Spring 2021 will be bursting with of-the-moment events presented by the Humanities Council’s Program in Journalism.
Interactive discussions — featuring diverse topics with ripped-from-the-headlines immediacy — will address everything from fairness in reporting to the sounds of refugees’ migration to stories of love in quarantine.
The slate of events launches at 4:30 p.m. ET on February 16 with Objectivity and the News: Reexamining Facts, Truth, and Fairness.
Panelists will explore how the social and political upheavals of the past year have sparked renewed attacks on objectivity, a hallmark of American journalism. Does news coverage require a makeover? Or a reaffirmation of core values? All are invited to join distinguished journalists and scholars as they weigh the strengths and limitations of neutrality in the news.
Moderated by Joe Stephens, founding director of the Program in Journalism, panelists will include:
— Rachel Donadio, Paris-based contributing writer at The Atlantic,
— Kimbriell Kelly, Pulitzer Prize-winning Washington bureau chief at The Los Angeles Times,
— Joe Richman, Peabody Award-winning founder and executive producer of Radio Diaries, and
— Gideon Rosen, Stuart Professor of Philosophy and chair of the Department of Philosophy.
This signature event is co-sponsored by the Department of English and the Department of Philosophy. Attendees must register in advance.
Journalism also will offer a series of lunchtime talks as part of its continuing commitment to bring leading journalists into conversation with scholars from an array of disciplines. These programs, which are open to Princeton faculty, graduate students, and staff, will take place from noon to 1:15 p.m. on the following Thursdays:
- March 4: Investigating With Your Hair on Fire: Accountability Journalism Meets the 24/7 News Cycle
Speaker James Martinez, a visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism, is breaking news investigations editor at The Associated Press, where he has worked for more than 30 years. Martinez is currently responsible for quick-hit investigations off major news. Discussant Nolan McCarty is Susan Dod Brown Professor of Politics and Public Affairs and director of the Center for Data-Driven Social Science.
- March 18: Love From Six Feet Apart: Telling Stories From the Pandemic
Speaker Joe Richman, a visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism, is founder and executive producer of Radio Diaries, a not-for-profit radio production company that has won every major award in broadcast journalism. NPR listeners have heard Richman’s work on This American Life, All Things Considered and Weekend Edition. Discussant Judith Weisenfeld is Agate Brown and George L. Collord Professor of Religion and chair of the Department of Religion.
- April 1: What Migration Sounds Like: Reporting on Refugees in Europe for NPR
Speaker Joanna Kakissis, a visiting Ferris Professor of Journalism, is a contributing international correspondent for NPR and a contributor to This American Life. Based in Athens, Kakissis files dispatches from Europe on the forces straining European unity. Discussant Karen Emmerich is an associate professor of Comparative Literature and director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication. (This talk is co-sponsored by the Seeger Center for Hellenic Studies, with the support of The Paul S. Sarbanes ’54 Fund for Hellenism and Public Service.)
To register for these events or learn more about the Program in Journalism, visit journalism.princeton.edu.
