Journalism today is rapidly changing. The days of traditional media with emotional manipulation are coming to an end. Leading the way is Richie McGinniss as he and his Pigeon Press team blazes the road forward with in the moment, boots on the ground, transparent news reporting. He is a fearless new breed of journalist. Plunging into both the Black Lives Matter and MAGA demonstrations, Richie not only reveals the unvarnished truth of events that impacting the world but also giving you raw perspective missing in mainstream news reports.

Now, McGinniss is stepping back from the mayhem and sharing his experiences in his new book due out in November, RIOT DIET, that brings readers knee-deep into the chaos he covered first-hand and provides deep insights into how the media and politicians distort the demonstrations for their own ends.

In today's interview Richie retells the stories and first hand account of the protest in Kenosha, Wisconsin, where he narrowly avoided a bullet fired by Kyle Rittenhouse, then desperately tried to save the life of one of Rittenhouse’s shooting victims. He recounts what he saw during the January 6th protests and the fallout afterwards and his time covering the clash between guards and Proud Boys in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ) during the Black Lives Matter movement.
Armed with only cellphones, McGinniss and his squad use the power of internet video to place viewers directly among the demonstrators and police. The videos were posted to Twitter, Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, which provided Richie with a firsthand understanding of how their algorithms work.

His recordings received tens of millions of views after Kenosha when he interviewed Kyle Rittenhouse 13 min before the shooting and on January 6, when he spoke with a man smoking a doobie under the Capitol Rotunda. These reports were aggregated by nearly every major national and international news outlet.

In his new book RIOT DIET, Richie hopscotches from the Memorial Day riots in front of the White House after the death of George Floyd, to the clash of guards and Proud Boys in Seattle’s Capitol Hill Autonomous Zone (CHAZ), to a face-off between the umbrella gang and the NYPD in New York City’s protest in front of City Hall, to Portland’s teargas-soaked tangles between federal officers and demonstrators, and finally to the smoldering commercial districts and the deadly shootings in Kenosha.

More than just a thrilling tale of tear gas, fire, and destruction, join us in today's conversation to hear about how these news stories not only impact our lives, but also how we as 'consumers' of the news can find new and fresh ways to get more accurate and relevant news right from the scene of these world changing events.

Links
Pigeon Press: https://pigeonpress.com
Book: Riot Diet - https://a.co/d/2ITFxeZ

Reinventing Journalism with Richie McGinniss