Medill to host symposium on courageous work of journalists

Medill will welcome journalists from around the world to discuss the challenges they face and the critical importance of their work at a symposium Saturday, April 27. The event will take place at Harris Hall on the Northwestern campus and is free and open to the public. Both breakfast and lunch are provided. 

The “Reporting in a Dangerous World” symposium will feature:  

• 9 a.m. “Protecting a Free Press: Ever-Growing Risks to Journalists Around the World,” led by Medill lecturer Bob Rowley with panelists:  
  • Clayton Weimers of Reporters Without Borders 
  • Lucy Westcott of Committee to Protect Journalists 

• 10:20 a.m. “Forced to Flee: Experiences and Work of Three Displaced Journalists,” with Medill Associate Professor Kalyani Chada in conversation with: 
  • Roberson Alphonse, head of national news at le Nouvelliste, Haiti’s oldest and largest daily newspaper 
  • Zahra Nader, an Afghan journalist and editor-in-chief of Zan Times 
  • Haman Mana, publisher of Le Jour Daily Newspaper in Cameroon 
• Noon: Conversation with Medill Dean Charles Whitaker, Diane Foley, president and founder of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, and artist Bradley McCallum who has created an exhibit inspired by journalist James Foley, a Medill alumnus. 
• 1:20 p.m. “Harassment, Threats & Violence: Protecting American Journalists under Pressure” including panelists: 
  • Lauren Chooljian, a Medill alumna and a senior reporter and producer for New Hampshire National Public Radio 
  • Art Kane, Las Vegas Review investigations editor 
  • Eric Meyer, former editor and publisher of the Marion (Kansas) County Record
  • Selene San Felice, a reporter for Axios who survived a newsroom shooting 

All of the panelists have faced harassment or threats in their work.  

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