Fake News? The Role of Journalism in Democracy

Do you know the difference between media and journalism and do you know how to spot the “fake news” we are all exposed to? Jeff Ballou, President of the National Press Club and News Editor at Al Jazeera Media Network joins us to discuss the role of journalism in our society, the difference between media and journalism and how to spot “fake news”.

#CIVICDOCKET - 02:20 A few of the civic related stories we discussed on the show that you may have missed in mainstream media. Follow the hashtag #CivicDocket on Twitter or view more here.

  • Facebook’s Secret Censorship Rules Protect White Men from Hate Speech But Not Black Children - 62% of Americans get their news from social media, ProPublica highlights Facebook's attempts to distinguish between hate speech and political expression.

  • Earlier this month, the House voted to limit federal asset forfeiture. Asset forfeiture allows law enforcement to seize private property even if the person has not yet been convicted of a crime.

WHAT IS MEDIA? - 13:08 L. Joy shares how she still uses a lesson from middle school to evaluate the media she consumes and discusses the role of media in our democratic society. Media is a gatekeeper, deciding which issues are important and deserve attention. Media is a watchdog, it reports and investigates the actions of government and businesses on behalf of the people. Media is also big business and it is also biased.

GUEST INTERVIEW - 21:06Jeff Ballou is news editor at Al Jazeera Media Network, is the 110th president of the National Press Club. A member since 1992, Ballou was elected to the National Press Club’s board of governors in 2012 and served as the Club’s 109th Vice President. Ballou is the first male African-American president of the Club. Read more…-

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No Constitutional Right to Vote

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Identity Politics...The New Political Buzzword