USAGM convenes Media for Democracy Forum to address key global media trends

Event

USAGM convenes Media for Democracy Forum to address key global media trends

May 7, 2019

The U.S. Agency for Global Media’s (USAGM) Media for Democracy Forum held on May 7, 2019 at the U.S. Institute of Peace brought together media experts, practitioners, opinion leaders, and policy makers to identify solutions to the biggest threats facing free media and to explore the leading and relevant information technology trends in journalism today.

With USAGM and the rest of the journalism community having just commemorated World Press Freedom Day on May 3, a key theme throughout the day-long event was how news media can stand shoulder to shoulder with democratic institutions throughout the world to support universal values and good governance.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX), U.S. Representative Chris Stewart (R-UT), technology policy expert and author Alec Ross, and USAGM Chief Executive Officer John F. Lansing addressed forum attendees at a critical juncture as both news media and democratic institutions are increasingly scrutinized and challenged around the world.

U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) said, “That’s something that America should remember: that our principles can tear down walls. America should consistently be a voice for freedom, human rights, and democracy.” He continued. “Because that truth is powerful and it can transform the world. That’s where USAGM comes into play.”

U.S. Representative Chris Stewart (R-UT) noted, “… it was the 1st amendment that talks about a free press. If you lose this, you lose everything else. Our founding fathers understood that.”

USAGM CEO John F. Lansing remarked, “Like defense, development, and diplomacy, U.S. international media- accurate, balanced and true- is an essential part of our standing on the world stage.”

The Media for Democracy Forum also brought together representatives from National Endowment for Democracy, Freedom House, The Atlantic Council, The Hudson Institute, U.S. Department of State, U.S. Department of Defense, U.S. Agency for International Development, IREX, CNN, Deutsche Welle, University of Southern California, among other prominent government and civil society experts and groups, as well as the five USAGM networks—Voice of America (VOA), the Office of Cuba Broadcasting (OCB), Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty (RFE/RL), Radio Free Asia (RFA), and the Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN).

Former President of NBC News and USAGM Senior Advisor and Strategist Steve Capus delivered closing remarks.

By identifying best practices and opportunities for collaboration across sectors, the inaugural forum helped to forge a community of practice in support of publicly-supported, civically-focused international media. A forthcoming white paper will draw from the forum’s conversations to identify opportunities for cooperation and to propose next steps to energize the ways in which media and technology can help bolster the world’s democratic societies.

Event Information

May 7, 2019,
Registration 8:15 a.m. - 9:00 a.m.
Program 9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m.

The U.S. Institute of Peace
2301 Constitution Ave NW, Washington, DC 20037

Registration begins at 8:15 a.m. Please arrive at least 20 minutes ahead of the event start time with government-issued ID to process through U.S. Institute of Peace building security and event registration.

For more information, please contact USAGM Public Affairs at (202) 203-4400 or by e-mail at pubaff@usagm.gov.

