#206 Chris Stirewalt on Broken News, KayFabe, and Operatives

Nov 5, 2024

Chris Stirewalt, a prominent political analyst and author of *Broken News*, dives deep into the fractured state of American media. He explores how the shift from centralized news to a chaotic landscape influences public discourse and community engagement. Stirewalt intriguingly connects politics to 'kayfabe,' shedding light on the authenticity of political performances. He also draws parallels between the archetypes in professional wrestling and politics, highlighting how these roles shape public perception in both arenas.

Ask episode

Chapters

Transcript

Episode notes

Intro

00:00 • 2min

The Fragmentation of American News

02:29 • 26min

The Transformative Shift in News Reporting

28:57 • 10min

The Complex Vocation of Journalism and the Pursuit of Fairness

39:20 • 6min

Exploring Kayfabe: The Intersection of Wrestling and Politics

45:10 • 2min

The Archetypes of Politics and Professional Wrestling

47:19 • 3min

The Cognitive Crucible is a forum that presents different perspectives and emerging thought leadership related to the information environment. The opinions expressed by guests are their own, and do not necessarily reflect the views of or endorsement by the Information Professionals Association.

During this episode, Chris Stirewalt discusses the state of media as presented in his latest book: Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back. Chris believes that a major component of the challenges faced by news consumers can be explained by “demand side” dynamics. We also discuss KayFabe and News/Political Operatives.

Recording Date: 6 Aug 2024

Research Question: Guest suggests as interested student examine:

Resources:

Cognitive Crucible Podcast Episodes Mentioned
- #62 Jonathan Rauch on the Constitution of Knowledge
- #76 Yuval Levin on the Constitution & Institutions
Chris Stirewalt Dispatch
Chris Stirewalt AEI
Chris Stirewalt wikipedia
Broken News: Why the Media Rage Machine Divides America and How to Fight Back by Chris Stirewalt
KayFabe

Link to full show notes and resources

Guest Bio: Chris Stirewalt is a contributing editor at The Dispatch, a senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, the politics editor for NewsNation and anchor of The Hill Sunday, co-host of the Ink Stained Wretches podcast, and author of Broken News, a book on media and politics.

About: The Information Professionals Association (IPA) is a non-profit organization dedicated to exploring the role of information activities, such as influence and cognitive security, within the national security sector and helping to bridge the divide between operations and research. Its goal is to increase interdisciplinary collaboration between scholars and practitioners and policymakers with an interest in this domain.

For more information, please contact us at communications@information-professionals.org.

Or, connect directly with The Cognitive Crucible podcast host, John Bicknell, on LinkedIn.

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