Who Makes the News?
Mon Dec 08 2025
Ever wonder who really decides what becomes “news”?
In this episode of Laid Off and Looking, we go inside the assignment desk, the nerve center of every newsroom with Professor Benjamin Davis, award-winning journalist and Chair of Multimedia Journalism at Morgan State University.
Davis has worked at ABC News, MSNBC.com, and NPR, and he’s here to break down the uncomfortable truth:
👉 The stories you see (and the ones you don’t) are shaped by business pressures, predictability, executive preferences, trending topics, and now… AI.
🔍 In This Episode, We Explore:
00:00 - Start
00:37 - Intro
01:46 - “Yellow Journalism” History Lesson
05:56 - Interview Begins
08:14 - Stacking the Rundown
11:12 - Selling a Story
14:02 - How to Know When You’re Show is Bad
16:30 - How to Do Local News
18:04 - Harsh Truths
20:23 - Citizen Journalists
32:51 - Follow the Technology
36:40 - What We’re Missing
40:00 - Oh Lord These People
42:56 - The Risks of Freelancing
46:01 - AI in the Newsroom
51:58 - Why Did You Become a Journalist?
🎧 Professor Benjamin Davis
Professor Davis is a veteran journalist, educator, newsroom leader, and soon-to-be founder of a citizen-journalism app designed to empower the public ethically to tell stories newsrooms can’t or won’t.
💬 Why this episode matters
The public often believes “the media refuses to cover certain stories.”
This conversation explains why newsrooms make the decisions they make, what’s missing, and how journalism must evolve if it wants to survive the era of distrust and digital chaos.
More
Ever wonder who really decides what becomes “news”? In this episode of Laid Off and Looking, we go inside the assignment desk, the nerve center of every newsroom with Professor Benjamin Davis, award-winning journalist and Chair of Multimedia Journalism at Morgan State University. Davis has worked at ABC News, MSNBC.com, and NPR, and he’s here to break down the uncomfortable truth: 👉 The stories you see (and the ones you don’t) are shaped by business pressures, predictability, executive preferences, trending topics, and now… AI. 🔍 In This Episode, We Explore: 00:00 - Start 00:37 - Intro 01:46 - “Yellow Journalism” History Lesson 05:56 - Interview Begins 08:14 - Stacking the Rundown 11:12 - Selling a Story 14:02 - How to Know When You’re Show is Bad 16:30 - How to Do Local News 18:04 - Harsh Truths 20:23 - Citizen Journalists 32:51 - Follow the Technology 36:40 - What We’re Missing 40:00 - Oh Lord These People 42:56 - The Risks of Freelancing 46:01 - AI in the Newsroom 51:58 - Why Did You Become a Journalist? 🎧 Professor Benjamin Davis Professor Davis is a veteran journalist, educator, newsroom leader, and soon-to-be founder of a citizen-journalism app designed to empower the public ethically to tell stories newsrooms can’t or won’t. 💬 Why this episode matters The public often believes “the media refuses to cover certain stories.” This conversation explains why newsrooms make the decisions they make, what’s missing, and how journalism must evolve if it wants to survive the era of distrust and digital chaos.