Keynote Speakers

From 1999 to 2003, Senator Ted Cruz held various government positions, serving as Director of the Office of Policy Planning at the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), as an Associate Deputy Attorney General at the United States Department of Justice, and as a Domestic Policy Advisor to George W. Bush during Bush's 2000 presidential campaign. Cruz served as Solicitor General of Texas from 2003 to 2008, having been appointed by Texas Attorney General and later Governor Greg Abbott. Senator Cruz was the longest-serving solicitor general in Texas history and the first Hispanic- American to serve in that capacity. Ted Cruz was an adjunct professor at the University of Texas School of Law in Austin, where he taught U.S. Supreme Court litigation from 2004 to 2009. He also worked in a private law firm in Houston until he was sworn in as U.S. senator from Texas in 2013. In 2012, Cruz ran for and won the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by fellow Republican Kay Bailey Hutchison. He is the first Hispanic American to serve as a U.S. Senator from Texas and was re-elected to the Senate in 2018. He holds degrees from Princeton University (B.A., 1992) and Harvard University (J.D., 1995).
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Chris Stewart is the Congressman from Utah's Second Congressional District. He is a No. 1 New York Times best-selling and national award-winning author, world-record-setting Air Force pilot, and the former owner/CEO of a small business. Chris is one of ten children and grew up on a dairy farm in Cache Valley. He graduated from Utah State University, where he earned his degree in economics. Upon graduation, Chris joined the United States Air Force where he was the Distinguished Graduate (top of his class) in both Officer Training School and Undergraduate Pilot Training. He served for fourteen years as a pilot in the Air Force, flying both rescue helicopters and the B-1B bomber. He holds three world speed records, including the world’s record for the fastest non-stop flight around the world. Before being elected to Congress, Chris served as president and CEO of the Shipley Group, a nationally recognized firm for consulting expertise in energy and the environment. He and his wife, Evie, are the parents of six children. Chris now serves as a member of the House Appropriations Committee and the House Intelligence Committee.
Kenneth R. Weinstein joined the Hudson Institute in 1991 and was appointed CEO in June 2005. Weinstein was named president and CEO in March 2011. A political theorist by training whose academic work focused on the early Enlightenment, Weinstein has established a reputation as a go-to influencer and thought leader for policy and opinion leaders in the U.S. and around the world on a range of matters. He has written widely on international affairs for publications in the United States, Europe, and Asia, including The Wall Street Journal, Le Monde, and the Yomiuri Shimbun. In 2006, he was decorated with a knighthood in arts and letters by the government of France and serves on the boards of nonprofit organizations in the U.S. and Europe. Weinstein is chairman of the Broadcasting Board of Governors, the oversight body for U.S. Agency for Global Media, whose entities include the Voice of America, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting. Weinstein also serves on the Advisory Committee on Trade Policy and Negotiations, which provides counsel on trade agreements to the United States Trade Representative. He previously served on the National Humanities Council, the governing body of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
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Steve Capus began his journalism career in radio and print, working at several stations and daily newspapers in the Philadelphia area. Capus moved to Charlotte, N.C. in 1993, joining the NBC News team as the senior producer of NBC Nightside, an overnight news program. Capus then continued his career with NBC in Manhattan. During this time, he was the broadcast producer of "NBC News Sunrise" and then the supervising producer for Today. From 1997 to May 2001, Capus was the executive producer of MSNBC’s The News with Brian Williams. He was also the executive producer of numerous NBC News breaking reports and MSNBC special broadcasts. Steve Capus was the executive producer of NBC Nightly News from May 2001 to June 2005. During this time, Capus was the executive producer for NBC News' coverage of the terror attacks on September 11, 2001, the war in Iraq, and the "Decision 2002-2004" political coverage. He was then promoted to senior vice president of NBC News, where he led the network news division, was executive in charge of MSNBC, MSNBC and NBCNEWS.com digital and mobile properties, and NBC News radio. Capus served as a member of the following boards: NBC/Microsoft Joint Venture, The Weather Channel and weather.com, and The Newseum in Washington, DC.
