My conversation with Chuck Todd
I spoke with the former host of “Meet the Press” on his new podcast about COURIER, media objectivity, and the future of journalism
If you’ve followed or supported my work for a while, you probably know that I really enjoy talking about COURIER on podcasts — sharing our wins, diving into the industry conversation, and exploring the future of news, social media, and politics. I don’t just stick to the easy shows, either; I’m eager to talk with people I may disagree with, to dig deep into COURIER’s model, and to share my critiques of the industry.
That’s exactly what I did this week when I joined the Chuck ToddCast, a relatively new political talk show hosted by longtime Meet the Press anchor Chuck Todd.
We covered a lot of ground: I shared some of my thoughts on how the legacy press has lost its way, and Chuck provided a lot of insight into the history of the newspaper business and conservative media. He pressed me on some mainstream journalists’ past criticisms of COURIER entering the local news space with explicitly values-driven journalism and content, and I responded by clarifying that every media outlet has a point of view in this day and age - some just aren’t being transparent about it. (Unlike COURIER, which lists our values on our website). We found that we share a bullishness about the opportunities to rebuild trust in America through deeper investments in local news, and even had a little back and forth on the Jeffrey Epstein story, which won’t surprise you is a story that I feel legacy media continues to get wrong.
Along the way, I lifted up our team’s work at COURIER - highlighting our enormous growth among Gen Z audiences on TikTok and Instagram, our expansive local newsletter network, and how being transparently values-driven is a strength when it comes to earning audience trust, not a weakness. Overall, it was one of the more surprisingly thoughtful conversations I’ve had about the state of media in a while, and I hope you’ll take some time to watch the interview on YouTube here, or listen to the full podcast on Spotify here or Apple here.
On a personal note, I am excited to be taking some time off this month from work and from the newsfeeds our team will keep filling with good information, but I will be back in a few weeks rested and ready to get back into the ring with you all. I hope many of you are taking time in my favorite month to do the same. Remember - practicing joy is also a necessary form of resistance. 💙
Take care + see you soon,
Tara
COURIER spotted in the wild:
Above: A story from COURIER’s Arizona newsroom, the Copper Courier, was cited on MSNBC’s The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell this week
More from the team:
Our national political correspondent Cam Stevenson published this newsletter on the Epstein scandal this week, which received over 6 million views on Reddit. Read and subscribe to his daily newsletter, Below the Beltway, here
What I’m reading this week:
Free Press ‘Media Capitulation Index’ Reveals How the Nation’s Biggest Media Companies Are Responding to Trump (Free Press, 7/29)
“The sweeping investigation into the 35 largest American media conglomerates finds many are failing to defend democracy and a free press against authoritarian threats.”
How Axios rebranded conservative ideology as objectivity (Popular Information, 7/28)
“Journalists at many mainstream media publications insist that their coverage is objective and unbiased. This isn't true. Two of the biggest purveyors of this lie are Mike Allen and Jim VandeHei, the co-founders of Axios…So, how did Allen and VandeHei cover the first six months of Trump's presidency? "President Trump, in terms of raw accomplishments, crushed his first six months in historic ways," the pair wrote in a piece published last Wednesday. Allen and VandeHei listed Trump's "wins": "Massive tax cuts. Record-low border crossings. Surging tariff revenue. Stunning air strikes in Iran. Modest inflation." They describe the last six months as "the very best chapter of his presidency." But Allen and VandeHei are puzzled that, despite all this success, Trump's approval ratings are very low. They offer this explanation: Americans "seem tired of all the winning.”
The most suspicious thing I've ever seen on YouTube (David Pakman, 7/25)
“Right-wing content creator Benny Johnson’s channel was the fastest growing politics or politics-adjacent channel in Q2 of 2025 by a long shot, gaining 2.2 million subscribers in April, May and June of this year. Why is this unusual? Because Johnson’s new subscriber numbers are completely out of line with views, which tend to move in parallel.”
YouTuber Tim Pool Wants Answers—and Trusts No One (WSJ, 7/25)
“The right-wing streamer built an empire while stoking suspicion of the government and mainstream media. Will President Trump be his next target?”
Maggie Haberman Astonished That Trump Keeps Fueling Epstein Speculation: ‘He Can’t Find a Way To Stop Talking About It’ (Mediaite, 7/30)
“Trump has faced a barrage of questions about his late friend and sex trafficker after his Department of Justice declined to release the highly touted Epstein documents in its possession. As expected, reporters keep asking Trump about the files and his relationship with Epstein. Although the president has repeatedly tried to dodge questions about it, he has made several inexplicable moves that have kept Epstein in the news cycle and fueled speculation.”
The Fact Checker rose in an era of false claims. Falsehoods are now winning. (Washington Post, 7/31)
“Longtime Fact Checker Glenn Kessler takes stock as he departs The Washington Post.”