This is cross-posted at Humanize. Visit this link to listen to the entire conversation between host Wesley J. Smith and journalist/commentator Alice Stewart.

A vibrant and engaged media is essential to protecting American liberty—which is why the First Amendment provides such a strong protection for freedom of the press.

If the media are to carry out their societal responsibilities, journalists must have the trust of news consumers. But these days, trust is in low supply. An October 2022 Gallup Poll found that only 34% of Americans trust the mass media to report the news “fully, accurately and fairly.”

Why are the media experiencing this profound crisis of trust and what can be done about it? Wesley’s guest on this episode of Humanize has some valuable insights. Alice Stewart has worked on both sides of the microphone, both as a source for reporters and a journalist in her own right. She was Communications Director for the presidential campaigns of Senator Ted Cruz, Governor Mike Huckabee, Senator Rick Santorum, and Congresswoman Michele Bachmann. Stewart has also served in government as the Arkansas Deputy Secretary of State.

Stewart worked as an Anchor/Reporter in Little Rock, Arkansas and Savannah, Georgia, and also hosted “The Alice Stewart Show,” a talk radio program that featured national and local political leaders. The goal of the show was to engage in civil discussions about politics and agree to disagree in a respectful manner—a continuing professional passion for Stewart.

She is currently a CNN Political Commentator, Communications Consultant, and is a resident Fellow at Harvard University, Kennedy Institute of Politics. She co-hosts the weekly Hot Mics From Left to Right podcast with her CNN colleague, the liberal commentator, Maria Cardona.