John Lansing joined the BBG in September 2015 after nine years as President of Scripps Networks, where he is credited with guiding the company to become a leading developer of unique content across various media platforms including television, digital, mobile and publishing. As President of Scripps Networks, Lansing was responsible for strategic and operational oversight of the $2.5 billion division of Scripps Networks Interactive, including the company’s portfolio of six cable networks – Food Network, HGTV, Travel Channel, DIY, Cooking Channel and Great American Country – and the $100 million Scripps Networks Digital division. Most recently, Lansing was President and Chief Executive Officer of Cable & Telecommunications Association for Marketing (CTAM), a marketing association comprised of 90 of the top U.S. and Canadian cable companies and television programmers. John is also an award-winning Photojournalist and Field Producer, Assignment Manager, Managing Editor, and News Director. John Lansing serves on the National Advisory Board of the Bellarmine University’s Institute for Media, Culture & Ethics; National Council for Media and Public Affairs of George Washington University School of Media & Public Affairs; and, until recently, the Poynter Institute for Media Studies Foundation, one of the nation’s top schools for professional journalists.
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Alec Ross is a partner at Amplo, a global venture capital firm and a Visiting Professor in the public policy faculty at King’s College London. He is the author of the global bestseller The Industries of the Future. The Industries of the Future explores the technological and economic trends and developments that will shape the next ten years and provides the geopolitical, cultural, and generational contexts out of which they are emerging. The work has been translated into 24 languages and been a best-seller on 4 continents. Ross sits on the board of directors or advisors for companies in the fields of technology, finance, education, human capital and cybersecurity. Alec has served as a Distinguished Senior Fellow at Johns Hopkins University and as a Senior Fellow at the Columbia University School of International & Public Affairs. Alec Ross served for four year as Senior Advisor for Innovation to Secretary of State. Prior to his service in government, Alec was a social entrepreneur and ran technology and media policy on Barack Obama’s first presidential campaign.
PANELISTS
Shamir is the founder of the video tech startup Simon Says which auto transcribes and translates media, using ASR and AI, to assist production teams edit and distribute content efficiently. Simon Says has grown to be a successful business used by tens of thousands of projects by thousands of customers across its products: website, MacOS app, Final Cut Pro X Extension, on premise software, and iOS app (beta). Previously, Shamir was Head of Digital for the Doha Film Institute, which originated as a partnership between Robert de Niro and Qatar, and he oversaw web, mobile, and social product management and editorial.
Philip has built and utilized advanced machine learning and A.I. systems for more than ten years. He designed and implemented the ClipsLab system in use by the Department of State’s media monitoring apparatus to understand how foreign audiences react to the news. Philip has a master’s degree in New Media and Digital Culture from the University of Amsterdam and is the founder of Nvision Analytics.
Amanda Bennett began serving as the Director of the Voice of America in March 2016. She is a Pulitzer Prize-winning author, investigative journalist and editor. Until 2013, Bennett was Executive Editor, Bloomberg News, where she created and ran a global team of investigative reporters and editors. She also co-founded the Bloomberg News Women’s project. Amanda was editor of The Philadelphia Inquirer from June 2003 until November 2006, and prior to that, editor of the Herald-Leader in Lexington, Kentucky. She served for three years as managing editor/projects for The Oregonian in Portland and worked as a Wall Street Journal reporter for more than 20 years. A graduate of Harvard College, she held numerous posts at the Journal, including auto industry reporter in Detroit in the late 70s and early 80s, Pentagon and State Department reporter, Beijing correspondent, management editor/reporter, national economics correspondent and, finally, Chief of the Atlanta bureau until 1998. Bennett is the author of six books including In Memoriam (1998), co-authored with Terence B. Foley; The Man Who Stayed Behind (1993), co-authored with Sidney Rittenberg; Death of the Organization Man (1991) and The Quiet Room (1996), co-authored with Lori Schiller. The Cost of Hope, her memoir of the battle she and Foley, her late husband, fought against his kidney cancer, was published in June 2012 by Random House.
Arturo founded in 2011 OONI, the Observatory of Network Interference, a project monitoring internet censorship and network interference around the world which is part of The Tor Project. He is currently serving as OONI’s project lead and core developer. Previously, he co-founded and served as the Vice President of the Hermes Center for Transparency and Digital Human Rights. He also worked as a core developer for GlobaLeaks and wrote Atlas, among other software projects. He studied Mathematics and Computer Science at Università di Roma “La Sapienza”.
