Editor’s Note: We hope you enjoy the video above. If you’d rather just listen to the podcast, click the button below to Apple Podcasts: The Common Bridge. It is also available on all other podcast platforms. We have included the transcript to this program below. We offer this program in it’s entirety to our paid subscribers, and welcome all to subscribe below.
I know many compassionate and generous people. Most of us do-- from the person waiting in line for coffee, to the neighbor tending their home, to family members, to the staff who helps locate items in a store, to people we meet in school or at city hall. Most people are kind and polite, no matter how they would identify themselves.
In daily life, one can’t tell the Republicans from the Democrats from the Independents or any of the other political parties. However, in this age of a hyper-partisan shitshow that passes for self-government and independent reporting, we consume “news” that denigrates, blames, and ostracizes “the other.” I don’t know if our political parties started this, or if it was the hyper-partisan news-as-entertainment programs or some combination, but the inevitable result of such division is not victory for one side or the other, but civil war.
We’re a better people than the conduct of those we elect to serve. And we are very much a better people than the way we are being characterized in the “news.” It’s insulting.
Meanwhile, issues of the day go unaddressed, and opportunities of the era remain unseized.
This is why I started The Common Bridge. Since our beginning three years ago as a podcast, we’ve broadened to include video on YouTube. Then, in March of this year moved our audio (podcast), video and written offerings to Substack. Our audience is growing. It is a daily occurrence that people subscribe to The Common Bridge at Substack, on their favorite podcast source, or on YouTube. It is rare that we experience a lost subscriber. The audience growth is accelerating.
It seems we are getting somewhere positive not only because of the growing audience and following, but the reasons for the following. I am surprised and grateful that over 3.5 million downloads of The Common Bridge have been accessed by a worldwide audience. And frankly, I find it odd that a person like me is doing the reporting, and wonder why and how our journalism, news media, and tech platforms got so far off mission that I could not simply be a consumer of expert reporting from large media. Why would the resources of journalism schools, newsrooms, reporting staff, and outlets for reporting be directed to their antagonistic product?
Thus, the experience of The Common Bridge says there is hope in a new media model. Even discounting for my perpetual optimism, the chief lessons from hosting three seasons of The Common Bridge is that given the choice, people will choose news over narrative, and they will choose to be informed versus inflamed. There is hope in a new day without the bitter partisan rancor and the sharp divides that are fomenting the next civil war.
And, in my opinion, the next battle will be between a rising media model that brings sober examination of facts versus an entrenched media model whose profits rely on invoking fear in its audience. The weaponry in this battle will be the character assassinations, ad hominem attacks, smears and tech censoring that dominate the failing media model. Given the close coupling of the existing media model with the political structures, especially of whichever party is in power, one would not bet against further assaults of our First and Fourth Amendment protections.
This battle is a fiercely nonpartisan issue. One needn’t be of a particular political view to ask for constitutional rights and actual journalism; nor the freedom from fear for failing to repeat all the talking points. Seems we should all agree on that. There are leaders in this fight, and a shout-out to Matt Taibbi for his fearless pursuit of journalistic principles, along with Bill Maher. Either of these men, and many others could be comfortable in the political wing that they identify with, but both chose principle over politics.
Narrative Versus News
Fortunately, when I started The Common Bridge, I was protected by my own naivete and ignorance. Half-jokingly, the brand promise was “every episode has something for everyone to dislike, no matter their political position.” Turns out this was more than true. Objectively provable facts and data caused insults and outrage to be directed at me. Then I took note that the diatribes were coming from both the far right and the far left. Each accused me of being a radical extremist on the other side.
That’s when I became even more acutely aware of the narrative-driven foolishness that pollutes what should be objective news sources. A definition of narrative is, “a story that connects and explains a carefully selected set of supposedly true events, experiences, or the like, intended to support a particular viewpoint or thesis.”
Carefully selected versus accurately reported. Let me re-phrase that – when you buy into the narrative, you are being played. The remedy is to ask the second question, “what set of supposedly true events, experiences, or the like are omitted in order to support the viewpoint or thesis?”
The Common Bridge sets out to be the antithesis of the partisan narrative. We’re small, but we are growing. Cable news, web sites, apps, social media, and national networks struggle to keep the audience they have. Their profit motive means that many have shifted to picking a slice of the audience and feeding them what they believe will keep those eyeballs and clicks. The Common Bridge brings experts willing to share their time and provide their knowledge of specific subject matter. Our formula of bringing guests with credentials and giving them time to talk is fueling our success.
The Common Bridge moved to Substack this season because we think there is a great future for direct-to-consumer reporting. Also, there is less fear that we will be censored. Unless Substack’s web services are shut down, it is unlikely that Substack contributors will fall victim to the censoring, throttling and de-platforming practiced by Facebook, Twitter, et.al.
Our Guests
And we’ve had some great guests this past season.
Our guests this past season have included impeccably credentialed experts who were silenced by Twitter for not following the COVID narrative – despite ultimately being shown to be correct. A shout-out to Dr. Martin Kulldorff for honoring science and public health practices over pressure to submit to a narrative.
During the pandemic, The Common Bridge hosted healthcare leaders and clinical experts to explain the impact of COVID. Subscribers to The Common Bridge expressed their appreciation for the thorough, methodical discussion, including an even-handed evaluation of what was or is known during the pandemic, and similarly what was or is unknown. We even had immunologists explaining what is in the vaccines and how they are designed to work – why was there no reporting like that in the established media? A shout-out to Dr. James Baker for his appearances on The Common Bridge. In a sliver of good news, Dr. Baker is now a regular guest on a local television network.
