Jim VandeHei: The Transformation of our Media Landscape and Its Political Implications

Summary: How have the transformations in our media environment—particularly the rise of digital and social media—affected American society and politics? Is the current volatility in our politics and media likely to persist? In this Conversation, Jim VandeHei the CEO and co-founder of Axios and, before that, Politico, shares his perspective on our tumultuous media and political environment. Though he highlights some positive consequences of the proliferation of digital and social media, VandeHei argues that they have also facilitated greater polarization, extremism, new vulnerabilities to political and ideological manipulation, and, in general, more turbulent politics. According to VandeHei, as a society we have a responsibility to think more seriously about the tradeoffs of the digital age—and to do that in a sufficiently reflective way which would allow us to benefit from the opportunities afforded by new media and technology while managing the risks they pose.