Passionate, efficient, and likely on a dial near you. Since leaving CBS News in March, Scott MacFarlane has taken the reins of independent journalism by coming back to his passion for radio and integrating it with social media.
“They’re wildly more related than people recognize. Us old radio heads, we see it. We know it,” MacFarlane affirmed. “But what social media has done is amplified the voices of people who connect most effectively with their audiences, who can personally resonate with their audiences.”
A passionate storyteller, MacFarlane believes his job as a journalist is not to list facts. “Journalism is storytelling at its best,” the host of Scott MacFarlane Reports articulated. “If you’re just listing facts like a grocery sheet, you’re not doing it right, and I’ve always been captivated with storytelling, and most specifically, I’ve always been captivated with oral audio storytelling.”
Radio’s Dynamic Relationship With Social Media
MacFarlane noted that this captivation also gives him passion. “Radio is my passion, radio is my love. Radio is the most powerful medium of all because it’s a perfect palette for storytellers. You can capture people’s interests just with the spoken word, and I adore that.” Which is why his show can be heard on several stations across the country, including WVLY beginning this week.
Now the chief Washington correspondent and anchor for MeidasTouch, MacFarlane is using all his radio skills to attract listeners to his show, which can also be seen on YouTube. “The techniques are pretty straightforward from the radio playbook. Don’t waste time. Be efficient with your storytelling. Be efficient with the news,” MacFarlane said.
“We can do a nightly news program on our YouTube show in 8 to 10 minutes and cover all the ground we think we need to cover, including the reactions, the opinions, the counterpunches from the other side and viewer interaction.”
He further added, “We don’t need 22 minutes like we need to on the CBS Evening News because we’re not covering the world. We’re just covering the news that we believe drives our audiences.”
MacFarlane’s show is also leaving the theatrics of TV behind. “We start with the headline as the first thing out of my mouth. We don’t have theme music. And we don’t have fancy openings. We’re not working in a studio the size of an airplane hangar. And we’re not doing the theatrical. Within 15 seconds, you know the top story.” Another radio-born tactic he is using to bring his audience home.
The Time for Independent Journalism Is Now
MacFarlane’s new home with MeidasTouch was a natural move because he believes, “This is a pivotal moment. Democratic norms are coming unspooled, and if people don’t get after that, they’re going to keep unspooling.”
He added that the outlet “champions the same things I’ve been championing for years, which is don’t platform lies. Don’t platform conspiracy theories. Don’t sanewash insane things. Just tell people what happened straight to the point without fancy gimmicks, theme music, graphics.” He later added, “We were overlapping in our ethos, in our principles and in our approach to how to do the job. So we were a natural partnership.”
The move comes during what MacFarlane calls “the moment for independent and for watchdog and enterprise reporting.” Ten years ago, he would have said that notion was “bonkers.” But today, “this felt like a natural time to go into independent journalism and to do watchdog enterprise reporting.”
He may not have the resources of a large outlet anymore, but that’s not a terrible thing for MacFarlane. “It’s natural for me because I’m a specialist. My specialty is covering the Congress, the Department of Justice and enterprise reporting in Washington.”
MacFarlane didn’t dismiss the idea of working at a large outlet but noted, “The legacy of linear news organizations are generalists. They’ve got to do everything. They have to cover the hurricane. They have to cover the tragedy overseas, they have to cover the medical issue of the day. And they have to cover the Oscars, the Tonys.”
Looking Toward the Future
MacFarlane is excited to continue his show’s growth. “I am adding each week more radio affiliates to the program because my passion is radio and I’m a radio guy.”
As a true radio guy, he believes there is a bright future ahead. “The radio network is a priority because radio has a bright future, and I want to invest in that and I want them to be invested in me.”
He knows the battle for journalistic truth is not his alone. MacFarlane believes, “This is a great time to get in. We need more proprietors, and we need [young journalists] looking at the places others haven’t covered already.”
This might sound like a basic journalistic task, but he believes it’s not just Washington that needs a watchdog. “In which communities in your market are reporters not seen every day? In what suburb, in which local courthouse? At which smaller police department? At which government agency are people not spending time? Find them because government is impacting everybody’s lives.”
MacFarlane believes the most pressing and impactful stories are happening outside of Washington. “The most interesting stuff is happening in our schools because we care viscerally, emotionally, in our core about what’s happening with our kids.” He added, “Is there a journalist covering the suburban school system, not just the big one in the big city? Are people going to the board meetings? Are they talking about cell phone policies? AI policies in our schools? Are we getting there to look at the transportation problems that are happening in our big communities where they can’t get kids to school on time?”
All pressing questions local journalists should be asking. MacFarlane believes, “These are all beats that aren’t checked because we don’t have enough journalists.”
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Krystina Alarcon Carroll contributes features and columns for Barrett Media. She has experience in almost every facet of the industry including: digital and print news; live, streamed, and syndicated TV; documentary and film productions. Her prior employers have included NY1 and Fox News Digital and the Law & Crime Network. You can find Krystina on X (formerly twitter) @KrystinaAlaCarr.
