Cenk Uygur and the Truthdig Team Question the Future of Progressive Politics
Truthdig staff members sat down Thursday with the host of The Young Turks to discuss his bid to shake up the Democratic Party.
From left: Communications coordinator Sarah Wesley, Cenk Uygur, Deputy Editor Kasia Anderson and Editor in Chief Robert Scheer.
Cenk Uygur, host and co-founder of the progressive online news show The Young Turks, closely covered the 2016 election chaos. Although he regularly condemned Donald Trump in the days leading up to the election, he also did not hold back from criticizing the Democratic Party. Disillusionment with that party ultimately led Uygur and others to launch a political movement, the Justice Democrats.
Introduced by Uygur three days after Trump’s inauguration, Justice Democrats is a branch of the Democratic Party dedicated to promoting progressive ideals and replacing establishment politicians. Along with Uygur, Kyle Kulinski of the program “Secular Talk Radio” and leaders from Bernie Sanders’ 2016 presidential campaign are also at the head of the movement.
On Thursday, Feb. 16, Truthdig Editor in Chief Robert Scheer and the Truthdig editorial team sat down with Uygur to discuss the new political movement, as well as media political coverage in the age of Trump. Watch below:
The Young Turks recently raised over a million dollars to fund investigative reporting during the Trump regime, and Uygur has predicted Trump’s impeachment on the news show, making it probable that the Justice Democrats’ platform will have a home on TYT.
But now more than ever, journalists are questioning the separation of political parties and media outlets—many liberals, for instance, are quick to point fingers at the attention Breitbart News receives now that its former chairman, Steve Bannon, is a Trump strategist.
Uygur’s role as both journalist and co-founder of a new political movement is bound to raise questions. What role should independent media play in restoring democracy in America? How do citizens fed up with the two-party system fight for change? And is media objectivity still possible in the face of the current administration?
Watch past editions of “Live at Truthdig” here.
—Posted by Emma Niles
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