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As the technical coordinator at Deutsche Welle’s Lab, Andy coordinates projects that develop prototypes for new digital products. The Lab assembles interdisciplinary teams to create journalistic ideas around emerging media technologies. If found convincing, the prototypes are handed over into a pilot phase and, eventually, into regular operation, thus following a three-stage approach to development of new products at Deutsche Welle. Andy is in love with good design and new technology. He obtained his Master’s Degree in electrical engineering in 1998 after following a double-diploma program between the Technical University Berlin and the École Nationale des Télécommunications in Paris. He then joined the BBC Research and Development Department in London to work on multimedia transmissions via digital radio. For the BBC World Service, he subsequently contributed to the planning, execution and analysis of the Digital Radio Mondiale (DRM) field trials. In 2004, he transferred to DW, where he was involved in the strategic planning connected to the introduction of digital shortwave. In 2008, he changed his focus to concentrate on New Media technologies, more specifically mobile platforms. Andy also worked on various European research projects before starting the Lab as part of a team in 2017.
Melinda Haring is the editor of the UkraineAlert blog, which is the Atlantic Council’s most popular publication. Haring is a longtime observer of political developments in the Eurasia region, and her analysis has been featured in The Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, Newsweek, Novoe Vremya, The American Interest, Kyiv Post, PRI, and broadcast and published by NPR, the BBC, Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, and Voice of America. She is the author of the report Reforming the Democracy Bureaucracy, coauthor of Ukraine’s Internally Displaced Persons Hold a Key to Peace (Atlantic Council, 2017), and a contributor to Does Democracy Matter? (Rowman & Littlefield, 2017). Haring has worked for Eurasia Foundation, Freedom House, and the National Democratic Institute, where she managed democracy assistance programs in Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Russia. A graduate of Georgetown University, she holds an MA in Government with a certificate in Russian, Eurasian, and East European Studies. Haring is the vice chair of the board of East Europe Foundation in Kyiv, Ukraine, and a senior fellow at the Foreign Policy Research Institute. She is a term member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Robert Hernandez, aka as a “webjournalist”, has made a name for himself as a journalist of the Web, not just on the Web. His primary focus is exploring and developing the intersection of technology and journalism – to empower people, inform reporting and storytelling, engage community, improve distribution and, whenever possible, enhance revenue. He is an Associate Professor of Professional Practice at USC Annenberg. Hernandez’s most recent work includes Augmented Reality, Wearables/Google Glass and Virtual Reality — he and his students produce VR experiences under their brand: JOVRNALISM™. Their work has won awards from the Online News Association, Society for News Design, among others, and can be seen in The New York Times, NBC, NPR, ProPublica, USA Today and in their own iOS/Android app. Robert has worked for seattletimes.com, SFGate.com, eXaminer.com, La Prensa Gráfica, among others. He is also the co-founder of #wjchat and co-creator of the Diversify Journalism Project. He has served on boards including Chicas Poderosas, InquireFirst and the Online News Association. He is a Journalism 360 ambassador and a lifetime member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. Robert Hernandez is also the recipient of SPJ’s 2015 Distinguished Teaching in Journalism Award.
Emma Lacey-Bordeaux is a Row Editor for CNN based in Washington DC. She works with reporters and producers across all platforms and all beats to ensure editorial integrity. Emma has been with CNN since 2008 and has produced award winning multi-media content breaking stories on gun laws, sexual violence and immigration. She’s covered presidential elections, and contributed to some of the biggest stories of the past decade including the Arab Spring and the #MeToo movement. Emma holds a Bachelors of Interdisciplinary Studies from Georgia State University and a Masters of Fine Arts in Narrative Non-Fiction from the University of Georgia. She’s a frequent speaker on issues of media, ethics and storytelling and is the producer of CNN’s documentary The Feminist on Cellblock Y.
As Radio Free Asia’s President, Libby Liu transformed the news organization to meet the needs of its audiences living in some of the worst media environments in the 21st century. Serving in that role since 2005, Ms. Liu has overseen the expansion of RFA’s operations to increase its focus and coverage within priority countries including China, North Korea, Tibet, Myanmar, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, while ensuring that the organization uses every available platform to reach people living in closed countries under authoritarian rule. With federal funding granted through the U.S. Agency for Global Media, Ms. Liu created the Open Technology Fund in 2012, a global internet freedom technology program housed within RFA, which has had a long history of success in combatting and overcoming internet censorship since the advent of the Great Firewall of China. OTF supports the development of tools to enable understanding, access, and security for journalists, activists, researchers, and ordinary citizens living in repressive places. Libby Liu holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of California-Berkeley, an MBA from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
