On April 27, the Estlow International Center for Journalism and New Media at DU, along with the Denver Press Club, will host events in honor of the newly founded Real News Day, a day dedicated to credible and professional journalism in a time when the industry has declined. There will be events taking place throughout the whole day, with a morning event at the Capitol, a luncheon at the Cable Center and dinner at the Denver Press Club. The events will be open for registration to the DU community and will be relevant to those who care about the professional newsgathering and reporting and the role media plays in our society.
The morning event from 7:30 to 9:30 a.m. at the Colorado State Capitol will consist of an open panel talk with several DU scholars, government officials, media professionals and community members to discuss the significance of the #MeToo movement and the role social media has played on the whole of media and in policy making. The panelists include Speaker of the House Crisanta Duran, Kimberly Kindy of the Washington Post, Director of the Colorado Chapter of 9to5 Neha Mahajan, Dr. Lisa Ingarfield, Dr. Rachel Arnow-Richman, Dr. Christina Foust, Dr. Renée A. Botta and Dr. Lynn Schofield Clark of the Department of Media, Film and Journalism Studies and Director of the Estlow International Center.
“One of the points of the panel is to try to recognize that when we’re talking about legislation we need to have it for women of all different backgrounds and life experiences,” said Clark. She pointed out that the #MeToo movement was often recognized as a “white woman’s” movement, usually in elite and professional settings, when sexual assault is prevalent in many different environments. “This should be of interest to students because they’ll be able to hear conversations between people who make policy, and they will be able to participate in the conversations as well,” said Clark. The panel will give students the opportunity to talk with legislators and have an influence on policy making.
The lunch event from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m. at the Cable Center will give students and the DU community an opportunity to listen to Kimberly Kindy, an investigative reporter of The Washington Post, who will be awarded the Estlow Anvil of Freedom Award. The lecture will reflect on the role journalism has played in our society—with issues like fake news and credible and verifiable reporting. “It will give students and opportunity to listen to someone who has been in the industry for a long time, and who is a role model for students,” said Clark, “but it also extends out to those who care about collecting credible information.”
At the dinner event, the Denver Press Club will honor Martin Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post who led The Boston Globe team that won the prestigious Damon Runyon Award. The dinner is now sold out. However, the event will always be available for future students next year. Register for the morning and afternoon events on the Estlow International Center’s website. The morning and lunch events are available for registration on the Estlow International Center’s website. The events will also be live-streamed from this site. If you’re interested in helping with the livestream, contact Ethan Crawford at Ethan.Crawford@du.edu.
Another effort that will take place during Real News Day will be the digitization of the Clarion. The Clarion has been reporting on DU events and perspectives since the late 1800s, and this project will seek to digitize every weekly issue. The Clarion has hosted a GoFundMe to “Digitize the Clarion.”
