Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School is hosting a forum, America’s Falling Out with Mass Media, on Feb. 22–25.
The forum will examine the polarization of the country with progressives relying on The New York Times and MSNBC for their news, and conservatives relying on Fox News and The Wall Street Journal.
Yet, what gets far less attention is the growing majority of Americans who have given up
faith in mass media altogether. According to a 2020 Gallup poll, just 40 percent of Americans trust newspapers, television and radio of any kind to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly.” In short, America’s trust in mass media has fallen on hard times. Join the discussion on what this means for the future of American democracy and society.
February 22
11:20 a.m.–12:20 p.m.
- Protecting journalists and returning to fact-based journalism
Kathy Kiely, University of Missouri
1:40–2:40 p.m.
- Fake News: Is It Real?
Paul Teller, Office of the Former Vice President
Brian Stelter from CNN will offer the opening address, Does Mass Media Even Matter Anymore?, which will be held at 7 p.m. on Feb. 23. Workshops and talks will fill the afternoon on Feb. 24–25.
February 24
2:30–3:30 p.m., Talks and Workshops
- To what extent can Social Media be trusted to carry the torch of truth?
Ashley Landrum, Texas Tech University, College of Media and Communication - Frenemies: In the relationship between media and the administration—where is the line between “adversarial” and “antagonistic?”
Sebastian Smith, AFP wire service - An Indecent Proportion: How do we ensure we get properly proportioned news coverage when media outlets have no interest in serving it up?
Elaine Monaghan, Indiana University - How Media Literacy will keep you from being uncool
Jonathan Ebinger, George Washington University - Doom Scrolling: Why, when, and how should we all turn it off?
Student-led Workshop, Khloe Quill, University of Maryland - Getting more voices and representation in media and science (in Spanish)
Paula Andalo, Kaiser Health News
4–5:30 p.m., The Big Breakout: The National Profile Project (open to all high school students)
Students from schools across the country will meet in breakout rooms to interview each other and write contributions to Bethesda-Chevy Chase’s upcoming publication, Profiles from a Pandemic.
February 25
4–5 p.m., Talks and Workshops
- Voices of America: How can we protect journalism and journalists from political attacks?
Paul Farhi, The Washington Post - Data Dump: Has big-data journalism buried the human story?
Rafael Lorente, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland - Gaming the Newsfeed: How analytics, behavioral microtargeting, and automated up-ranking drive polarization
Julie Cohen, Georgetown University Law Center - Fighting Gaslighting: How can we recognize and resist when facts are undermined, denied and manipulated?
Sammer Hajhamad, Bethesda-Chevy Chase High School - Misplaced Nostalgia? Were the “good old days” of only three networks really better?
Anne Farris Rosen, Philip Merrill College of Journalism, University of Maryland - Blurred Lines: Reporters editorializing? Anchors acting like gatekeepers? Are media roles too blurred for our own good?
Eun Kim, CQ Roll Call - Clicks, Ratings and Subscriptions: How can media outlets maintain standards in the face of financial and political pressure?
Eleanor Clift, The Daily Beast
7 p.m., Closing Panel: Polarizing & Paralyzing: how do we disrupt the polarization of mass media and its paralyzing effect on America? With Dana Bash (CNN), Gretchen Carlson (journalist, author and TED talk alum), Juan Williams (Fox News), A.B. Stoddard (Real Clear Politics), Kim Wehle (University of Baltimore) and Rick Berke (STAT)
Registration is free, required and available here.
A full schedule of the Trust Fall event is available here.
