How to Cover the World: The Promise and Peril of Journalism in the Digital Age

Gerard Ryle and Joel Simon In conversation with Alex Cohen, Spectrum Networks Anchor and Host
Thursday, Oct 11, 2018 | 7:30pm Mark Taper Auditorium-Central Library

Technology has made possible new forms of transnational investigative journalism and fueled the rise of new digital media organizations in the U.S. and around the world. Yet more journalists are imprisoned around the world than at any time in recent history, censorship is on the rise, and government-run disinformation campaigns are undermining public understanding and fueling distrust in the media. Two leading figures in global journalism help make sense of this confusing and contradictory environment, and discuss how their organizations find unique opportunities to make an impact within this challenging and ever-changing landscape. Gerard Ryle is the director of the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists, which supports teams of journalists as they pursue groundbreaking investigations like the Panama Papers. Joel Simon is the executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists, which fights for press freedom and the rights of journalists in the United States and around the world.

LFLA Members are invited to enjoy an exclusive reception preceding the program at 6:30 PM.

Alex Cohen

Alex Cohen is co-host of KPCC’s “Take Two” show. Prior to that, she was host of KPCC’s “All Things Considered.” She has also hosted and reported for NPR programs including “Morning Edition,” “All Things Considered” and “Day to Day” as well as American Public Media’s “Marketplace” and “Weekend America.” Prior to that, she was the L.A. Bureau Chief for KQED FM in San Francisco. She has won various journalistic awards including the LA Press Club’s Best Radio Anchor prize. Alex is also the author of Down and Derby: The Insider’s Guide to Roller Derby.

Gerard Ryle

Gerard Ryle is ICIJ’s director. He led the worldwide teams of journalists working on the Panama Papers and Paradise Papers investigations, the biggest in journalism history. Under his leadership over the past seven years, ICIJ has become one of the best-known journalism brands in the world. Reporters Without Borders has described Ryle’s work with ICIJ as “the future of investigative journalism worldwide” when naming him as one of “100 information heroes” of worldwide significance. Before joining as ICIJ’s first non-American director in September 2011, Ryle spent more than 20 years working as an investigative reporter and editor in Australia. His work as a journalist began in his native Ireland. He was later a Knight-Wallace Journalism Fellow at the University of Michigan, and in 2013 he accepted an honorary doctorate from the University of Liege, on behalf of ICIJ. Ryle is a book author and TED speaker and he has won or shared in more than 50 journalism awards from seven different countries, including the 2017 Pulitzer Prize, three George Polk Awards, and honors from the Society of Professional Journalists, Overseas Press Club of America, the New York Press Club, the Barlett and Steele Awards, Investigative Reporters and Editors, and Harvard University. He and his ICIJ colleagues also shared an Emmy Award with the U.S. television program 60 Minutes.

Joel Simon

Joel Simon has been the executive director of Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) since 2006. Simon has led the organization through a period of expansion, helping to launch the Global Campaign Against Impunity, establish a Journalist Assistance program and an Emergencies Department, and spearhead CPJ’s defense of press freedom in the digital space through the creation of dedicated Technology Program. Simon has participated in CPJ missions around the world, from Argentina  to Zimbabwe. He has written widely on press freedom issues for publications including Slate, The New York Review of Books, The New York Times, World Policy Journal, Asahi Shimbun, and The Times of India. He is a regular columnist for Columbia Journalism Review.  He is the author of the three books, Endangered Mexico (Sierra Club Books, 1997); The New Censorship (Columbia University Press, 2015); and We Want to Negotiate: Inside the Secret World of Kidnapping, Hostages, and Ransom (Columbia Global Reports, forthcoming, January 2019).

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As most ALOUD at Central Library programs are free of charge, it is our policy to overbook. In the case of a FULL program your free reservation may not guarantee admission. We recommend arriving early. Space permitting, unclaimed reservations will be released to standby patrons at approximately 7:15 PM.

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ALOUD is one of many free programs at the Los Angeles Public Library made possible by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles. Most ALOUD author programs are followed by book signings. At least one copy of the author’s book must be purchased from The Library Store in order to participate in any post-program book signing, and you will be asked to show proof of purchase. Please be prepared to show your proof of purchase when you enter the book signing line. Proceeds support the Los Angeles Public Library.

Main Image: courtesy Mstyslav Chernov. Licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported | Wikimedia Commons

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