Community Takeaway: Jonathan Ferziger

Jonathan Ferziger attended our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum on February 25, 2020, at Columbia University School of Journalism featuring New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace on the role we all play in moving forward through today’s explosive era of modern journalism.

Jonathan liked the event’s goal of enriching civil discourse, and his views were shaken up in a positive way by seeing two prominent journalists from news outlets representing very different perspectives interact as friendly colleagues.

Jonathan Ferziger on what he took away from our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum:

 

 

Community Takeaway: Susan Doubilet

Susan Doubilet attended our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum on February 25, 2020, at Columbia University School of Journalism featuring New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace on the role we all play in moving forward through today’s explosive era of modern journalism.

Susan was inspired by the event’s fairness and civility, and by these two top political journalists’ commitment to getting the facts right rather than focusing on opinions.

Susan Doubilet on what she took away from our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum:

 

 

Community Takeaway: Reed Alexander

Reed Alexander attended our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum on February 25, 2020, at Columbia University School of Journalism featuring New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace on the role we all play in moving forward through today’s explosive era of modern journalism.

Reed, a journalism student at Columbia, was inspired to see two powerhouse journalists from outlets many consider to be at opposite ends of the political spectrum agree on so many key points; showing that it is possible to find common ground, even in a fractious media landscape.

Reed Alexander on what he took away from our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum:

 

 

Community Takeaway: Zoe Chiriseri

Zoe Chiriseri attended our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum on February 25, 2020 at Columbia University School of Journalism featuring New York Times reporter Maggie Haberman and Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace on the role we all play in moving forward through today’s explosive era of modern journalism.

In a time when viewers are used to seeing polarization and extreme opinions, Zoe was interested to watch two journalists from very different outlets find strong common ground on the central tenets of news reporting – objectivity, and reporting facts as they are.

 Zoe Chiriseri on what she took away from our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media forum:

 

 

Chris Wallace ‘horrified’ by CNN’s Acosta’s conduct: ‘It’s not our job to one-up presidents’

This article from The Hill focuses on panelist Chris Wallace’s comments about Jim Acosta of CNN, quoting him as saying journalists should not be picking fights with the president. It is mentioned that the comments came from our Finding Common Ground on Facts, Fake News & The Media event on February 25th, 2020 and a link was included to our website.


– This article was published in The Hill on February 26, 2020.

Chris Wallace says Jim Acosta’s behavior ‘adds to people questioning the credibility of the media’

In this article from the Washington Examiner, they focus on Chris’s comments about Jim Acosta of CNN and quotes him as saying journalists should not be picking fights with the president. It is mentioned that the comments came from our Finding Common Ground Facts, Fake News & The Media event on February 25th, 2020 and a link was included to our website


— This article was published in the Washington Examiner on February 25, 2020.

Chris Wallace Says He’s “Horrified” by Jim Acosta’s Press Conference Behavior

In this article from the Hollywood Reporter, they focus on Chris’s comments about Jim Acosta of CNN and quotes him as saying journalists should not be picking fights with the president. It is mentioned that the comments came from our Finding Common Ground Facts, Fake News & The Media event on February 25th, 2020 and a link was included to our website


— This article was published in the Hollywood Reporter on February 25, 2020.

Common Ground Media Roundup: January 2020

Looking for a fresh take on finding common ground? Start with our January 2020 news roundup.

From calls for bipartisanship and better listening from new and old, how an age-old rule could be a tool to help political divisiveness and two books for you to start your common ground reading journey. Here’s a look at the top five stories and two books from our January 2020 reading list.


Articles

1: GOP Senator Isakson called for bipartisanship in farewell speech

USA Today – Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson made a plea for bipartisanship in his farewell speech Tuesday, December 3 as the U.S. Senate bid farewell to the lawmaker from Georgia.

2: Let’s fight for America by learning to listen first

USA Today – Pearce Godwin of Listen First Project and scholar Graham Bodie share insight for The Hidden Common Ground project on the need for better listening behavior as a way to combat the growing issue of polarization.

3: In 2020, Our bitterly divided America needs to recommit to The Golden Rule | Opinion

Newsweek –  The Golden Rule’s lesson of “teaching us to treat others as we would like to be treated” may be a beacon of hope in teaching others in this opinion piece from Joan Blades Co-founder of MoveOn and Living Room Conversations and Reverend Richard L. Tafel is Minister at Church of the Holy City & Founder of Log Cabin Republicans.

4: Talk Less. Listen More. Here’s How. 

The New York Times – Lessons in the art of listening, from a C.I.A. agent, a focus group moderator and more.

Book recommendations

1: American Manifesto: Saving Democracy from Villains, Vandals, and Ourselves

Amazon – Do you fear for our democracy? Are you perplexed by Trumpism? Are you ready to throw in the towel? Don’t! This is your guidebook to reassembling our hyperpolarized American society in six (not-so-easy) steps, written by co-host of WNYC’s On the Media Bob Garfield.

2: Tough Love: My Story of the Things Worth Fighting For 

Amazon – Recalling pivotal moments from her dynamic career on the front lines of American diplomacy and foreign policy, Susan E. Rice—National Security Advisor to President Barack Obama and US Ambassador to the United Nations—reveals her surprising story with unflinching candor in this New York Times bestseller.

Engaging in tough conversations is worth it. Even if we can’t find agreement.

In this opinion piece Bruce Bond and Erik Olsen co-founders of Common Ground Committee argued that the point of common ground is not to force an agreement on issues – it’s to foster conversations that lead to greater understanding.

They also position CGC as one of many members of the common grounder movement, and a link to the 10 attributes of a common grounder is included.


— This article was published in USA Today on January 23, 2020.

Finding common ground isn’t about ‘being nice’ or losing values. It’s about understanding.

Bruce Bond and Erik Olsen co-founders of Common Ground Committee wrote a letter is in response to the new poll numbers from the Hidden Common Ground initiative.

They write that common ground can be found between Democrats and Republicans but, in order for that to happen, we have to dispel the myth that finding common ground is somehow compromising your values.

The letter also includes mention of the 10 common grounder initiatives and includes a link


As co-founders of an organization focused on the state of our political discourse, we are not surprised by the results of the newly-released USA TODAY/Public Agenda/Ipsos poll published in “America is dangerously divided. USA TODAY and partners launch ‘Hidden Common Ground’ to find solutions.” Common ground can certainly be found between Republicans and Democrats — but first, we need to dispel a common myth.

One of the most consistent critiques we hear is that finding common ground means “being nice” at the expense of one’s values. The real point of common ground is not to force-feed agreement on a particular issue — it’s about a conversation that leads to understanding each other.

Before Thanksgiving, we released the 10 attributes of what we call common grounders. One of those attributes is to listen and learn from personal experiences. This is the essence of the common ground movement. When we brought Gen. David Petraeus and Ambassador Susan Rice on stage for an event recently, the audience was inspired by just how much they found agreement despite their different backgrounds.

–This article was published in USA Today on December 13, 2019.