“Leaving out facts that don’t adhere to a narrative is not journalism. All of the facts need to go in there….We need to do more of that to win back the trust of the American people.” — Jake Tapper
Last Thursday in New York City, Dea Lawrence, Variety’s Chief Operating and Marketing Officer, welcomed guests to the fifth annual Rolling Stone and Variety’s Truth Seekers Summit presented by Paramount+ with a simple question. “With our country so divided by perceived political bias, facts can feel elusive. How do we discern factual information from opinion,” she asked the packed house filled with the most influential names in journalism, documentary film and investigative storytelling.
In these unprecedented times where rampant disinformation becomes facts, further dividing America, there is no clear-cut answer. Still, not long after those opening words, Jake Tapper added his two cents. “The job is ‘who, what, when, where, why, how,’” he began while sitting down with Variety’s Co-Editor-In-Chief, Ramin Setoodeh, for a Q&A session. “That’s the job, and if you’re not asking for comments from the people you’re writing about, you’re making a mistake.”
Moments before, the Chief Washington Correspondent and host of CNN’s The Lead with Jake Tapper and State of the Union, gracefully accepted the Truth Seekers Award for his accomplishments in journalism (ironically appearing at this Summit before he flew to Alaska to for last weekend’s historic Summit between President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin). “It’s actually, in a way, nice to be in a room full of people who are, like me, worried about the future of news,” Tapper expressed during his speech. “To the point it keeps me up at night.”
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 14: (L-R) Tatiana Siegel and Ronny Chieng speak onstage during the Variety + Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Paramount+ on August 14, in New York, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty Images)
Variety via Getty Images
In his sitdown, Tapper double-downed on his harrowing look at the media’s future by revealing his thoughts on moderating last year’s presidential debates between then-Republican nominee Trump and then-Vice President Kamala Harris (“I saw what you saw, except it was 15 feet in front of me and it was shocking. I thought, ‘Oh my God, it’s much worse than I thought’”;) and echoed strong opinions on the stunning $16 million settlement between President Trump and Truth Seekers Summit partner, Paramount+.
“I will say this proudly underneath the Paramount+ banner, which is that lawsuit was bullshit against 60 Minutes,” he said to a round of applause, criticizing President Trump taking legal action after last year’s interview with Harris on CBS’s 60 Minutes. “It was nonsense, and the only reason that our good friends up there settled,” Tapper continued while pointing to the Paramount+ logo, “is because they wanted the [billion-dollar] merger [with Skydance Media] to go through, which is almost a bigger issue than the lawsuit.”
By calling out Paramount+, Tapper’s remarks set the tone for the Summit’s broader themes throughout the day-long event: courage, accountability and the cost of truth in a shifting media landscape. These discussions featured notable figures like NBC News Washington Correspondent, Yamiche Alcindor, who was a part of the Political Groundbreakers Roundtable, where finding truth in the face of a fast-changing news cycle was a key talking point (“follow-ups are critical, especially as you’re covering this administration”). The use of satire as a means to expose the country’s harsh truths was discussed between Tatiana Siegel, Executive Editor, Film and Media for Variety and The Daily Show’s Emmy-winning Correspondent, Ronny Chieng. The role of comedy was tackled in a Keynote Conversation with CNN’s Have I Got News For You personalities Amber Ruffin and Roy Wood Jr.. “Let Abby Phillips and them cuss each other out and figure out the truth,” Wood Jr. said, “we’re just here for the jokes”.
NEW YORK, NEW YORK – AUGUST 14: (L-R) Amber Ruffin and Roy Wood Jr. speak onstage during the Variety + Rolling Stone Truth Seekers Summit, presented by Paramount+ on August 14, in New York, New York. (Photo by Bryan Bedder/Variety via Getty Images)
Variety via Getty Images
Highly anticipated documentaries were subjects of polarizing discussions (Room to Move and Body of Lies), as well as conversations on the role of telling compelling narratives in documentaries (The Documentary Roundtable that featured The Fall of Diddy EP, Mary Robertson), as well as the state of the genre, as a whole (The State of Documentary Industry that featured execs who help get these stories told).
Rounding out the rest of the event were a touching Fireside Chat with activist, producer and co-director of Deaf President Now!, Nyle DiMarco, and The Masters of True Crime and Investigative Storytelling panel provided keen insights from documentarians like Hot Snakes Media co-founder, Shannon Evangelista (EP, The Curious Case of Natalia Grace) and actor and director Ben McKenzie (Everyone is Lying toYou For Money) on the responsibility in covering the truth in their work. A successful event for Rolling Stone and Variety, of course, but the big takeaway from this year’s Truth Seekers Summit was Jake Tapper’s disappointment in the state of news and media.
However, before ending his time, the seasoned journalist strongly encouraged his colleagues to weather the media climate’s choppy waters by being more diligent in their quest for the truth, while protecting themselves from any form of legal retaliation. “There is now a thirst among some to sue media organizations, not for the purpose of justice or correcting the record, but to bankrupt media organizations,” he said. “In this era, I think people need to be careful about it. But I don’t think that should change our allegiance to facts and the truth and making sure that we talk to the other side of the story.”
