The history of America’s news media and what went wrong

Guest: Victor Pickard

Newspapers are struggling with circulation and many are folding.  New online news media outlets also haven’t found ways to make revenue.  A handful of corporations control America’s media system. This is the troubled landscape that VICTOR PICKARD writes about in his new book America’s Battle for Media Democracy: the Triumph of Corporate Libertarianism and the Future of Media Reform. Pickard, an assistant professor in the Annenberg School for Communication at the University of Pennsylvania, traces the roots of this crisis back to decisions made in the first half of the 20^th century that favored corporate interests over the public interest. Marty talks with Pickard about this history and what it means for the future of journalism and the values of democracy.