"On the Record" an Inside look into Journalism - w/special guests Julie Mason & Olivier Knox

Every leader in the world, from President Putin to President Biden, has had a love/hate relationship with the media. When coverage is good and beneficial to their agenda, the media can do no wrong in the eyes of elected officials. However, when honest reporting exposes and uncovers an area of weakness, well that causes leaders to vilify, attack, and in some extreme cases implicate reporters as a possible co-conspirator under the Espionage Act of 1917. Thanks, Obama.

This week we talk with veteran journalist Julie Mason and Olivier Knox on the role of journalism in keeping our elected officials honest. With trust in the media at an all-time low, according to Edelman's annual trust barometer, Julie and Olivier provide some useful insight on how we got here, the future of journalism, and what news consumers can do to become more media literate.

One thing that was discussed in the show was the slow collapse of local newspapers and media. So if you haven't subscribed to your local news organization with a paid subscription please do so, it's the only tool the public has to keep our local officials accountable.

Julie Mason - Bio

As a daily show host on SiriusXM’s POTUS channel for almost a decade, Julie Mason has a morning show called Julie Mason Mornings. She's interviewed top political figures including Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senator Ted Cruz, President Jimmy Carter, Astronaut Jim Lovell, the cast of HBO’s Veep, and dozens of other prominent Washingtonians. She has more than 30 years of experience covering local, state, and national politics, including four presidential campaigns. In more than 10 years covering the White House, she traveled internationally and reported from more than 30 different countries. She is a former elected board member of the White House Correspondents Association and has appeared on CNN, FOX News, MSNBC, NBC News, CBS News, Good Morning America, TODAY, C-SPAN, NPR, and more. She was a 2014 recipient of the Gracie Award from the Alliance for Women in Media for outstanding achievement as a radio talk show host.

Olivier Knox - Bio

Olivier Knox is Washington Post's National Political Correspondent and Anchor of The Daily 202. He previously hosted a national SiriusXM show focused on politics and policy. Before that, he covered politics and policy at Yahoo News and at Agence France-Presse. A veteran journalist who has written about U.S. politics and foreign policy for more than two decades, Knox has covered six presidential campaigns and has deep knowledge of the inner-workings of Capitol Hill and the White House. Before joining WaPo Knox was the first Yahoo! News White House correspondent and chief Washington correspondent and previously covered politics for 15 years at Agence France-Presse (AFP).