Deutsches Haus at NYU, UAS7 German Universities of Applied Sciences, and the University Alliance Ruhr invite you to a panel discussion on “Democracy and Journalism in the Digital Age,” with Summer Lopez (PEN America), Prof. Dr. Wiebke Möhring (TU Dortmund University), and Prof. Dr. Christian Stöcker (University of Applied Sciences Hamburg), which will be moderated by Cameron Abadi (Foreign Policy magazine).
The speed and ease with which digital media produce and disseminate news has a profound impact on how we participate in the democratic process. On the one hand, the internet and social media seem to harbor considerable democratizing potential by opening up new pathways for citizens to increasingly contribute to policy making. On the other hand, digital media might not solve the lack of political participation typical among many citizens in Western democracies. In fact, the radical democratization of knowledge and the multiplication of sources pose significant risks insofar as they pave the way to widespread falsification of information by political and corporate powers. How do media systems and regulatory bodies in Germany and in the U.S. negotiate the opportunities and challenges posed by digital media? How do readers distinguish fact from fiction in a time when the public’s faith in media and politicians’ rhetorical claims seems to dwindle on both sides of the Atlantic? How do recent developments in digital media affect and change journalism both as a profession and in its relation to the public? Join us for a panel with media experts and journalists from both sides of the Atlantic who will share their views on the changing political landscapes and the future of their profession.
Speaker biographies
Summer Lopez is the Senior Director of Free Expression Programs at PEN America. She previously worked for the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for nine years, and was most recently posted to Zimbabwe, where she served as the Deputy Director of the Office of Democracy, Human Rights, and Governance. Earlier, she was at USAID headquarters in Washington, DC, where she played a leading role in advocating for effective integration and promotion of democratic and human rights principles in U.S. policy, strategy, and programming in the Middle East and Asia, including during the period of the Arab Spring. In addition to Zimbabwe, she has lived and worked in Egypt, Ghana, India, and Nepal. She holds a B.A. in English and American Literature and Language from Harvard and a Master in Public Affairs from the Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs at Princeton.
Prof. Dr. Wiebke Möhring has been teaching Online and Print Journalism at the Institute for Journalism, TU Dortmund University, since 2016. She studied Media Management and Philosophy at Hanover University of Music, Drama and Media (HMTMH) where she completed her Ph.D. in 2000. After a two-year stay in the United States she returned to HMTMH and, from 2009 until 2016, was a Professor of Public Communication at the University of Applied Science Hanover. Prof. Möhring has strong research interests and vast experience in the fields of local journalism and communication as well as public communication. Her numerous publications include a book on local journalism, “Lokaljournalismus im Fokus der Wissenschaft” (2015), and an introduction to questioning techniques in media and communication studies, “Die Befragung in der Medien- und Kommunikationswissenschaft” (2010).
Prof. Dr. Christian Stöcker became head of the newly designed Master’s Program in Digital Communication at the University of Applied Sciences Hamburg in 2016. He studied Psychology at the University of Bristol and Julius-Maximilians-Universität Würzburg where he received his Ph.D. in Cognitive Psychology in 2003. Subsequently, he studied cultural criticism at the Bavarian Theater Academy and started writing for renowned German newspapers and weeklies such as Süddeutsche Zeitung, Die Zeit and Spiegel Online. In 2005, he became an editor in Spiegel Online’s Media department and, from 2011 to 2016, served as head editor of that department. In 2011, Prof. Stöcker published “Nerd Attack,” a book about the history of digital technology in Germany, and, in 2012, “We Are Anonymous,” about the internet movement of the same name. Prof. Stöcker is one of the very few German journalists who worked with documents originally provided by Edward Snowden.
Moderator biography
Cameron Abadi is deputy editor at Foreign Policy. He previously worked at the New Republic and Foreign Affairs and as a correspondent in Germany and Iran. His writing has appeared in Bloomberg Businessweek, the New Yorker, the New Republic, and Der Spiegel. Mr. Abadi holds a B.A. in Political Sciences from Yale University and an M.A. in North American Studies from Freie Universität Berlin.
Events at Deutsches Haus are free and open to the public. If you would like to attend this event, please RSVP here. As space at Deutsches Haus is limited, please arrive ten minutes prior to the event to ensure you get a good seat. Thank you!
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