Science Writers Roundtable: Journalism in Crisis

Dates:

Thu, 07/25/2024 - 10:00 - Thu, 07/25/2024 - 11:00

Science Writers Roundtable:
Journalism in Crisis — How Did We Get Here and What Comes Next?
Presented by the NASW Board of Directors

Date: Thursday, July 25, 2024
Start Time: 1 PM ET / 10 AM PT
Event Recording: https://www.nasw.org/events/nasw-science-writers-virtual-events-video-recording-archive-2024-members-only (member login required)

Journalism is facing a series of intersecting crises. Funding models have not kept pace with technological change, leading to large-scale layoffs and the shuttering of outlets across the country. Misinformation and disinformation are rampant. And increasingly sophisticated generative A.I. stands to exacerbate both these problems and undermine the entire enterprise. Join us for a look at how we got to this point and where we go from here.

Registration is free and open to all interested professionals and students.
Recording will be made available to NASW members.

Moderator:

Cassandra Willyard
Freelance Science Journalist and NASW President
Cassandra Willyard is a freelance science journalist based in Madison, Wisc. and is the current President of NASW. She writes for Nature, Science, The New York Times, Scientific American, and many other outlets.

Confirmed Speakers:

Benjamin Toff
Hubbard School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Minnesota
Benjamin Toff is a journalism professor at the University of Minnesota and Director of the Minnesota Journalism Center where he studies trust in news, news avoidance, public opinion and changing media. He is broadly interested in the changing relationship between news outlets and the public. Prior to entering academia, Toff spent several years working as a journalist and his work has appeared in The New York Times, New York magazine, The Boston Globe, and elsewhere. From 2020-2023, he was a senior research fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at the University of Oxford where he led the Trust in News Project, examining what drives trust in news across Brazil, India, the U.K and the U.S.

Courtney Radsch
Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute
Courtney C. Radsch, Ph.D., is the Director of the Center for Journalism and Liberty at the Open Markets Institute where she produces and oversees cutting-edge research into news media market structures and helps design smart policy solutions to protect and bolster journalism’s financial and editorial independence in the digital age. As a global thought leader, she regularly publishes and provides commentary and analysis in top media outlets; provides testimony and keynotes; and participates in expert consultations with tech platforms and policymakers. Dr. Radsch’s research focuses on A.I. governance, tech policy and the future of journalism. She is a non-resident fellow at the Brookings Institution, the Center for International Governance Innovation, the Center for Democracy and Technology and a postdoctoral fellow at UCLA’s Institute for Technology, Law and Policy. She previously worked for the Committee to Protect Journalists and UNESCO following stints as a journalist in the U.S. and Middle East. She is involved in the responsible tech and platform accountability movement, and has worked on issues related to platform governance, freedom of expression, and digital rights as an advisor to the UN, OECD, OSCE, World Economic Forum, the Christchurch Call, and the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. Dr. Radsch serves on the International Science Council's Panel of Experts on the Public Value of Science, the boards of Tech Policy Press and the Dangerous Speech Project, and the International Advisory Committee of the Global Internet Forum to Counter Terrorism. She is the author of Cyberactivism and Citizen Journalism in Egypt: Digital Dissidence and Political Change (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2016), holds a doctorate in international relations, and speaks Arabic, French. and Spanish.

Patrick Dell
Senior Visuals Editor at The Globe and Mail
Patrick Dell is an award-winning visual journalist who has worked in news for more than 25 years. He was an editor and producer in Australian television before moving to Canada in 2006 and now works as the Senior Visuals Editor at The Globe and Mail. Patrick has long been interested by the intersection of journalism and technology, which now includes generative A.I. and its ability to make fake content. He is a 2024 JournalismAI Fellow, part of an international team examining real estate data using machine learning and LLMs.

Resources

#SciWriRoundtable

Curated by the Board of the National Association of Science Writers, the Science Writers Roundtable series is the organization’s main virtual events series dissecting and responding to the evergreen and emerging forces that shape the business of science news. Open to all interested professionals and students, each event is moderated by an NASW Board Member in conversation among colleagues with experience and expertise relevant to journalists, writers, PIOs, and other communicators. No matter your role and identity within the science writing enterprise, we hope you will take away invaluable insights and information from our #SciWriRoundtable to become a more prepared, better equipped professional, educator, trainee, leader, or ally. Learn more at https://www.nasw.org/article/nasw-science-writers-sciwriroundtable-2024-virtual-events-series-journalism-business

Founded in 1934 with a mission to fight for the free flow of science news, NASW is an organization of ~2,400 professional journalists, authors, editors, producers, public information officers, students and people who write and produce material intended to inform the public about science, health, engineering, and technology. To learn more, visit www.nasw.org and follow NASW on LinkedIn and Bluesky. And join us in celebrating #NASW90th.

Science Writers Roundtable: Journalism in Crisis

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