How Journalists Cover Moral Panics and Contrived Scandals – Matt Driscoll, The News Tribune – #213

January 29, 2024

Over the winter holiday, Matt Driscoll, columnist and opinion editor at The News Tribune,  reached out to talk about the firing of Claudine Gay from her role of President of Harvard University. Gay was brought down in a right-wing witch hunt following a much publicized plagiarism scandal. But underlying Gay’s firing was a coordinated campaign by conservative activists.

We brought him on the show to discuss these serial moral panics. In the conversation, he asked almost as many questions as I did. This is a discussion about how media covers politics in our digital age but also about what we as citizens owe ourselves and each other.

I’d love to hear your thoughts about this one, you can hit me at nerdfarmpod@gmail.com

Cast of Characters

Matt Driscoll – TNT Profile

Going Further

  • Driscoll on Gay’s firing – TNT
  • 50% of Biden voters say Israel is committing genocide against Palestinians – Business Insider
  • Ezra Klein on the State of Journalism – The New York Times

 

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