Last week local Non-Profit Aspen Journalism hosted a discussion with Richard Tofel, President of ProPublica. The discussion included a long Q&A session with the audience who asked questions ranging from liberal bias in media to the constraints of non-profit news organizations, and more. Click the headline for a list of questions asked and their timestamps.
Questions & Timestamps:
0:00-3:24 - Is there a liberal bias in the media?
3:24-6:33 - Does propublica feel threatened or afraid based on the current rhetoric about the media?
6:33-9:25 - How do you reach people who believe everything you do is "fake news?"
9:25-11:10 - Do you worry about the talent pipeline into journalism today?
11:10-13:28 - Does the fact that you're a non profit in any way constrain the things that you publish?
13:28-16:37 - Has propublica been threated with a lawsuit related to the Trump Inc. podcast?
16:37-18:19 - Have you thought about how to cover the "drama" coming out of the white house versus the actual policies?
18:19-19:58 - How has your approach to stories changed over the years? What makes a propublica story a propublica story?
19:58-21:51 - If a "tweet" is considered publication, why has Trump not been sued for his oft-tweeted falsehoods?
21:51-25:12 - What is your advice to local groups doing investigative journalism? How do they survive at a small scale?
25:12-27:33 - How do you contrast today's journalistic atmosphere with that of the yellow press in the 1890s