On this edition of Your Call’s Media Roundtable, we’ll discuss coverage of the presidential election.
This week, Vice President Harris chose Minnesota Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate. Walz has signed progressive policies, including protecting abortion rights, investing in affordable housing and clean energy, and providing free breakfast and lunch to all students.
Philadelphia Inquirer columnist Will Bunch notes that amid a flurry of progressive legislation that Walz and one-vote Democratic majorities have passed in Minnesota, the Governor signed a law that guarantees a free state public university education for families earning less than $80,000 a year and for Indigenous people living in the Gopher State. What’s more, he boosted higher education funding by $650 million, made it easier for adjunct professors and other university employees to unionize, took on the crisis of student food insecurity and resisted efforts to end diversity programs that have caught fire in other states.
How are the media covering Governor Walz’s progressive policies and their impact on working people Minnesota? What does his nomination say about the future of the Democratic party?
Guests:
Will Bunch, national columnist for the Philadelphia Inquirer, and author of "After the Ivory Tower Falls: How College Broke the American Dream and Blew Up Our Politics―and How to Fix It"
Chris Lehmann, DC bureau chief for The Nation, and author of "The Money Cult: Capitalism, Christianity, and the Unmaking of the American Dream"
David Perry, journalist, assistant director of undergraduate studies in the history department at the University of Minnesota, and co-author of "The Bright Ages: A New History of Medieval Europe"
Resources:
Philadelphia Inquirer: Can Chadron State grad Tim Walz save the American dream of college?
MSNBC: I didn’t vote for Tim Walz originally. Now I’m completely Walz-pilled.
The Nation: Tim Walz Brings the Democratic Ticket Back to the Party’s Roots
Press Watch: Political reporters should report honestly that Trump’s campaign is based on lies
