Patricia Campos Mello
editor-at-large Folha de Sao Paulo
Courtney Radsch
director Center for Journalism and Liberty
Anya Schiffrin
School of International and Public Affairs Columbia University
Clayton Weimers
executive director Reporters Without Borders USA
Research shows that more and more Americans are turning to non-journalistic sources for their information. Americans who voted for Donald Trump were especially unlikely to get their information from journalistic sources. Nowhere is this trend clearer than on Elon Musk’s X, where in the wake of Donald Trump’s re-election, the site's billionaire proprietor declared, “You are the media now” to his millions of followers.
Is journalism becoming irrelevant in American democracy? What about in other countries? If so, how do we stop journalism’s slide into irrelevance? What must the media do to regain the trust of more of the public and re-assert its value? What role, if any, can regulation or governance play in reining in the chaos of digital information spaces? Does the Musk-Trump alliance tell us anything about where news media is going in America? And what can we expect from this duo in terms of media regulation or broader threats to press freedom?
These questions are vitally important for anyone who believes that journalism plays an indispensable role in democracy. Moreover, the debate over the relationships between Big Tech, media, and governments are reverberating around the world, not just in the United States. X recently ended a protracted legal battle that saw its site entirely banned in Brazil. The EU is still grappling with how to implement regulations. This panel will explore these questions and suggest some of the solutions.
Moderated by Clayton Weimers.