A lack of trust in public institutions and the unraveling of American leadership on the global stage are among the most pressing issues facing America today, according to a panel of national journalists. “I think America is going through an identity crisis right now,” said Peter Baker, the chief White House correspondent for the New York Times. “I think that there’s a real crisis of faith in what America stands for and how it will work in the future.” The panel, hosted by retired CBS News journalist and TCU alum Bob Schieffer, returned for one night only to honor the 10th anniversary of the naming of the College of Communication for Schieffer. In addition to Baker, the panelists were Susan Glasser, a columnist for the New Yorker; TCU alum Omar Villafranca and Jeff Pegues, who are both journalists for CBS News; and Margaret Brennan, who hosts CBS News’ Face the Nation. The discussion ranged from the wars in Ukraine and Gaza to the division in American politics and distrust in the media. “If you want to look at the biggest geopolitical hotspot… I would argue that it’s actually not in this horrible war that we’re seeing erupt again in the Middle East,” Glasser said. “I would say that it’s in this room and in all the other rooms where we’re having conversations about the state of American politics headed into this presidential election year.” She cited the dissolution of the “American-led international order” as a reason for recent volatility on the world stage.
Schieffer Symposium makes a glittering return to TCU
By Lillie Davidson, PolitiFrog Editor
Published Nov 8, 2023
A panel of visiting national journalists discuss current events and the state of the news. (From left: Omar Villafranca, Jeff Pegues, Margaret Brennan, Bob Schieffer, Susan Glasser, Peter Baker)
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