361: Journalism at a Crossroads—How to Save the Beast

May 6, 2025

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Guest In a career that spanned a quarter-century, Ted Czech covered crime for newspapers in three states. Disenchanted with how journalism was taught and practiced, Czech launched a second career in public relations in 2021 and began work on Saving the Beast: A Recovering Reporter Reflects on America's Broken Media and How to Fix It. Why This Episode Matters

This episode explores the state of American journalism with Ted Czech, a former newspaper reporter and author of Saving the Beast. Czech critiques the decline of objective reporting, attributing it to sensationalism, ideological bias, and personality-driven news. He advocates for a return to balanced, fact-based journalism.

Key takeaways:

Journalism must separate fact from opinion to maintain credibility.
Media polarization feeds public echo chambers.
Restoring trust will require structural and cultural change.

Referenced / Social Media

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ted-czech-815b8822/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@RecoveringReporter

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ted.czech/

X: https://x.com/TedCzech

About Jeff

Jeff Ikler is the Director of Quetico Leadership and Career Coaching. "Quetico" (KWEH-teh-co). He works with leaders in all aspects of life to identify and overcome obstacles in their desired future. He came to the field of coaching after a 35-year career in educational publishing. Prior to his career in educational publishing, Jeff taught high school U.S. history and government.

Jeff has hosted the "Getting Unstuck—Cultivating Curiosity" podcast for 5 years. The guests and topics he explores are designed to help listeners think differently about the familiar and welcome the new as something to consider. He is also the co-host of the Cultivating Resilience – A Whole Community Approach to Alleviating Trauma in Schools, which promotes mental health and overall wellness.

Jeff co-authored Shifting: How School Leaders Can Create a Culture of Change. Shifting integrates leadership development and change mechanics in a three-part change framework to help guide school leaders and their teams toward productive change.

Show Credits

"Getting Unstuck" is commercial-free. It's brought to you by Jeff Ikler, his amazing guests, and Neil Hughes, the best engineer a podcaster could ask for.

"Getting Unstuck" theme music: Original composition of "Allegro ben ritmato e deciso" by George Gershwin. Arrangement and recording courtesy of Bruno Lecoeur.