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Nicole is the owner of NR Digital Consulting and host of Talk Digital to Me Podcast. She has worked in many different industries on customer journeys, website management, social media, and content strategy. Starting out as a journalist, Nicole has a BA in Print Journalism from Penn State University and an MA in Journalism & Mass Communication from Point Park University. Nicole recently did a TEDx Talk on Personalization and the Privacy Paradox and currently works as the Digital Personalization Manager for University of Pittsburgh Medical Center (UPMC). She is now using her knowledge in the field combined with her writing background to share information about technology, digital marketing, data, and innovation.
Simon Ostrovsky is an award-winning documentary filmmaker and investigative journalist best known for his coverage of the 2014 Crimea crisis and the war in eastern Ukraine for VICE News, for which he was awarded the prestigious DuPont Award from Columbia University and was nominated for two Emmys. He is currently a contributor for PBS NewsHour Weekend covering domestic and international affairs and serves as an editor with Coda Story with a focus on disinformation coverage.
Peter Pomerantsev, was born in Kiev and raised in England, and came to Moscow in the early 2000s to work in their fast-growing television and film industry. The job gave him first-hand access to every aspect of the country, and to the elite Russian rich in London and the west. He is an award-winning contributor to the London Review of Books and his writing has been published in the Financial Times, New Yorker, Wall Street Journal, Foreign Policy, Daily Beast, Newsweek, and Le Monde Diplomatique, among others. He has also worked as a consultant for the EU and the World Bank.
Shawn Powers most recently served as the Executive Director of the ACPD, a body authorized by Congress to oversee and appraise U.S. Government activities that intend to understand, inform, and influence foreign publics. He led the Commission’s efforts to understand and utilize artificial intelligence and machine learning capabilities in the strategic communication space and helped forge a research and learning agenda and culture among public diplomacy practitioners. Previously Powers worked on the Commission’s 2014 report, “Data Driven Public Diplomacy,” when he led a team in assessing the BBG’s research and evaluation work. Powers is an award-winning author who brings more than a decade of experience working at the intersection of research, public diplomacy, development, technology, national security, and academia. He has a Ph.D. from the Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism at the University of Southern California. He is currently an Associate Professor on leave from Georgia State University, where he launched its Center for Global Information Studies, and has held fellowships at the London School of Economics, Oxford University, University of Pennsylvania, and Central European University.
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Mike’s career in the field of Robotics and Artificial Intelligence, began when he worked with NASA and the DoD. He earned a commendation from NASA for his work in machine learning with industrial robots. He worked on a variety of real-world problems that ranged from mine detection with UWB radar to navigation in GPS-denied environments. He then founded his first startup and has had the startup bug ever since. During the last 20 years, Mike has been a founder, investor, developer, board member, and advisor.
Sarah Repucci is Freedom House’s Senior Director of Research and Analysis. In this capacity, she leads the team producing Freedom House’s flagship research and analysis reports, including Freedom in the World, Freedom on the Net, and Nations in Transit. She also spearheads Freedom House’s newest project, Media and Democracy, which examines the health of the news media and how well it supports democracy globally. She is frequently cited for her expertise in democratic trends and the nuances behind the global decline of democracy. Previously she worked for Transparency International and the Global Business Initiative on Human Rights, and as an independent consultant for a range of NGOs, bilateral and multilateral organizations, and private businesses. She holds a master’s degree from New York University and a BA from Williams College.
