Video: NPR’s Eric Deggans on the state of journalism...and Taylor Swift

Eric is NPR’s first full-time TV critic and media analyst.

Fearless reporting, a behind-the-curtains look at how journalism is made — and an unabashed point of view. Welcome to Chills.

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I’ve known Eric Deggans for a long time. He was the first journalist to ever interview me about my work (it was about the WMC Women Under Siege project for his paper, the St. Petersburg Times, which later became The Tampa Bay Times), and it remains one of the smartest interviews I’ve ever had.

On Wednesday, I spoke to Eric, who is now NPR’s first full-time TV critic and media analyst. He’s also been a guest host for the network’s shows such as “Morning Edition” and “All Things Considered.” He’s an adjunct instructor of journalism and public policy in the Sanford School of Public Policy at Duke University, a member of the National Advisory Board for the Poynter Institute for Media Studies and chair of the Media Monitoring Committee for the National Association of Black Journalists. (You can read more about Eric here.)

To start out, I asked Eric about the lines between opinion, news and analysis, and what approach he takes in his journalism. His reply matched how I tackled my column at Foreign Policy for years:

“When I’m at my best,” he said, “it mixes new reporting with analysis and my long understanding of how media works — and a little bit of my opinion — to create something that is a mix of reporting and analysis and opinion.”

We discussed how a public lack of understanding how media works combined with a rampant assumption of “expertise,” as well as a nonstop firehouse of opinions, has led to a mistrust of the media.

I asked him what he thinks about Gannett hiring a Taylor Swift reporter — is it a good thing or is it a sign of an industry that is misplacing its limited resources? He had a couple pieces of serious criticism about the situation, including that the reporter has already declared himself a Swiftie. Does that inhibit “objective” or critical coverage?

We talked about how the loss of the journalism gatekeepers, who used to help keep the crazies at bay, has led to a serious problem in which platforms elevate insane opinions over informed ones — just look at Twitter (fine, X).

Here’s a schedule of more speakers to come in the next few weeks.

From one of my former NYU Journalism graduate students: “I can attest that Lauren’s guest speakers will all be fascinating and should not be missed!”

And here’s the video: