Media Buzz: Outlook on Today’s Biggest Stories
Howard Kurtz provides a fast-paced, provocative and funny look at politics, media and culture from his unique vantage point as the nation’s top press critic. Offering an insider’s perspective from his tenure at CNN and Fox News, he can move from an in-depth look at the polarization and absurdity of Washington politics in Barack Obama’s second term, the Republican civil war and the Hillary Clinton obsession to the growing sensationalism, superficiality and mistrust of the mainstream media. Kurtz dissects controversies as they erupt in business, technology, sports and entertainment, examining how news is shaped and agendas pushed by print, television, the Web, Facebook and Twitter. As the author of the best-selling Spin Cycle, he brings the experience of a longtime Washington correspondent, fused with the sound-bite savvy of a cable anchor and the no holds barred approach of a Brooklyn-born blogger in taking you behind the headlines and the hype.

Why No One Trusts the Media
No one in America has done more than Howard Kurtz to expose the bias, sensationalism, superficiality, polarization, conflicts of interest and outright fabrications that have sent journalistic credibility into a tailspin. From disclosing the lies of the New York Times’ Jayson Blair to aggressively reporting on Dan Rather’s Memogate, the 60 Minutes Benghazi blunder, CNN’s Boston bombing mistake and many other debacles, Kurtz is the man who holds the media accountable. He looks at how liberal and conservative media engage in selective outrage and shape their own political narratives. Kurtz speaks with the authority of someone who has worked for major news organizations but has had the rare independence to call them out.

The Social Media Revolution
With nearly 300,000 followers on Twitter and Facebook, Howard Kurtz speaks authoritatively on how social networks have shattered the mainstream media’s monopoly on news—and why this is healthy. He says the old gatekeepers have lost their grip as millions of ordinary people now break news online, offer their own commentary and take the press to task. Kurtz explains how Twitter has had an enormous impact on the media conversation, but also ended a number of careers as pundits tweet garbage that they immediately regret. However, there is a dark side. As Kurtz details, social networks are also awash in misinformation and fiction that too often slip through the media filter—and journalists are regularly the target of racist, misogynist and hateful abuse.

Trump Expectations
Washington has been paralyzed by two political parties beholden to big-money interests, their own extremes and a cable culture that amplifies inflammatory attacks. Kurtz examines how President Obama was swept into office on a wave of unrealistically high expectations, only to be stymied by the reality of Beltway gridlock, relentless partisanship and a fickle media. With an eye to the future, Kurtz looks at what lies ahead for a second Obama term in conjuction with a divided Congress and how today’s news will affect all parties.

The New Age of Blogging and Twittering
While others decry a Wild West environment where anyone can say anything, Kurtz applauds the technology that empowers ordinary citizens and breaks the stranglehold of the establishment media. Journalists dismiss this movement at their peril, while consumers must learn to navigate this universe of insta-news and perpetual punditry by sorting facts from rumor and slander.

The Collapse of the Mainstream Media
The old journalistic establishment is dying from a series of self-inflicted wounds: arrogance, inaccuracy, blandness and the failure to adapt to a digital revolution that is slowly strangling newspapers. A reporter who predicted that newspapers faced irrelevance in the early 1990s, Kurtz offers a cold-eyed analysis of the strengths and weaknesses of the YouTube age and whether print publications can survive.

Why Liberals Now Hate the Press
After decades of conservative distrust, the media are now feeling the heat from disgusted liberals who see journalists as part of a corporate elite that abetted the Iraq war, coddled the Bush administration and are undermining the Obama White House. Kurtz explores the vitriolic atmosphere, the shortcomings of the press, and how some partisans on both sides are more interested in demonization than fairness.

My Journey on Facebook and Twitter
In this presentation, Kurtz examines how he became active on Facebook and Twitter and wound up with over 30,000 Twitter followers. He discusses how these social networks, especially Twitter, have become an important source of breaking news; given more influence to ordinary folks to distribute and comment on news; how network anchors and other media hotshots are trying to tap into the culture and share more of themselves; and how it’s also become a land mine that has ended some journalistic careers.

2020 Political Showdown
Howard Kurtz examines and scrutinizes the media coverage of both parties, the civil war between establishment Republicans and the Tea Party, and controversies surrounding such GOP figures as Chris Christie and Mike Huckabee. Kurtz also looks at why the President has flopped in his second term, how he lost the support of media liberals, the administration’s crackdown on press access and its pushback against Fox News.

The New Age of Twittering
While others decry a Wild West environment where anyone can say anything, Howard Kurtz applauds the technology that empowers ordinary citizens and breaks the stranglehold of the establishment media. Journalists dismiss this movement at their peril, while consumers must learn to navigate this universe of insta-news and perpetual punditry by sorting facts from rumor and slander.