The Atlanta Story podcast features meaningful stories of Atlanta’s builders, creators, and entrepreneurs. In this episode Jon Birdsong sits down with Greg Bluestein, AJC’s premiere political reporter and newly minted author of Flipped. Greg spent the first part of his career at the Associated Press before transitioning to the AJC. Greg and his colleagues cover the daily political pulse of Georgia through The Jolt with more detailed coverage on his twice a week podcast: Politically Georgia. On today’s episode, Greg shares his insights on the 2020 election, how and why Georgia is transitioning blue, stories from his new book and much more.

The Atlanta Story is put together by the folks at Atlanta Ventures -- and we can’t wait to share some of the personalities behind the brand. Atlanta Ventures invests in entrepreneurs through community, content, and capital -- most notably through our Studio with companies like Greenzie and Intown Golf Club. We believe the best entrepreneurs learn from other great artists in different fields.

In this episode, we discuss…

1. Did Greg always want to be a reporter? (1:20)
2. Were there any memorable moments while being editor for the Red and Black at UGA? (2:50)
3. How was Greg’s seven years at Associated Press? (5:48)
4. What is Greg’s advice for journalism students? (8:01)
5. How did Greg cover the UGA National Championship game? (9:16)
6. How does Greg view social media’s impact on journalism? (12:22)
7. Having started his career right as the internet was taking off, how has Greg seen a change in scoops over time? (15:46)
8. What are Greg’s thoughts on the growing conflict of “truths” caused by the ease of posting? (18:43)
9. Why does Greg think people still believe the Atlanta 2018 gubernatorial election was stolen? (20:32)
10. How did Greg manage to write a 352-page book given his many obligations? (23:03)
11. From a macro level, what are some of the trends that Greg has excavated? (26:11)
12. How much of a difference does Greg think Stacy Abrams’ Fair Fight movement made on the 2020 election? (27:50)
13. What are Greg’s key takeaways from his book, Flipped? (30:03)
14. How did the idea of writing a book come to Greg? (32:27)
15. How has the relationship with the gold dome and media changed post Trump era? (34:58)
16. What is the one political reporting moment from the past 18 months that Greg will tell his grandkids? (36:08)
17. What is Greg’s takes on Twitter and YouTube’s degree of censorship? (37:37)
18. Other than the book tour, what’s ahead for Greg? (39:58)
19. Why Atlanta, and what has Atlanta done for Greg? (43:12)

Resources discussed in this episode:

The Jolt 

Politically Georgia Podcast

Flipped. How Georgia Turned Purple and Broke the Monopoly on Republican Power. 

Atlanta Journal Constitution

Red and Black – UGA

Associated Press

How you can get involved: 

Visit atlantaventures.com/studio if you’re interested in learning more about Atlanta Ventures and the Studio. 

Where you can find us:

Website: www.atlstory.com

Twitter: @theatlantastory

Instagram: @theatlantastory

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