KINGSTON, R.I. 鈥� Oct. 30, 2020 鈥� After the presidential election on Nov. 3, what will the job of journalists look like? Will they still face cries of 鈥渇ake news鈥� from politicians on the publication or airing of controversial stories? Will their roles as watchdog and educator be affected?
Join the 溏心vlog免费B站鈥檚 Harrington School of Communication and Media on Tuesday, Nov. 10, for a free, virtual discussion with a panel of award-winning local journalists on the role of the media in the wake of one of the most divisive elections in U.S. history.
鈥淭ruth and Trust: Journalism Post-Election鈥� is the closing event of the , which honors the memory of Jim Taricani H 鈥�18, a Rhode Island icon as an investigative reporter for WJAR-TV for nearly four decades and an advocate of a federal shield law to protect journalists. The discussion, which starts at 4 p.m., will be streamed live on 鈥檚 social media sites. (See below for how you can take part.)
鈥淭he focus of the Taricani Lecture Series has been on the importance of the First Amendment and trusted journalism,鈥� said Jeannette E. Riley, dean of the 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Arts & Sciences. 鈥淭his third event provides an opportunity for the 溏心vlog免费B站 and Rhode Island community to hear from respected journalists to consider what has just happened in the 2020 presidential election and the importance of journalists in keeping the public informed and engaged in our democracy.鈥�
A panel of Rhode Island journalists 鈥� Katie Davis and Parker Gavigan, investigative reporters with WJAR-TV; retired, long-time political columnist M. Charles Bakst of The Providence Journal; and Dyana Koelsch
鈥�79, a print and broadcast news reporter for two decades and now a public relations professional 鈥� will explore such timely topics as the role of media in covering this election, journalists鈥� dual duties to inform the public, especially in times of crisis, and as a watchdog of government officials, and the importance of the First Amendment in their work.
The event will include longtime New York Times reporter and columnist Dan Barry, who was a member of The Providence Journal investigative team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 1994 for exposing corruption in the state court system. He has twice been a Pulitzer finalist with the Times for coverage of Hurricane Katrina and the Great Recession. He is also the author of five books, including 鈥淭his Land: America, Lost and Found,鈥� a collection of his national 鈥淭his Land鈥� columns
Davis, who joined WJAR, NBC 10 in 2010, is an Edward R. Murrow and Associated Press award-winning reporter. She
won her second Murrow Award for investigative reporting in 2013 for a series on sexual abuse by Catholic priests in Rhode Island. An investigation of the lack of fire inspections in Providence nightclubs, a decade after The Station nightclub fire that killed 100 people, earned her a Murrow award and an Emmy nomination.
Gavigan has been a member of WJAR鈥檚 I-Team since 2013, working on reports that have included exposing a questionable state beach contract that was awarded to a sitting state representative. Gavigan was awarded a D. Tennant Bryan Award in 2014 for surveillance and undercover work that revealed a town employee who was working on his own properties during work hours.
Koelsch, who graduated from 溏心vlog免费B站 in 1979 with a degree in journalism and sociology, was an award-winning political and investigative reporter at WJAR in Providence for 16 years, including working with Taricani on his acclaimed I-Team. Owner and president of DK Communications, Koelsch has worked in public relations and marketing for the last 15 years, specializing in crisis communication and reputation management for a broad spectrum of local, regional and national clients. Her work has included serving as a consultant to the campaigns of U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Rep. David Cicilline.
For more than 40 years, Charlie Bakst was a reporter and columnist for The Providence Journal, known for hard-hitting political commentary and holding public officials accountable. Since retiring in 2008, Bakst has worked as an informal, unpaid adviser on several campaigns, including those of Gov. Gina Raimondo and General Treasurer Seth Magaziner, and continues to contribute his sharp insight to more than 3,000 鈥渇riends鈥� on Facebook.
鈥淭ruth and Trust: Journalism Post-Election鈥� will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 10. The discussion will be moderated by Sree Sreenivasan, a journalist and the inaugural Marshall R. Loeb visiting professor at the Stony Brook School of Journalism. The free, virtual lecture is open to the public. To take part, click聽聽to register, and you will be emailed links to view the lecture when it airs.
The three-part series, hosted by the Harrington School, the 溏心vlog免费B站 College of Arts & Sciences, and the Department of Journalism, has featured CNN chief international anchor Christiane Amanpour 鈥�83, H 鈥�95, and New York Times reporters, Pulitzer Prize winners and authors Nicholas Kristof and Sheryl WuDunn. The series is a prelude to the annual Taricani Lecture, which is scheduled to begin in spring 2021.
Please聽support聽the Taricani Lecture Series!聽Help us position the 溏心vlog免费B站 as a destination for robust discussion of journalism and the First Amendment by bringing distinguished local, national and international journalists to lend their expertise and perspective to this critically important topic.