American Forum
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Upcoming event:
American Forum: "Are Media Making Us Dumber? Intellect, Ignorance and Influence in the Digital Age"When: Tuesday, March 31, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Ward 1, American University, 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, Washington, D.C.
Past events
American University School of Communication Presents
An American Forum: Washington Watchdogs: An Endangered Species?
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The news industry is in distress and the recession has made a dire situation critical. Newspapers are declaring bankruptcy and even folding. Nowhere are newsrooms being slashed more than in Washington, where some venerable bureaus are being shuttered all together. Will there be a vacuum in coverage of Congress, the White House and federal agencies? Is our democracy at stake? Or, have the Washington watchdogs grown fat and lazy? Are there any silver linings for leaner and meaner journalism? This American Forum will look at what many say is a crisis in the survival of Washington news coverage.
Tuesday, February 17, 6:30-8:00 p.m.
MCG 3,4,5
Mary Graydon Center
American University
For more information, click here.
Politics and Pundits: The Promises of the New Presidency and the Press
Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2008
Download MP3 from WAMU 88.5 FM
Washington is in for change come January, and expectations are high. What will the effect of the most covered presidential campaign in history be? Who will be the players for the next four years? What were the key media moments? Were the media stricken with Obamamania, as has been charged? Or, were they even-handed in their coverage of an unprecedented wild ride of a political season? A statesman of broadcast news, a top political consultant, a media analyst, and an up-and-coming politics writer will look at these questions in an American Forum live on WAMU 88.5 just a week after the election.
Confirmed guests:- Bob Schieffer, host of CBS News' Face the Nation and chief Washington correspondent, CBS News
- Dotty Lynch, executive in residence at SOC and CBS News political consultant
- Tom Rosenstiel, director, Project for Excellence in Journalism
- Gebe Martinez, regular contributing columnist for Politico
- Tony Romm, editor of politics@theEAGLE
Moderator: Mark McDonald, senior director of programming, WAMU 88.5
Youthquake '08: How Millennials are Shaking Up the Media, Mavericks, and History-Makers this Election
Download MP3 from WAMU 88.5 FM
- Cornell Belcher – Democratic strategist, Barack Obama pollster, founder of Brilliant Corners Consulting Full bio
- David Winston – Republican strategist, president of the Winston Group, former senior fellow at the Heritage Foundation Full bio
- Heather Smith, executive director, Rock the Vote, and leader of the most ambitious campaign ever to register young voters Full bio
- James Kotecki – video blogger for Politico.com, host of the award-winning online video series KoteckiTV, political analyst and commentator Full bio
- Emily Freifeld – multimedia producer in politics at www.washingtonpost.com, AU SOC alumna, co-host of daily politics podcast and weekly POTUS’08 program on XM Radio Full bio
Full bio Produced by Karen Munson, WAMU 88.5 FM and Danna Walker, AU SOC.
The Media and Islam
Monday, April 14, 2008
Download MP3 from WAMU 88.5 FM
In Western media today, the term “Islam” or “Muslim” often is linked inextricably with the word “terrorist.” Since the terrorist attacks in the U.S. on September 11, 2001 and the Iraq war, media coverage and commentary in the U.S. often has focused on Islamic political fundamentalism rather than on reporting on the Muslim faith or Muslims around the world. In this American Forum, we’ll examine media coverage of Islam, in the U.S. and abroad, and the impact of media coverage of Islam on politics and policy.
Panelists:
- Ambassador Akbar Ahmed, Ibn Khaldun Chair of Islamic Studies at American University
- Peter Bergen, Journalist and Terrorism Analyst
- Li Cheney, Attorney and Former Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs
- Abderrahim Foukara, Bureau Chief/Managing Editor for Al Jazeera
- Moderator: Jane Hall, Associate Professor, School of Communication American University
An American Forum: Fact-Checking: A Dying Tradition?
Friday, March. 7, 2008
Download MP3 from WAMU 88.5 FM
A recent study by the Center for Public Integrity identified 935 false statements made by leading members of the Bush administration in the two years following 9/11, about the national security threat posed by Iraq. In the 24/7 news cycle, and the internet age, has the time-honored journalist's tradition of fact-checking gone by the wayside in the rush to be first? How do the media safeguard itself from political spin or false claims? What steps do the media have in place to ensure the truth of what we read and hear? How are consumers to know who to believe?
Panelists:
- Media Analyst Roger Aronoff, Accuracy in Media
- Michael Dobbs of The Washington Post's "The Fact Checker"
- Chuck Lewis, Founding President, The Fund for Independence in Journalism and Distinguished Journalist in Residence at SOC and journalist
- author Michael Massing discuss these questions and more with moderator Mark McDonald, WAMU Program Director and Broadcast Journalist in Residence at SOC.
From Grassroots to Netroots: The Impact of the Internet and Other Media Technologies in Campaign ’08
Wednesday, Nov. 14, 2007
Download MP3 from WAMU 88.5 FM
Panelists will discuss how Web sites like MoveOn.org have affected mainstream media; political discourse and politics; candidates’ efforts to reach voters – especially young voters – through the Internet and other media; community building among nonaffiliated groups through the Web and other technologies; and Internet advocacy’s impact on voting and campaigns.
Panelists:
- Jeanne Cummings, political reporter, Politico.com
- Adam Green, campaign director, MoveOn.org
- Cyrus Krohn, e-campaign division director, Republican National Committee
- Dotty Lynch, political consultant, CBS News, journalism executive-in-residence, American University
- Josh McConaha, internet director, Democratic national Committee
Moderator: Jane Hall, Associate Professor, School of Communication American University
The American Forum: The Freedom of Press in a Post 9-11 Era
Tuesday, Sept. 12, 2007
Download MP3 from WAMU 88.5 FM
With fears of terrorism, an unpopular war and increased government secrecy, how free is the U.S. press in a post-9-11 world? Featuring editor plus journalists from National Journal Jane Hall Read coverage from Media Bistro's DC Fishbowl
Eric Lichtblau, reporter for New York Times, right, Ken Paulson, editor and vice president for News at USA TODAY, center, and national security expert Suzanne Spaulding, left, discuss Freedom of the Press in a Post 9-11 World. The discussion kicked off a weeklong series of events marking the 25th anniversary of USA Today. Click here for audio
How America Covers Itself: American News from a Foreign Perspective
Moderated by Mark McDonald, Director of Programs, WAMU 88.5 FM and SOC's Broadcast Journalist in Residence
We'll take a look at these issues and more on the next American Forum.
Panelists:
- Sunday Dare*, Chief, Hausa Service, Voice of America
- Karen DeYoung. Associate Editor, The Washington Post
- Matt Frei, Washington Correspondent, BBC
- Josh Rushing, Military and Current Affairs Correspondent, Al Jazeera
Moderator:
Mark McDonald
SOC's Broadcast Journalist in Residence
and Program Director, WAMU 88.5 FM
*A book signing with Sunday Dare, author of
Guerrilla Journalism -- Dispatches from the Underground
will follow the forum.
