Exploring Institutional Trust and Media Dynamics

Is it true that “you can’t believe” anything you read? Can we consume news with a mindset other than cynicism, outrage, or fear? 

Host Curtis Chang welcomes journalist and author Jon Ward to discuss why Christians need to care about a well-functioning news culture. With an AP poll on mainstream media showing trust at an all-time low, they explore the reasons behind this crisis—political isolation, social media's influence, and potential media bias. Together, they offer a framework for healthy news consumption, focusing on the postures of spectator, student, and servant, while Jon shares his personal strategies for staying informed in a fractured media landscape.

Referenced in This Episode:

• Gallup: Media Trust Data

• AP Media Trust Polling

• Gallup: Ideology percentages in the U.S.

• Media Bias Chart (based on self-identified ideology)

• The Highest Paid Media Personalities

• Top News Anchor Pay Cuts

• Tucker Carlson’s 2009 Defense of The New York Times

Jon Ward’s Suggested Media Sources:

• The Associated Press

• The New York Times

• The National Review

• Politico

• The Dispatch

• Axios

• The Liberal Patriot

• Wake Up To Politics

Some Local News Options

• The Baltimore Banner

• The Texas Tribune

• Streetcar Suburbs Publishing

More From Jon Ward:

• Check out Jon Ward’s Border-Stalkers Substack

• Buy & read Jon Ward’s book  Testimony: Inside the Evangelical Movement That Failed a Generation

• Listen to Jon Ward’s podcast The Long Game 

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