Uploaded July 2026 | Updated September 2026, 30 minutes ago
Judy Woodruff has covered politics and other news for five decades for major media including NBC, CNN and PBS. Leaning on her experience, she has crisscrossed the country since 2022 to speak with people to better understand the many divisions that have been fracturing the United States. Woodruff joins Clay Jenkinson, who has been on the road on his “Listening to America” journey to similarly take time to speak with people as he travels the less-frequented routes all over the United States. Jenkinson will moderate a conversation with Woodruff, discussing their insights, discoveries and what still unites America at 250.
The conversation also explores Woodruff’s extraordinary journalism career—from covering Jimmy Carter and joining Ted Turner’s CNN to reporting after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, anchoring during September 11 and moderating the unforgettable 1988 vice-presidential debate between Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle.
Woodruff explains how journalists should respond to false claims, why local reporting is essential to democracy and how fragmented media has changed the way Americans understand national events. She also discusses threats against the press, the financial crisis facing news organizations and the opportunities and dangers artificial intelligence presents for the next generation of reporters.
Clay Jenkinson serves as the interviewer and guides the wide-ranging discussion through Woodruff’s career, landmark moments in American journalism, the fragmentation of modern media and the meaning of citizenship during America’s 250th anniversary. He draws connections between national history, political culture and the experiences of Americans outside Washington.
The discussion ultimately asks whether Americans can still share facts, confront painful history and work toward a “more perfect union.” Woodruff’s answer is cautiously hopeful: the country has deep flaws, but Americans continue to examine those flaws, learn from past mistakes and search for ways to live together.
Subscribe for more conversations about American history, democracy, journalism and the people shaping the nation’s future. Share your answer in the comments: What does it mean to you to be an American today?
Thumbnail photo credit:Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
2:05 America at 250 and national division
7:20 Native American history and Little Bighorn
14:10 Judy Woodruff’s first meeting with Ted Turner
20:05 Breaking barriers as a woman in television news
23:10 Reporting the Reagan assassination attempt
31:25 Anchoring through September 11
38:15 The loss of a shared national media
44:30 Covering Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
51:10 The Bentsen–Quayle debate moment
56:20 Interviewing presidents and challenging falsehoods
1:05:10 Women, opportunity and change in journalism
1:10:35 What is causing America’s division?
1:17:30 How Americans can find trustworthy news
1:24:10 Lessons from the America at a Crossroads project
1:33:45 PBS NewsHour, funding and public support
1:41:20 CBS, CNN and the future of major newsrooms
1:50:05 Threats, lawsuits and press freedom
1:56:15 Artificial intelligence and journalism
2:01:10 Final reflections and closing tribute
#JudyWoodruff #AmericanDemocracy #Journalism #America250 #MediaLiteracy
Judy Woodruff has covered politics and other news for five decades for major media including NBC, CNN and PBS. Leaning on her experience, she has crisscrossed the country since 2022 to speak with people to better understand the many divisions that have been fracturing the United States. Woodruff joins Clay Jenkinson, who has been on the road on his “Listening to America” journey to similarly take time to speak with people as he travels the less-frequented routes all over the United States. Jenkinson will moderate a conversation with Woodruff, discussing their insights, discoveries and what still unites America at 250.
The conversation also explores Woodruff’s extraordinary journalism career—from covering Jimmy Carter and joining Ted Turner’s CNN to reporting after the attempted assassination of President Ronald Reagan, anchoring during September 11 and moderating the unforgettable 1988 vice-presidential debate between Lloyd Bentsen and Dan Quayle.
Woodruff explains how journalists should respond to false claims, why local reporting is essential to democracy and how fragmented media has changed the way Americans understand national events. She also discusses threats against the press, the financial crisis facing news organizations and the opportunities and dangers artificial intelligence presents for the next generation of reporters.
Clay Jenkinson serves as the interviewer and guides the wide-ranging discussion through Woodruff’s career, landmark moments in American journalism, the fragmentation of modern media and the meaning of citizenship during America’s 250th anniversary. He draws connections between national history, political culture and the experiences of Americans outside Washington.
The discussion ultimately asks whether Americans can still share facts, confront painful history and work toward a “more perfect union.” Woodruff’s answer is cautiously hopeful: the country has deep flaws, but Americans continue to examine those flaws, learn from past mistakes and search for ways to live together.
Subscribe for more conversations about American history, democracy, journalism and the people shaping the nation’s future. Share your answer in the comments: What does it mean to you to be an American today?
Thumbnail photo credit:Maryland GovPics, CC BY 2.0
Chapters
0:00 Introduction
2:05 America at 250 and national division
7:20 Native American history and Little Bighorn
14:10 Judy Woodruff’s first meeting with Ted Turner
20:05 Breaking barriers as a woman in television news
23:10 Reporting the Reagan assassination attempt
31:25 Anchoring through September 11
38:15 The loss of a shared national media
44:30 Covering Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter
51:10 The Bentsen–Quayle debate moment
56:20 Interviewing presidents and challenging falsehoods
1:05:10 Women, opportunity and change in journalism
1:10:35 What is causing America’s division?
1:17:30 How Americans can find trustworthy news
1:24:10 Lessons from the America at a Crossroads project
1:33:45 PBS NewsHour, funding and public support
1:41:20 CBS, CNN and the future of major newsrooms
1:50:05 Threats, lawsuits and press freedom
1:56:15 Artificial intelligence and journalism
2:01:10 Final reflections and closing tribute
#JudyWoodruff #AmericanDemocracy #Journalism #America250 #MediaLiteracy
