His long career included stints at TV Guide and CNN and now Howard Polskin has what his friends say is the worst job in journalism, reading content on conservative news websites and writing commentary for subscribers of his website TheRighting.com. It's not what you think.
Polskin and host/journalist Ed Garsten have a spirited conversation about the controversial website along with the state of the media in general. TTAC Creator Ed Garsten hosts " Tales from the Beat," a podcast about the automotive and media worlds. A veteran reporter and public relations operative, Garsten worked for CNN, The Associated Press, The Detroit News, Chrysler's PR department and Franco Public Relations. He is currently a senior contributor for Forbes.
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An AI-summarized transcript and edited by a staffer is below.
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Summary
The episode of “Tales from the Beat” features journalist and media veteran Howard Polskin, founder of The Righting, a newsletter that tracks and summarizes conservative/right-wing media. The conversation focuses on Polskin’s career, his reasons for creating The Righting, the role of ideological media in American politics, media polarization, and the future of journalism.
Polskin’s journalism career
Polskin spent his career in media, beginning as a staff writer at TV Guide in New York, where he covered television news. He later joined Turner Broadcasting, running CNN's New York public-relations office during the 1990s. He subsequently worked at Sony and a magazine-industry trade association before becoming an independent consultant.
In 2017, following Donald Trump's election, Polskin launched The Righting. He says that before starting it, he had rarely visited conservative media sites such as Fox News, Breitbart, National Review, The Federalist, Infowars, and Gateway Pundit. The project became what he describes as a "journey of discovery" that broadened his understanding of conservative political thinking.
What The Righting does
Polskin describes The Righting as an effort to expose mainstream and progressive audiences to how conservative media is thinking and covering the news. He emphasizes that conservative media is much broader than Fox News and includes dozens or hundreds of websites and other outlets.
His daily process is labor-intensive. He spends roughly the first three hours of each morning reviewing about 40 right-wing websites, looking for stories that are relevant to the day's news cycle. He selects approximately 15–17 stories, reproduces the headlines and one or two sentences from each, provides links, and adds a roughly 300-word introduction that is often humorous, sarcastic or provocative. The newsletter reaches thousands of subscribers worldwide.
Although he is familiar with conservative podcasts and tracks their audiences, Polskin says he rarely listens to them because there simply isn't enough time to consume all the material.
Who reads it?
Polskin says his audience includes journalists, media professionals, academics and, most importantly, ordinary citizens who want to understand conservative media. He also says that some politicians read the newsletter, including a prominent Democratic governor whom he declined to identify.
His stated goal isn't necessarily to change readers' opinions. Instead, he wants people to broaden their understanding by encountering perspectives outside their normal information bubbles. He argues that relying exclusively on news sources that reinforce one's existing beliefs can be dangerous.
Polskin's view of conservative media
One of the more interesting themes is that Polskin does not automatically dismiss conservative journalism simply because he disagrees with its politics.
He specifically discusses the Media Research Center and its Newsbusters operation, saying that although he disagrees with its political perspective, he found its newsroom professionally organized and its reporting generally accurate and timely. He also mentions visiting other conservative newsrooms and having similar experiences.
Polskin says that before starting The Righting, he was essentially a snob about right-wing media, assuming that it was inherently suspect. His work forced him to reconsider that assumption. He maintains that recognizing good journalism on the right doesn't mean adopting its politics.
Why conservative media has built such a strong audience
The discussion turns to the historical development of conservative media, particularly talk radio and Fox News.
Polskin and host Ed Garsten discuss how conservative talk radio developed a highly energetic and personality-driven format, with figures such as Rush Limbaugh attracting large and loyal audiences. Fox News subsequently adopted elements of that approach.
They contrast this with attempts to establish liberal talk radio, which generally failed to achieve comparable traction. Polskin says the imbalance continues into today's podcast environment: he receives substantially more invitations from right-wing podcasts than from progressive or mainstream programs, although he often declines because he doesn't want to participate in arguments that become circular.
Has traditional “middle-of-the-road” journalism disappeared?
Garsten and Polskin recall the era when CNN emphasized presenting itself as politically neutral. Garsten remembers receiving complaints from both Republicans and Democrats who believed CNN favored the opposing party—something he regarded as evidence that the network was successfully maintaining a middle position.
Polskin is reluctant to declare that balanced journalism is impossible, but he acknowledges that mainstream media is increasingly viewed with suspicion by conservative audiences. He points to issues such as election denialism and the broader distrust of mainstream news as evidence of the depth of America's political-media divide.
Journalism's changing business and educational model
The conversation also addresses the decline of traditional journalism and journalism education.
Polskin argues that one major problem isn't necessarily a lack of people interested in journalism, but rather the shrinking number of journalism jobs available to graduates. He notes that journalism schools are adapting by creating programs such as "content creator" majors.
He argues that journalism schools should also teach students about conservative media as a legitimate part of the American media ecosystem. He suggests bringing conservative editors and journalists into classrooms so students can understand how those newsrooms operate.
He cites the Washington Examiner, National Review and Washington Free Beacon as examples of conservative organizations that employ reporters and editors in traditional newsroom structures. His argument is that young journalists can learn the craft in these environments even if they don't personally share the publications' political philosophies.
The newsletter as a business
The Righting has thousands of subscribers but isn't presented as a major commercial enterprise. Polskin says he has received outside funding through a grant and receives financial support from some subscribers.
The newsletter itself is free, with new editions sent approximately 11 a.m. Eastern, five days a week.
Politics and the 2026 midterms
Toward the end, the discussion moves from media analysis into contemporary politics. Garsten asks Polskin about expectations for the 2026 midterm elections and whether conservative media's tone might change.
Polskin says his optimism about Democratic prospects had declined compared with earlier in the summer. He discusses the Democratic Socialists of America as an issue he believes conservative media will emphasize heavily and says he expects conservative outlets to repeatedly focus on it. He also identifies gasoline prices as another potentially important factor.
The discussion then turns to what might happen if Democrats performed well in the midterms. Polskin expresses concern that Donald Trump could challenge the legitimacy of the results, although these are his personal predictions rather than established outcomes.
The Natalie Harp discussion
The final substantive topic involves Natalie Harp, whom the speakers discuss in connection with President Trump. Polskin initially viewed a senator's brief reference to Harp as an inappropriate insinuation, but later came to believe that the attention generated by the episode warranted greater scrutiny of her access and role around Trump.
The discussion also references journalist Michael Wolff, who had previously written about Harp and described her as a "human printer." The conversation ends with some humor about what such a portable printer might actually look like.
Main takeaway
The central idea of the interview is that understanding politically influential media requires consuming and examining it rather than simply dismissing it. Polskin's experience with The Righting changed his own assumptions about conservative journalism: while he remains personally opposed to Trump and many MAGA positions, he says exposure to conservative media has helped him understand how the right views political issues.
The episode also argues, implicitly and explicitly, that the American media environment has become increasingly fragmented. Conservative and progressive audiences often inhabit separate information ecosystems, while traditional mainstream outlets struggle to maintain credibility across ideological lines. Polskin sees The Righting as a way to help readers cross that divide by showing them what the other side is actually saying rather than relying on secondhand descriptions.
via Autobuzz Today
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