Media Coverage of Iraq War to be Focus of Symposium at Ithaca College

09/19/05

Journalists, journalism educators, and Middle East scholars will convene at Ithaca College at 7:30 p.m. on Friday, September 23, to discuss "Lessons from Iraq: Journalism and Professional Responsibility during Times of War." Sponsored by the Roy H. Park School of Communications, the symposium will feature sessions for invited participants as well as a panel discussion that is open to all members of the Ithaca College community.

"The gathering will provide an opportunity for participants to discuss the key forces--professional, organizational, historical, economic--shaping coverage of the war, and to explore how individual journalists and their organizations have dealt with these forces," says symposium organizer Tammy Shapiro, assistant professor in the Department of Organizational Communication, Learning, and Design in the Park School. "The vision behind the program is the hope that ongoing dialogue among journalists, scholars of the Middle East, and journalism educators can foster socially responsible and professional coverage of the region."

Session topics will include "Journalistic Practice in Iraq: Embeds, Sources, and Media Responsibility," "Representing Iraq: The Western Imagination and Journalistic Coverage," and "Covering Iraq: Can Journalism and the Academy Mutually Benefit from a More Sustained Dialogue?"

The panel discussion will take place at 7:30 p.m. in Park Hall Auditorium. It will be moderated by Robert Zelnick, a former correspondent for ABC News who is now professor and chair of the Department of Journalism at Boston University. Serving as panelists will be:

• Sig Christenson, cofounder and president of Military Reporters and Editors, a national organization of military journalists, and a reporter for the San Antonio Express-News who was embedded with the U.S. Army's 3rd Infantry Division in Iraq;
• James Smith, foreign editor of the Boston Globe, who oversees the newspaper's coverage of the Iraq war;
• Asma Barlas, professor of politics at Ithaca College, who was one of the first women inducted in Pakistan's foreign service and later became assistant editor of an opposition newspaper after being fired for criticizing the military regime;
• Fawaz Gerges, professor of international affairs and Middle Eastern studies at Sarah Lawrence College, who serves as a senior analyst and regular commentator for ABC News and is the author of the book America and Political Islam: Clash of Cultures or Clash of Interests?; and
• Yahya Kamalipour, professor and head of the Department of Communication and Creative Arts at Purdue University Calumet, who serves as managing editor of the online Global Media Journal and is the author of nine books, including War, Media, and Propaganda: A Global Perspective.

The symposium is funded by a grant from the Ethics and Excellence in Journalism Foundation. Established in 1982, the foundation supports creative projects and research that promotes excellence and instills and encourages high ethical standards in journalism.

Also taking part in the symposium will be the following journalists and journalism educators:

• Lori Robertson, managing editor, American Journalism Review
• Jamal Dajani, producer of the Peabody Award-winning "Mosaic," a program on Link TV that features news broadcasts from the Middle East
• Daniela Dimitrova, assistant professor, Greenlee School of Journalism and Communication, Iowa State University
• Deepa Kumar, assistant professor, Department of Journalism and Media Studies, Rutgers University
• R. Kevin Lacey, chair, Department of Classical and Near Eastern Studies, and director, Middle East and North African Studies Program, Binghamton University
• Jack Lule, Joseph B. McFadden Professor in Journalism, Department of Journalism and Communication, Lehigh University
• Tamar Morad, former Wall Street Journal and Jerusalem Post reporter and 2004-5 lecturer in journalism, Roy H. Park School of Communications, Ithaca College
• Michael Pfau, professor and chair, Department of Communication, University of Oklahoma, and coauthor of With Malice toward All? The Media and Public Confidence in Democratic Institutions
• Christopher Campbell, director, School of Mass Communication and Journalism, Southern Mississippi University, and 2004-5 chair of the Department of Journalism, Roy H. Park School of Communications, Ithaca College

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