Natalia Sedletska is a Ukrainian investigative television journalist and editor who works in the anticorruption field. At present, Natalia works as the chief editor and host of the investigative program Schemes - a television project she founded in 2014 with the support of the Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty. The Schemes project is broadcasted by the Ukrainian public broadcaster on a weekly basis. A Natalia-led team of investigative journalists exposes high-level political corruption and abuse of power by Ukrainian authorities. In 2015 Natalia went undercover as part of a British Channel 4 television documentary, From Russia with Cash. The film became an important element of the recent anti-money laundering campaign in the UK. In 2014 Natalie also participated as an investigator in the YanukovychLeaks project. As part of the project, the team of journalists and volunteers rescued, restored and analyzed 200 folders of documents that were submerged in a lake. The files shed light on the scale of corruption instigated by Ukrainian ex-president Viktor Yanukovych. The project was awarded with the Global Shining Light Award in Norway in 2015 - an international award in the field of investigative journalism.
Sameena Shah is a Managing Director and the Head of Data Science for S&P Global Ratings. Previously, Sameena led AI strategy, research and development for Financial and News verticals of Thomson Reuters, where Sameena and her team were responsible for building and deploying several large scale AI systems including Eikon Search, Reuters Tracer, and SEC Language Magnet. Sameena and her team are award winning scientists who have won several best paper awards, and industry awards for creating various AI applications including the Cloudera award for top AI application in the world. She has published about fifty papers in top AI conferences, holds more than ten patents and is a frequent industry speaker. Sameena holds a PhD in Machine Learning and Optimization that was judged the top PhD in the country for the year, and a Masters in Computer Science, both from IIT Delhi, and a Bachelors in Electronics Engineering from Jamia Millia, Delhi.
Thaer Soukar serves as Director of Digital Content at Middle East Broadcasting Networks (MBN). He manages MBN’s digital brands and assets, including its website, mobile apps and social media platforms. Prior to joining MBN in 2018, Thaer worked with several Arabic media organizations, across print, television, and digital. He co-established and steered the online, mobile and social media platforms of Abu Dhabi-based Sky News Arabia, where he spent seven years as Head of Digital Strategy. His previous experience also includes working in an international team that built and launched a tri-lingual social networking and entertainment portal funded by the Dubai-based telecommunications company Du. Soukar began his career at the ITP Publishing Group as an assistant editor for the Arabic language Windows magazine and website. While at ITP, he established the Channel Arabic magazine and website – a first of its kind product for Arabic readers – before subsequently becoming editor of Arabian Business Magazine. In addition, Thaer co-launched the website of the Dubai-based MBC Group in 2006, the first private free-to-air satellite broadcasting company in the Arab World. Thaer holds a Bachelor Arts in English Literature from Baath University in Syria and has completed coursework at the London School of Journalism. He is currently pursuing a Master’s in Business Administration at University of Liverpool.
Franak Viačorka is a research media analyst for U.S. Agency for Global Media focusing on digital markets of Russia and Eurasia. He is particularly interested in Russian and Chinese efforts to control the global media space, spread disinformation and build the sovereign internet infrastructure. Viačorka has served as a consultant for the U.S. Department of Defense, Freedom House, and the Broadcasting Board of Governors, spoke at various events in the National Endowment for Democracy, Atlantic Council, worked as the Vice President for Digital Communication Network and Creative director for Radio Free Europe Radio Liberty Belarus service. He graduated from American University in Washington D.C. and Warsaw University in Poland, and he also studied at Belarus State University, Georgetown University, and European Humanities University.
Christopher Walker is Vice President for Studies and Analysis at the National Endowment for Democracy (NED). He oversees the department responsible for NED's multifaceted analytical work and is part of NED’s leadership team. Previously, Walker was Vice President for Strategy and Analysis at Freedom House; senior associate at the EastWest Institute; and program manager at the European Journalism Network. He also served as an Adjunct Assistant Professor of International Affairs at New York University's Center for Global Affairs. Walker holds a B.A. from Binghamton University and an M.A. from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs. He has testified before congressional committees, appears regularly in the media, and frequently conducts briefings on critical issues relating to democratic development. He has been at the forefront of the discussion on authoritarian influence on democratic systems, including through what he has termed “sharp power.” Christopher’s articles have appeared in numerous publications, including the Financial Times, Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy.com, Politico.com, Journal of Democracy, and World Affairs. Walker is co-editor of the edited volume Authoritarianism Goes Global: The Challenge to Democracy (2016), and co-editor of the report Sharp Power: Rising Authoritarian Influence (2017).

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USAGM convenes Media for Democracy Forum to address key global media trends

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