Ros Atkins is in Washington DC and asks what what the upcoming election tells us about the role the media plays in modern America. The Washington Post finds itself at the heart of a debate on media impartiality after a reported loss of thousands of subscribers following its decision not to endorse a candidate. NPR's media correspondent, David Folkenflik, joins us to unpack the unfolding crisis. With tech billionaires wielding significant influence, this election has seen figures like Elon Musk openly backing Donald Trump. Critics argue that big tech’s sway over public discourse has become too potent. Jennifer Huddleston, a senior fellow in technology policy at the Cato Institute, and Marietje Schaake, a former MEP now with Stanford’s Cyber Policy Center, debate the issues. And for over 170 years, the Associated Press has been at the forefront of election coverage, calling winners across the nation. Anna Johnson, AP’s Washington bureau chief, explains how it does what might be "the single largest act of journalism in the world". Presenter:: Ros Atkins
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Welcome to the explanation from the BBC World Service.
I'm Ros Atkins and this is the Media Show.
We're here to explain the trends behind the fast changing media landscape.
Hello and welcome not just to the Media show, welcome also to Lafayette park just in front of the White house in Washington, D.C.
and as I'm talking to you, if you can hear some work going on in the background, that's all part of the preparations ahead of the day of the presidential inauguration, January.
But of course, we've got an election to get through before that.
I'm here in Washington as part of the BBC's coverage all the way through till Election Day next week.
And on this edition of the Media show, we're going to get into the array of issues that this US Election raises about how the media, tech and politics intertwine in American life.
There is a lot to get into.
We'll take our subjects one by one.
Let's start with a story just down the road from here at the Washington Post, a story that has caused a furore.
It began on Friday morning.
I'll let David Falkenflick from NPR pick this up.
Sure.
On Friday morning, about a quarter to noon Eastern time, we reported with NPR that the editorial page editor of the Washington Post, David Shipley, had informed in a contentious meeting with writers for the Post that there would be no endorsement.
Now, this was a shock in the sense that although there'd been growing concern that one had not been forthcoming from the paper, the paper has been resolutely reporting that former President Donald Trump, you know, about alleged wrongdoings and potential illegalities by Trump in his circle while he was in office.