Truth in journalism and in the media, a much-discussed topic during and since the presidential election last November, will be addressed next Monday (Oct. 9) at the University of Wisconsin-Stout by a law and ethics expert from the University of Minnesota.
Jane Kirtley will discuss “The Search for Truth: A Road Map for Journalists and Consumers of News” from 10 to 11:30 a.m. in the Maple/Cedar Room of the Memorial Student Center. The event, which will include time for questions and discussion, is free and open to the public.
Kirtley, the Silha Professor of Media Ethics and Law at the University of Minnesota School of Journalism and Mass Communication, is also the director of the Silha Center for the Study of Media Ethics and Law at the university.
“Professor Kirtley will help us think about and talk about who we are as news consumers. She’ll also help my journalism students gain a new understanding of the responsibilities they have when they are in a journalistic role,” said Kate Edenborg, an associate professor in the English and philosophy department at UW-Stout.
Kirtley has bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University and a law degree from Vanderbilt University. From 1984 to 1999, she was executive director of the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press in Washington, D.C.
She frequently writes and speaks about the First Amendment, freedom of information issues and on media and legal ethics in the United States and internationally.
The program is sponsored by UW-Stout’s Center for Applied Ethics and the university’s Nakatani Teaching and Learning Center.
UW-Stout offers an undergraduate program in professional communication and emerging media, with a concentration in applied journalism, as well as a minor in journalism.
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