A renowned journalist steps into The Confessional!
Maria Hinojosa tells a story for the first time publicly about cable news wars, Lou Dobbs, Immigration, and a small mistake with an enormous impact
Season Finale: Maria Hinojosa
“You know, it comes down to a human error, but one of massive proportions because you're dealing with humanity and people's lives.”
Maria is the host of Latino USA and one of the most respected journalists in the country. She also has a new memoir. It’s called Once I Was You: A Memoir of Love and Hate in a Torn America.
Opening Essay:
In 2019 I was the subject of a fake news story.
A conservative website took one line from an interview, re-worded it in a way that was both inaccurate and specifically designed to stoke the moral outrage of a certain population and then it was pawned off as “news”. Eventually other websites wrote their own version of the original piece and it spread, as it was designed to do because the more people clicked on it, the more advertising money the owner of the website received. I still get questions about it from people who assumed it was true because, after all, they read it on the internet.
It didn’t feel good on my end, to have my image and words twisted into a caricature for others to point to and say “This. This is what is wrong with America.” But it felt even worse when I suddenly realized how often I myself had clicked on headlines that were exaggerations or falsehoods perfectly written to stoke my liberal moral outrage and how often I assumed what I read was true, and how often it solidified my worldview so that I was sure to click on the next story and the next story -- none of which were written by actual journalists.
We are in a historical moment where the truth seems up for grabs by anyone with a screen name and a wifi connection, and these cynical click-bait perversions of truth for the purpose of amassing ad revenue are destroying us.
But there are so many rigorously professional journalists who keep us informed and who do so at a personal cost that I had failed to grasp until I had the conversation you’re about to hear. So with gratitude, I give you, my guest today, renowned journalist Maria Hinojosa the host of Latino USA. And to those who tirelessly report the actual news on our behalf, I say thank you.
Join me and Maria for a live chat!
Friday Sept 25th, 5p PST/ 6p MST/ 7p CST/ 8p EST Maria and I will have a chat live on my Instagram. Just click on the circle with my image on the upper left. Join us!
End of Season 2!
This episode marks the end of season two, and the show going on a brief hiatus. But I promise we’ll be back with a third season three in the not too distant future. Thank you so much fro subscribing, listening, reviewing and sharing The Confessional. I’m so deeply grateful!
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I just listened to this, and honestly I think my heart opened up and it broke in a thousand pieces. I literally ugly cried for at 10 minutes, feeling like I was run through with a knife. What does someone do with something like this? Holy God, I felt like I was kicked in the chest by a mule when I listened to it. All the compassion, ALL OF IT, for Maria Hinojosa. It is hard for me to find self-forgiveness for the mistakes I have made. I have all the respect for her, and I really appreciate the courage and the vulnerability that she displayed during this interview. Thank you.
Nadia, this is just perfect. I'm especially excited to listen after spending the summer earning my public affairs qualification to work closely with journalists and produce my own content. There are good journalists who live with integrity and fight to share the truth. It's such a beautiful thing to see and experience. Much love to you and Maria Hinojosa! <3