On this episode of The Chuck ToddCast, Chuck dives into the new waters he’s swimming in—the world of independent media and journalism.

He shares his concerns about attacks on the free press by the Donald Trump administration and the lack of a unified pushback from the media. He explains how the erosion of local news sowed the seeds of public distrust, and he expresses his goal to help rebuild media from the ground up.

Later, he’s joined by independent journalist Tara Palmeri to dissect the new media landscape.

Tara describes her journey into independent media and why authenticity resonates more than polish with digital news consumers. They discuss bias in journalism, why the WHCA made a mistake in selecting comedian Amber Ruffin to host the Correspondents’ Dinner, and why the Trump administration’s adversarial stance toward the media is a façade.

Finally, Chuck explains his theories behind the “SignalGate” scandal, asks Tara how her relatives in Poland are processing the threat of the Ukraine war on their border, and discusses why both of them find the American right's embrace of Russia deeply disturbing.

Timeline:

0:00 Introduction

1:45 Kicking AP out of press briefings is unconstitutional

4:00 Traditional media has capitulated, lost trust

7:00 Appeal of independent media

11:00 OJ trial + Craigslist changed everything

12:00 Loss of local news broke trust

16:15 Local media was a character reference for national media

19:00 Need to rebuild local media

21:57 Tara Palmeri joins the show

22:57 Going independent as a journalist

27:56 Lack of trust in mainstream media

30:52 Authenticity resonates on social media

34:32 All journalism is affected by bias

37:17 Is mainstream media pulling punches?

41:36 Mistake picking Amber Ruffin for WH correspondents dinner

45:26 Trump administration officials court the media

50:07 Anchors were drinking before reporting Bin Laden was killed

52:15 Where Tara gets her news

57:11 Is there more to “SignalGate”

59:25 Trump DOESN’T like to fire people

1:02:41 Tara’s Polish citizenship/How are Poles feeling about the Ukraine war?

1:08:30 American right’s embrace of Russia

1:10:47 Where to find Tara’s work

1:13:16 Chuck’s closing thoughts

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