Politicians and Analysts Discuss Democracy’s Soul

By MEHGAN ABDELMASSIH

Chuck Todd, chief White House correspondent and political director for NBC News, was one of the many speakers at the Money, Media and the Battle for Democracy’s soul event at Fordham on Monday. Sara Azoulay/The Observer

Fordham’s Center for Ethics and Education and the Center for Electoral Politics and Democracy hosted “Money, Media, and the Battle for Democracy’s Soul” in the McNally Amphitheatre on April 24. The two centers invited lecturers representing a diverse spectrum of political beliefs. Among the lecturers were Chuck Todd, the chief White House correspondent and political director for NBC news and former U.S. senator, Russ Feingold.

“What are the implications of technology’s increasingly important role in the political world?” addressed the assistant director for Ethics Education, Adam Fried. This was just one of the topics covered during the conference this past Tuesday.

Chuck Todd devoted time during his Q&A session regarding the role of technology and media in the political world. Todd addressed topics such as how viewers consume their information and what kind of information viewers prefer to consume.

“People say to me, ‘You’re not being objective!’ But then I ask, ‘Are you watching subjectively?’” Chuck Todd responded. “People are self-selecting…If you search 9/11 conspiracy theories, you will find a lot of people who agree with you. You can easily find out that you are not alone. I am concerned people are consuming only what they agree with.”

The conference on Money, Media and the Battle for Democracy’s Soul was titled by both centers collectively. The lectures will be available online within coming weeks.