image description

image description

For immediate release: December 18, 2025

Contact: [email protected] (mailto:[email protected])

“PICKING UP THE PIECES”

Latest Ripon Forum Examines Media Credibility and the Challenges Facing Both Journalists & Communicators Today

Plus, a profile of Energy & Commerce Committee Chair Brett Guthrie
[link removed]
READ THE ISSUE ([link removed])

WASHINGTON, DC – As America approaches the 250th anniversary of its founding, the relationship between the press and the public has reached a critical juncture. Trust in news institutions has plummeted to historic lows, while the very nature of how information flows through society has been fundamentally transformed. In its latest edition, The Ripon Forum ([link removed]) examines these seismic shifts with a series of essays that explore how the Fourth Estate can rebuild the confidence it has lost, and some of the challenges facing both journalists and communications professionals today.

In the cover essay for this latest edition, Bob Cusack ([link removed]) , former editor-in-chief of The Hill newspaper, chronicles how the 2024 presidential election exposed deep fissures in media credibility. "I have covered politics in the nation's capital for three decades," he writes. "I didn't realize there was bias in the media until I worked in the Fourth Estate.” Cusack argues that outlets accepting White House spin over their own reporting instincts — combined with failure to honestly report on President Biden's declining mental acuity — have contributed to a crisis threatening the press industry's very survival. His prescription is direct: "If you are covering news events for an outlet that purports to be down the middle, you cannot be an activist. You don't take sides. Period.”

Three seasoned communications professionals also writing for the Forum offer perspectives on managing press operations in this revolutionary moment. Brad Bauman ([link removed]) , a principal at Raben's Strategic Communications practice, observes that "the left and the Democratic Party have struggled to think past the broadcast mentality that defined our work prior to the digital age." Today's effective communication requires engaging influencers "who sometimes have followings in the 5,000-10,000 range, while not even talking to people whose audiences scale in the millions."

Lisa Camooso Miller ([link removed]) , senior advisor at ROKK Solutions who also hosts her own podcast, The Friday Reporter, notes that "today, there is no morning news cycle — only a constant one. A story can spark on a podcast, catch fire on social media, morph through commentary, and reach thousands before a traditional outlet even weighs in." Yet Miller finds hope in continuity: despite faster platforms, the purpose of communications work remains unchanged from 1776 — inform, persuade, inspire, and move people to act.

Chris Ullman ([link removed]) , Founder and President of Ullman Communications, examines how "earned media is still important, but catching up quickly is 'owned' media: producing one’s own content and distributing it through websites and social media." He advocates for hiring talented writers while cautioning that contracting content production often results in "safe and banal" work.

In an essay entitled, “James Madison would be Appalled,” Katie Fallow and Jake Karr ([link removed]) of the Knight First Amendment Institute document how the Trump administration has taken unprecedented steps to restrict press access. "The Founders understood that free speech is a fundamental freedom on which our representative democracy rests," they write. When government provides access only to favored reporters, it exercises an impermissible "censorial power" that "poisons our information ecosystem and inhibits effective self-government."

In another essay, Max Horder ([link removed]) , a senior fellow at the Network Contagion Research Institute, explores a disturbing trend in online political discourse. When Luigi Mangione murdered UnitedHealthcare CEO Brian Thompson, social media exploded with celebration. "What's happening on the internet is shaping and changing America in ways far beyond any of us can easily control — and are only beginning to understand," Horder warns. His research revealed that a high number of politically left-wing respondents expressed at least some justification for killing President Trump.

Casey Mattox and Nick Krosse ([link removed]) of Stand Together argue that government attempts to regulate AI "truthfulness" would be unconstitutional and counterproductive, contrasting America's open approach with China’s authoritarian model. Spence Purnell ([link removed]) of the R Street Institute examines AI's impact on journalism, noting that Large Language Models can now verify claims at lightning speed while cautioning that the ideal future combines AI handling scale with humans supplying nuance. Kian Vesteinsson and Grant Baker ([link removed]) of Freedom House document how governments have deployed increasingly sophisticated censorship measures over the past 15 years. They warn that U.S. foreign assistance cuts in early 2025 terminated
critical funding for internet freedom programming, undermining organizations that have long defended against online censorship.

From the Forum’s archives, the latest edition also features Dan Rather's ([link removed]) remarkably prescient 2007 essay examining how the 24/7 news cycle was transforming political coverage. Rather warned that continuous coverage too often prioritized "soft news, infotainment, and celebrity coverage" over substantive journalism.

And in the latest Ripon Profile, Energy & Commerce Committee Chairman Brett Guthrie ([link removed]) , who served in the 101st Airborne before his election to public office, discusses the important role that serving others has played in his life. “Service has always been a core part of who I am,” he states.

The Ripon Forum is published six times a year by The Ripon Society, a public policy organization that was founded in 1962 and takes its name from the town where the Republican Party was born in 1854 – Ripon, Wisconsin. One of the main goals of The Ripon Society is to promote the ideas and principles that have made America great and contributed to the GOP’s success. These ideas include keeping our nation secure, keeping taxes low and having a federal government that is smaller, smarter and more accountable to the people.

For more information on The Ripon Society, please visit www.riponsociety.org ([link removed]) .

–###–
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]
[link removed]

The Ripon Society is a non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the District of Columbia. It is exempt from federal income taxation pursuant to section 501 (c) (4) of the Internal Revenue Code. The Ripon Society does not make contributions or expenditures to influence elections. In addition, The Ripon Society does not engage in other election activities, including voter registration, voter identification, get-out-the-vote activity, or generic campaign activity, collectively referred to as "federal election activity" in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002. Donations from corporations, organizations or individuals are accepted.

View email in browser ([link removed])
The Ripon Society . 1155 15th St NW Ste 550 . Washington, DC xxxxxx-2713 . USA
update your preferences ([link removed]) or unsubscribe ([link removed])