Tara McGowan on Transparency and Trust in the Media

An Honorable Profession

As trust in national news continues to decline, studies demonstrate that most Americans consider local news to be the most trustworthy form of media. Recognizing the importance of a healthy press to our democratic process, An Honorable Profession is excited to bring you the first episode in a semi-regular series on the state of local media across our country, how to address challenges facing the industry, and what the future of news will look like.

In this week's episode, host and NewDEAL CEO Debbie Cox Bultan speaks with Tara McGowan, the founder of Courier Newsroom – a civic media company and the largest left-leaning network in the country with newsrooms in nine, soon-to-be eleven, battleground states. Tara is a journalist and former political strategist who spent years working with national democratic groups and in digital advertising and marketing. Her passion for local journalism and democracy led her to found Courier, which aims to protect and strengthen our democracy through credible, fact-based journalism. Tara and Debbie talk about Courier's work, the rapidly changing media landscape, the media's role in the rise of political extremism, and how to effectively combat dis- and misinformation. Tune in to learn how Courier elevates coverage of the issues most relevant to its audiences in communities nationwide, as well as Tara's predictions for the future of media and what that could mean for all of us.