Traditional broadcasters, daily newspapers, and monthly magazines are struggling to stay afloat as more people turn to non-traditional sources for their news. The likes of Medium, Substack, Twitter, and a seemingly endless series of small independent websites, are building new audiences by offering up news and information tailored to their users’ specific interests and tastes. Some journalists are all too happy to write the mainstream media’s obituary, arguing that institutions like CNN and The New York Times have been taken over by activist journalists and can no longer be relied upon to provide unbiased reporting. Others believe that mainstream organizations provide an invaluable public service that new digital news are either incapable or uninterested in providing: careful fact-based reporting on important issues and holding the powerful to account. In a brave new world of “fake news” and “drive by” journalism, traditional news organizations are essential to our democracy and bulwark against corruption and tyranny.

Arguing for the motion is Matt Taibbi, author, journalist, podcaster, and contributing editor to Rolling Stone.

Arguing against the motion is Ben Bradlee Jr, a former reporter and editor at the Boston Globe where he supervised the Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into sexual abuse by priests in the Boston archdiocese.

Sources: PBS, CNBC, CBS, MSNBC, CBC

The host of the Munk Debates is Rudyard Griffiths - @rudyardg.

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Hour 1 - The Battle of Texas