May 1-2 – The National Press Club in Washington DC is hosting a two-day series of panel discussions . And, yes, they will be looking at the attempted destruction of USAGM.
8:30 a.m. | Breakfast with Freed Journalist Alsu Kurmasheva
Jason Rezaian sits down with Alsu Kurmasheva of Radio Free Europe, who will reflect on her detention in Russia, her return to reporting, and ongoing efforts to free the 10 VOA, RFE/RL, and RFA journalists still imprisoned worldwide.
Cost: $20 per person (breakfast included)
10:00 a.m. | Russian Journalists in Exile: Reporting from Berlin
Alsu Kurmasheva moderates a conversation with Russian journalists now reporting from exile in Berlin, offering firsthand perspectives on the risks, realities, and resilience of covering Russia from abroad.
Cost: Free
1:00 p.m. | Global Press Freedom Outlook: Virtual Roundtable
Bill McCarren, Paul Beckett, Jason Rezaian, Mike Balsamo, and other press freedom leaders take a region-by-region look at the global state of press freedom, highlighting critical cases and developments to watch in 2025.
Cost: Free
For details – https://www.unesco.org/en/days/press-freedom
Screening of ‘Words of War,’ plus a panel discussion afterwards with cast and crew, moderated by Jim Acosta. Rolling Pictures announces that a portion of proceeds from its upcoming political thriller Words of War will be donated to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) and the Press Freedom Center at the National Press Club.
To RSVP to the film screening and panel discussion at the National Press Club on Wednesday, May 7, follow this link.
JCRC of Greater Washington Panel
Featuring a Distinguished Panel of Journalists:
- Marvin Kalb, veteran journalist, author, and Founding Director of the Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard University’s Kennedy School
- Josh Kraushaar, Editor-in-Chief, Jewish Insider
- Hayvi Bouzo, Co-Founder and Host, Yalla
- Moderator: Vicki Fishman, Director of Virginia Government and Community Relations, JCRC of Greater NAHJ Washington, D.C. Chapter
CNN will air Good Night, and Good Luck live on Saturday, June 7 at 7pm ET across CNN, CNN International and streaming on CNN.com. This is the penultimate performance of the Broadway play by George Clooney and Grant Heslov.
The play follows the plot line of the 2005 movie, starring David Strathairn as journalist Edward R. Murrow and directed by Clooney. We watch Murrow and his team assemble the material for his famous March 9, 1954 report on Sen. Joseph R. McCarthy and the political situation at the time. The play opens and closes with Murrow’s famous October 15, 1958 speech to the then-RTNDA (now RTDNA). The whole speech is well worth reading.
The CNN broadcast offers a great opportunity for us to gather friends and colleagues for watch parties. They don’t have to be anything big or overwhelming. Invite your neighbors and a few colleagues. Make it potluck or just call in for a few pizzas and watch the play.
The next gathering of the SPJ DC freelance group will be a no-host happy hour at 6 p.m., June 26 at the National Press Club. Please be sure to let me know if you plan to attend so we can have your name on the NPC list at the door.
Offered by New England First Amendment Coalition
The NEFC provides reporters, watchdogs and other curious community members the knowledge they can use immediately in news gathering, data collection, storytelling and other areas of journalism and First Amendment law.
The lessons are provided in a 30-minute format to accommodate the demanding schedules faced by many working in New England newsrooms. The program is free and open to the public.
Registration for each lesson is required.
Immigration Reporting 101 session led by Giulia McDonnell Nieto del Rio
The Boston Globe
Sign up and buy tickets HERE.
The #SaveVOA Benefit Concert is a cultural-charity event featuring musicians from the VOA family. As the government seeks to end international broadcasting, staff at media networks like Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia, and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks are facing serious hardships.
Many have suddenly lost their income, their health insurance, and even visas that allowed them to work and live safely in the United States. Some are now at risk of reprisals if forced to return to their home countries. All proceeds from the #SaveVOA Benefit Concert will go to the USAGM Employee Association, a registered nonprofit providing help with urgent medical bills, legal assistance, and other unforeseen needs for journalists who have spent their careers speaking truth to power.
Tickets do not include food or drinks, which will be available for purchase at the venue. No outside food or drink or illegal substances are permitted. Venue is wheelchair-accessible. Carpooling encouraged!
The USAGM Employee Association is a registered non-profit organization. Our EIN is 83-2456434. Any related inquiries can be sent to the Executive Committee at chair@usagmassociation.org
Register here: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSe1vpoDFygTKj0cyKqKHwIkFlHyui7hPZ9B75Gf58F89mrZkA/viewform
McDonnell Nieto del Rio joined The Boston Globe in July 2024 as an immigration reporter. At the Globe, she has reported on migrants struggling to find shelter in Massachusetts amidst the state’s housing crisis, how federal immigration policies have affected local residents, and on the impact of immigration enforcement changes on Massachusetts communities, among other issues. Previously, she worked as an immigration reporter at Documented, a nonprofit news site that covers New York City’s immigrant communities and policies that affect them. At Documented, she covered the migrant crisis in New York extensively, and published stories about the conditions in city-run shelters, the exploitation of newly-arrived migrant workers, and the effects of housing instability on migrant families. She also covered immigration detention and immigration courts. Before that, she was a national reporting fellow for the New York Times, writing about any and all national news — including COVID-19, the 2020 election, mass shootings and extreme weather events. McDonnell Nieto del Rio is a native Spanish speaker and has reported on breaking news as an intern for her hometown paper, the Los Angeles Times. She has also worked for CNN in New York and Washington D.C. She holds a bachelor’s degree in History from Williams College, and earned her master’s from Columbia Journalism School.