Annenberg panel discusses challenges to press freedom

A discussion Thursday at the Annenberg Auditorium, “Safeguarding the Truth,” invited prominent journalism professionals to discuss media’s purpose and the need to defend the rights of investigative and local reporters.

The International Consortium of Investigative Journalists and Committee to Protect Journalists co-sponsored the event. Panelists Bastian Obermayer and Marina Guevara came from ICIJ, a nonprofit newsroom, while CPJ, a nonprofit organization that promotes press freedom, was represented on the panel by executive director Joel Simon.

Columbia Graduate School of Journalism Dean of Student Affairs Sheila Coronel started the discussion by highlighting the importance of the press in revealing truth.

“Press should provide fact-based, evidence-based news that allow the public to make informed decisions — from whether we should do more about climate change to who to vote for,” Coronel said.

The panelists’ conversation covered a wide range of topics in journalism, including the potential for collaborative global efforts to establish a network of trust among reporters.

Ramzi Malouki, the Los Angeles correspondent of the Foreign Affairs Bureau at CNEWS, shared his personal experience collaborating with local and international reporters in Tunisia.

Coronel summarized the major characteristics that innovative, transnational journalism organizations embody: collaborative rather than competitive, global and efficient with technology.

She emphasized the lack of global infrastructure to support press freedom, especially for local reporters who are most vulnerable to government pressures and other threats.

“We have to find institutional ways to address that vulnerability,” Coronel said.

Guevara, the ICIJ deputy director, acknowledged the current progress on press freedom and stressed the need for improvement.

Simon also clarified his definition of press freedom.

“Press freedom is not to defend what you agree with, but to defend what you don’t believe in, the journalism that offends you,” he said.

After the discussion, the panelists opened up the floor for audience questions.

Briana Trujillo, a senior majoring in journalism and international relations, asked about ways journalism students can learn to be accountable producers of news. The panelists advised her to learn everything she could and encouraged her to explore and invent new ways of storytelling that appeal to her generation.

The hour-long event ended with a closing reception during which panelists and participants talked one-on-one.