Was narrative-based reporting the cause of the public accepting as normal a relentless cacophony of, “you are a bad person if you don’t take this vaccine”? The lesson for me is that people were turned from the hyper-politicized “reporting” that caused alarm to the fact-based interviews with people steeped in subject matter expertise.
And another thing, The Common Bridge hosting a guest does not necessarily mean endorsement of the perspectives and opinions of the guest. It just means the guest gets ample opportunity to present their point-of-view for consideration by our listeners, readers, and viewers. We’d like to hear from everyone.
And we have heard from many sources this past season. There have been many legal scholars and university professors – true academics with deep and unique perspectives – not the pathetic, predictable, paid talking heads who sell their integrity daily for a spot on cable news. You know the ones who will feign celebration for the rule of law when they shape their “trials by media” to delight consumers of their narrative, and then smear the institution, jury, and/or judge when they lose in actual court. It’s both hilarious in that their audience keeps fervent belief in new false narratives and dangerous in the damage done by the disparagement of due process.
Policy experts and authors have come to The Common Bridge to share with our listeners, readers and viewers the history, present circumstances and possible future policies for healthcare, legal reform, mental health services, law enforcement, the economy, international relations, infrastructure, energy and more. In every case, we’re not playing the “villains and heroes” narrative so prevalent on cable, network, and former print news.
Our Listeners, Readers, and Viewers
As a People, we need to use the power of today’s communication technology to connect actual policy with political power. What would make more sense? Using the vast ability to communicate so that the desires of the populace can communicate their policy ideas to their elected representatives, or the politically powerful using the power of today’s technology to force narratives that make little sense?
The audience of The Common Bridge knows they won’t agree with all the content-- that’s part of the nonpartisan diversity of thought that we offer. The listeners, readers and viewers choose to add calm perspective to counter the numbing narrative that encourages hate of those who don’t conform to the party line. That model of “conformity or be attacked” has spilled over to the political realm, as evidenced by the recent Philadelphia speech by President Unity.
At one time people accepted the news as a dispassionate recitation of facts. Now, that model has changed to news as a means of presenting the ridiculous. This is only speculation, so discount it about 99%, but one can imagine an editorial meeting at a major daily or cable newsroom where the standard of truth is “the audience believed this false story for a long time, so they will probably believe this next whopper we are about to run,” and “there are literally no repercussions for having the story wrong, so run it.”
The same media model that drives our great division needs to be replaced with a media model that informs versus inflames.
And What of the Existing Media Model?
But what of these vast, money-making enterprises in the current media model? There is a role well-suited for them. It should have been blindingly obvious when news programs began carrying SNL snippets. Thus, the obvious solution is news-as-entertainment ala SNL’s “Weekend Update.”
News analysts from both the right and left have testified in court, they are not news but entertainment. The top hosts on the right and on the left have both successfully defended defamation suits by arguing in court that no one should believe all the stuff they spew. Maybe a tag line for their shows could be, “We’re Lying, But You Love it.”
A new media model would relegate the major “news” outlets to the entertainment they have become. “Good evening, we are now going to make you feel better about yourself by telling you how much better you are than the likes of people on ‘the other side.’” “We’re the most trusted name in news, and you’ll never hear any facts or perspectives that might help the other side. We will keep feeding you the narrative; you keep avoiding critical thought.”
The entertainment model could then take the position that 2 million people coming through our allegedly secure Southern border isn’t news and that D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser is mistaken about the impact on her city, but 100 people immediately kicked out of a sanctuary city is compassion. And we can all have a good laugh.
Then people can turn off the entertainment and seek sources that bring more facts about the border situation and discuss what reasonable policy solutions would actually uphold the ideals of this great nation. This great nation of immigrants.
The Choice is Yours
What stands a better chance of success? Asking those with powerful media voices to replace inflaming with informing, or leveraging new technology to build a new media model? Witness what happened when CNN’s new CEO, Chris Licht, met with (gasp!) Republicans. Tweets to abandon CNN and only patronize MSNBC were prevalent and instructive. The blowback must have gotten Mr. Licht’s attention, as his selection of evening news anchors are a clear signal that changes from narrative to news, if any, will be minor.
The evidence on The Common Bridge is clear – people really like being informed and everything is not partisan. That’s it. It’s up to everyone to reject the partisan reporting and insist those we elect behave better.
As we look forward to Season 4, expect more actual reporting by hosting a diverse set of guests. The Common Bridge will feature credentialed people with a view on how the extremes can be avoided. We will dive into the role of Big Tech in our lives, feature some people who are creating great enterprises and serving others, and discuss the impact of today’s policy decisions on future generations of Americans.
We are seeking guests to talk about the eroding (eroded?) boundaries between Fourth Amendment rights and the conduct of Federal law enforcement and the judicial system. The Common Bridge will rely on interviews with persons who have first-hand knowledge. What we won’t do is call out every instance of partisan hypocrisy because that role is filled by the opposing partisan. We will call for fairness and the greater good.
We will seek good guests and offer open interviews; The Common Bridge will fear no idea, opinion, or perspective. And yes, from time to time there will be opinion pieces. As always, they will clearly be labeled as such.
Thank You
Again, I am grateful and humbled by the strong following of The Common Bridge’s podcasts, Substack postings, and YouTube views. Each week my listeners, viewers and readers are getting our best.
Together, we can make a difference. Challenge the talking heads – including politicians -- and their vitriolic messaging, their “othering” and their gross lack of basic fairness.
It’s a fool’s errand to participate in a clash of one cult against another cult. There will be no ultimate victory or final defeat, just larger and endless clashes.
If you are a subscriber, thank you. Please ask your friends and family to leave the partisan extremes and join us on The Common Bridge for Season 4.
Onward.
Reflections on Season 3 of The Common Bridge- The Promise of a New Media Model