57 - How Leaders Are Called to Respond to Media Narratives

Welcome to the Kayleigh O’Keefe Show!

On this episode, host Kayleigh O’Keefe reflects on the Atlanta spa shootings that occurred this past March. She touches on this event as a gateway into exploring her broader observations about the ways mainstream media can shape our understanding of the world around us, oftentimes in highly subjective ways.

Tune into this week’s episode to learn more about the distinction between reacting and responding (and why responding is usually the more productive approach), the complex dynamics behind what stories are told on a national level, and why motive tends to take a backseat in media narratives.

Most importantly, Kayleigh encourages listeners to take a more conscious approach towards analyzing headline news because intention matters, even if the media often suggests otherwise.

Quotes

• “It’s important for me to be responsive and not reactive. It’s something that I’m working on, I think it’s for all of us a lifelong journey. But I say responsive because I’m sharing these thoughts now well after the fact. I’ve had some more time to process, to observe, to notice what’s going on. And so, I can come to you today from a place that feels a bit more detached. And not detached as in unemotional, but detached as in a bit more objective and also detached from the outcome of me sharing this perspective or these ideas with you.” (3:23-3:59)

• “This is something that really concerns me is the fact that, even if someone says their motive, it’s not taken seriously and it’s...dismissed and/or it is simply...shown to be an example of what some party wants the motive to be, oftentimes for their own political gain.” (11:50-12:16)

• “Millions of different incidents happen in the US – altercations, conflicts, murders, crashes – and the ones that we are shown, we are shown for a reason. We are shown because they fit a specific narrative, and these narratives are largely pre-scripted...by those in power, who, if you’re in power, your main desire (spoiler alert!) is not often to ‘serve the people,’ it is to maintain a position of power.” (12:47-13:21)

• “So what do you believe? Do you believe intent matters? Do you believe your intention matters? Do you believe motive matters? Because I can guarantee you that the vast majority of society that’s not thinking super critically about these issues, when they hear Pulse Nightclub, they think ‘homophobic attack;’ when they hear Atlanta shooting, they now think ‘Asian attack;’ when they hear George Floyd, they now think of police brutality and racism. So what do you think about the importance of intent, and how do you think we should respond to what I feel are still quite local stories at the national level?” (19:09-19:45)

Links

Visit Kayleigh's website: https://kayleighokeefe.com/

Schedule an Author Discovery Call: https://calendly.com/kayleigh-okeefe/solo-book-writing-publishing

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