Journalism/works

Is it “journalism” or just “marketing” for journalists to give instant reports from the scene of riots and chaos? Amidst rioting in Baltimore following the funeral of Freddie Gray, an insightful discussion with Professor John Watson from American University School of Communication explores how journalists should report on violent confrontations and social protests. What lessons about such coverage have been learned – or ignored – from situations as recent as Ferguson, Mo., and as distant as 1960s urban violence during the Civil Rights era?

Mickey Osterreicher, general counsel for the National Press Photographers Association, discusses the legal challenges and First Amendment issues that persist around citizen and news media videotaping of police activity. The issue has gained urgency in recent weeks after controversial videos of a police shooting in South Carolina surfaced and the beating by several officers of a man during an arrest in California made headlines across the country.

Gene Policinski, chief operating officer of the Newseum Institute, moderates a panel discussion of experts exploring how Vladimir Putin has shaped his own public image, taken control of the Russian news media and marshaled public support to put Russia on a collision course with the West.

Newseum Institute chief operating officer Gene Policinski hosts a panel with three University of Maryland journalism students to discuss Press Uncuffed, their new campaign to free imprisoned journalists in partnership with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Students Lejla Sarcevic, Teddy Amenabar and Courtney Mabeus are joined by Courtney Radsch, the advocacy and outreach director at CPJ, and Washington Post reporter Dana Priest, the Knight Chair in Public Affairs Journalism at University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Newseum Institute chief operating officer Gene Policinski speaks with Katelyn Griffith, the print editor of the Oklahoma Daily, the University of Oklahoma student news operation. Griffith describes how the paper’s staff has responded to the challenge of reporting on the scandal surrounding the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity after a video surfaced this week showing fraternity members singing racist song lyrics.

A discussion with author Shane Harris on his new report on how government and industry are uniting to fight attacks on the nation in cyberspace – how the wars of the future already are being fought today.

In the wake of the the Jan. 7 Charlie Hebdo tragedy, the Newseum Institute’s Gene Policinski talks with Zainab Chaudry of the Council on American Islamic Relations (CAIR) about freedom of speech and how Islam views controversial speech and journalism.

The Newseum Institute, the Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism and the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland presented an all-star panel of top female sports reporters discussing the evolution of their role in journalism Dec. 6 at the Newseum.

The Newseum’s Paul Sparrow talks about his recent article in American Journalism Review magazine on the impact of technology on the future of news gathering and consumption, in which he envisions a radically different means of reporting and consuming news and information. 

The Newseum Institute’s Gene Policinski is joined by Jyllands-Posten cultural editor Flemming Rose for a discussion about the Danish newspaper's still-disputed decision to publish a series of cartoons satirizing the prophet Mohammed in 2005.

Journalist Eric Brazil discusses his role in an informal campaign to have the Pulitzer Prize committee take special recognition of Edward Kennedy, an Associated Press correspondent who was reprimanded and later fired for breaking a 1945  government embargo on the announcement of the end of WWII in Europe. In 2012, Kennedy received an apology and a delayed salute from AP for his decision to defy military censors.

The Newseum Institute’s Gene Policinski interviews First Amendment expert and author Ronald K.L. Collins on the court’s approach to current cases and in recent years.

The Newseum Institute’s Gene Policinski spoke with St. Louis Post-Dispatch photojournalist David Carson Wednesday, Aug. 13, amid the chaos in Ferguson, Mo., that saw police clash with protesters and journalists. Carson recounts his experience photographing the story, including being chased and knocked down by a mob. 

The Newseum Institute’s Gene Policinski interviews authors Paul Steinle and Sara Brown about their new book — and what’s good about journalism and the people who work in it. 

An appreciation of John Seigenthaler, founder of the Newseum Institute’s First Amendment Center, who died July 11 at age 86 after a multi-faceted career as a renowned local and national newspaper editor; author; host of one of public broadcasting’s longest-running programs, “A word on Words,” and advocate for First Amendment freedoms, civil rights and an independent judiciary. 

A conversation June 9 with Kathleen Carroll, executive editor and senior vice president of The Associated Press, about the dangers journalists face each day around the globe, as well as reporting on national security issues in the “post-Snowden” era and AP’s latest stories in what she calls “accountability journalism.” 

A conversation with Professor-emeritus Bob Papper of Hofstra University on his most recent annual report on the state of the U.S. news broadcasting industry, based on a survey he has conducted for 20 years, in partnership with the Radio Television Digital News Association. 

Prof. Ron Collins, author, lawyer and legal issues blogger, talks about recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions involving free speech, and an “instant book” he co-authored on the recent “McCutcheon” decision by the Court on campaign finance rules. 

A discussion with author and First Amendment expert Gabriel Schoenfeld on the proposed “Shield law” in Congress, and the issues involved in national security reporting for journalists and their sources.

Edward R. Murrow closed his historic March 9, 1954, “See It Now” broadcast challenging Sen. Joseph McCarthy (R-Wis.) with those words. A discussion with USA TODAY’s media editor Rem Rieder explores the meaning and legacy of that program — and whether it could be replicated by today’s news media.