Many today consider both journalism and democracy to be in crisis. The challenges facing each also seem to be tightly interconnected. The rise of social media, the explosion of misinformation, the hardening of polarization, the loss of public faith in government and mainstream media–all of these factors appear to be driving our traditional institutions of journalism and democracy toward the brink of collapse, in the U.S. and around the world. But how exactly are the fates of contemporary journalism, and contemporary democracy, bound together? Which of the challenges so familiar to us from the headlines are truly “new,” and which are the result of more long-term trends in technology, political economy, and culture? And what new initiatives and promising developments hold the potential to both revitalize the field of journalism, and prevent our democracies from further degenerating?

Culminating a year-long exploration of these questions, the Clough Center will hold a Symposium on “Journalism and Democracy” from March 15th through March 17th. The symposium will feature several major keynote addresses and draw together leading journalists and scholars to engage them in public conversation on some of the most pressing issues facing our media institutions, our polity, and our world today. Please join us for the major event of our program year–and add your voice to the conversation.

Please register to attend or receive a link to livestream. 

Co-Sponsored by the Lowell Humanities Series, the Institute for Liberal Arts, the Winston Center for Leadership and Ethics, the Boisi Center for Religion and American Public Life and the Journalism Program at Boston College