionalization.

Economist Ruben Durante discusses his groundbreaking research on how the quality of TV entertainment consumed affects children’s IQ scores, their level of civic engagement and their voting preferences as adults.

With seemingly endless options, how do people select their news sources? University of Texas at Austin associate professor and Director for the Center of Media Engagement Talia Stroud joins us to discuss Niche News: The Politics of News Choice — her new book that explores how people navigate today’s sea of news sources and the political implications of their choices. We also discuss her research on enhancing the quality of public discourse on social media.

When consuming the news, people bring their biases with them. However, University of Michigan professor Brendan Nyhan and other scholars have found that facts can — and do — change people’s minds when presented under certain conditions. We discuss his research on how to create a more widely-shared understanding of reality and related topics.

During the 2016 election season, many U.S. citizens were getting their news from organizations known to neglect professional journalistic standards. Harvard professor Yochai Benkler joins us to discuss Network Propaganda — a new book he has co-authored that examines how exposure to low-quality news during that election cycle was particularly prevalent on the political right, resulting in a distorted presidential campaign based on misinformation.

Join us for part two as we continue our conversation with The National Review’s Ramesh Ponnuru and Knight Foundation’s Sam Gill about their efforts to produce and encourage high-quality news. This is a follow-up to the May 2 panel in D.C. featured in part one.

How does our low-trust, polarized media environment complicate the practice of journalism? Gallup’s Jonathan Rothwell hosts a lively discussion with guests Yamiche Alcindor of PBS NewsHour, Ramesh Ponnuru of The National Review and Sam Gill of Knight Foundation about challenges facing those trying to restore trust in the news.