Political and Legal

Why does local news such as the Denver Post matter to democracy? What challenges do these local news outlets face nowadays? When we have social media including Facebook and Twitter, do we still need the Denver Post? Do you agree with Chuck Plunkett about public funding for the press? What if the press colludes with the administration, and the supposedly watchdogs become propaganda machines? Should social media be part of the publicly funded press?

The national news provides news at the macro level to gain viewership on issues that matter at the federal level. Local topics will only get covered if it is noteworthy for the entire country. While we all share one nation, that nation comprises fifty states and an endless number of municipalities- all with their own local issues and politicians. We cannot task national news outlets to cover city council meetings in rural Arkansas because they simply won't. Local news matters because local issues vary, and local politicians are elected to resolve these issues. Having the resources to know what each political candidate in your town stands for is essential to democracy. Social media can be used as a tool to distribute news. However, the evolution we are seeing in news reporting today is that "journalists" are anyone with a website. True journalism is lost in a sea of news articles. We still need true, unbias journalists to report facts-based news. These are the journalists you would find at the Denver Post and in cities across the country in the early 2000s. The notion of publically funding local news outlets seems appealing, but that could lead to collusion between the news outlets and the politicians who can choose at what level to support them. A more efficient way to restore local news would be to impose regulations on the industry. Ensure that these news organizations cannot be bought by venture capital and then gutted. Lastly, in no foreseeable circumstance should social media platforms be publically funded. These platforms are the crux of the distribution of unthoughtful and misleading news coverage.

How are companies (whether engaged in international business or not) impacted by the changing political climates, such as the U.S. socialist movement and global democratic recession? How should companies anticipate and cope with the changing global political environment?

Successful organizations must not only pivot in the moment but also take a future-back approach when running their business. When considering the future, organizations must predict what they think the world will look like and how that will affect their business and customers.

If a candidate like Bernie Sanders were elected President of the United States, one could easily anticipate that more unions would form. This has a direct impact on the operations of all industries. Another example is the effects climate change has on business. To take an easy-to-see example, car manufacturers understand that they need to switch their operations from making vehicles that rely on gasoline to cars that run on lithium batteries. Today, more than ever before, companies must anticipate and cope with the changing times. Organizations should not underestimate the importance of open communication across all job functions and levels within the business when it comes to anticipated business threats. Make the culture about the future, and get everyone involved.