Events

2017 Silha Center Spring Forum/SPJ Ethics in Journalism Week

“Making News or Faking News? Ethical Journalism in a Post-Truth Era”

April 24, 2017

to view a video of this event, click here

Who defines which news is “fake”? How do ethical principles help the media detect and combat fake news? How can the public recognize fake news? Do social media contribute to the problem? Should the government have a role in “calling out” fake news? Do we need a “Ministry of Truth?” Can democracy survive fake news?

Featured speaker:

Joshua Gillin, staff writer for PolitiFact, PunditFact and the Tampa Bay Times, will be the principal speaker. His current assignment is to debunk fake news items and examine how they are spread online. He previously was a reporter, editor and blogger for tbt*, the daily tabloid edition of the Times, and has written about media news for The Poynter Institute. He has worked in many writing and editing capacities in news, sports and features at the Philadelphia Inquirer, the Savannah (Ga.) Morning News and the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review.His journalism degree is from the University of Nebraska.

Panelists included:

Leila Brammer, Professor and Chair in Communications Studies, Gustavus Adolphus College;

Sarah Bauer Jackson, program director, Minnesota Newspaper Association; former executive director, Minnesota News Council;

Brian Lambert, MinnPost;

Ricardo Lopez, political reporter, Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Jane E. Kirtley, Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law and director of the Silha Center, will moderate.

Silha Center events are supported by the generosity of the late Otto Silha and his wife, Helen.