WEDNESDAY, APRIL 8, 2026 6:00 PM – 7:30 PM IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY ALSO STREAMING ONLINE: CLICK HERE FOR STREAMING LINK Hosted by ICFRC Board Member Ted Powers PRESENTED IN PARTNERSHIP WITH THE IOWA CITY PUBLIC LIBRARY AND UI SCHOOL OF JOURNALISM AND MASS COMMUNICATION Journalism remains essential to holding power accountable and repelling autocratic trends. At a time of global democratic erosion, journalism confronts multiple challenges — economic precarity, political pressures, lack of trust, precarious work conditions, and a dwindling ability to command public attention amid (dis)information abundance. But democracies do not have an alternative institution to do what journalism does on any given day, despite its shortcomings and limitations. The fact that autocrats fear and persecute journalism is a telling sign that journalism is still relevant to scrutinize power, bring public awareness to important matters, and spark actions by other democratic institutions. In this talk, Prof. Waisbord will interrogate the global role of journalism as authoritarianism and populism gain ground and civil society faces escalating crises.
a place steeped in local flavor & history, alive with participatory art, and a living room to the University of Iowa. #downtowniowacity
