This week on Inland Journal, NPR correspondent David Folkenflik has reported on some of the nation’s most important media-related stories. They include the elimination of federal funding for public media. Folkenflik will be in Spokane on Tuesday for an SPR event at the Bing Crosby Theater. Today, we get a sneak preview of what he might address.
"At the heart of what I do, I think, is to talk about the calling, the profession, and the craft of journalism and how it's done, how it's done well, how it falls short, the ways in which there are incredible financial and political pressures on journalism."
Eliza Billingham takes us into the field with Spokane police officers to hear what they think about responding to service calls with mental health professionals.
“I think working in the crisis field, success can be varied depending on the day. And so a lot of it is whether or not it was a good contact and we planted a seed in that individual's brain to call sooner or to call 9-8-8 to get support, reach out for help.”
And we talk with Bob Inglis, who served South Carolina for 12 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. He is a Republican who is urging people in his party to support free market remedies to address climate change.
"We think it starts with a carbon tax that's paired with a reduction in payroll taxes. So there's no growth of government, and it deals with the problem of regressivity. If you just have a naked carbon tax, it really hurts poor people. But if you reduce their payroll taxes while you're doing the carbon tax, Congressional Budget Office says the bottom 70% end up better off with that tax swap."
Inglis, the executive director of RepublicEn, was in Spokane this week.
