Past events
On February 6, 2017, The Fletcher School had the pleasure of hosting CBS News President David Rhodes as part of a program with The Edward R. Murrow Center for a Digital World. Rhodes is a luminary in his field, having become the youngest network news president in U.S. history in 2011 and has received countless accolades. David is committed to preserve truth in journalism, particularly at a time when we need it most. With the emergence of “fake news” – with a spotlight being shone on this in light of the recent election – and the pressure of adding less substantive material to traditional news programming, David shared that CBS remains focused on serious news.
Spring 2017 EVENTS:
January 24 – Polling and Rule of Law in Afghanistan, A Roundtable with Craig Charney Hosted in Partnership with The Fares Center
Making development programs work means measuring progress, but how can you measure the effects of programs to improve the rule of law in a formerly lawless society? Dr. Craig Charney will discuss this issue in a presentation on his new research on aid to the administration of justice in Afghanistan. The study explores both the impact of foreign assistance to courts, prosecutors, the justice ministry, and women’s rights offices, and also asks what the right ways to measure that impact are. It is a qualitative study based on interviews with senior staff in Afghan justice ministries as well as experts and NGOs there on legal matters and women’s rights. Dr. Charney is president of Charney Research, a New York based survey research firm specializing in work in developing and crisis countries. He conducted the first poll ever in Afghanistan, soon after the fall of the Taliban, and more than a dozen since. He has worked in more than 45 countries in a 25-year career, including on the polling teams of Nelson Mandela, Bill Clinton, and Shimon Peres. He has written and commented widely on international politics and development evaluation, and has been called “the expert on polling in countries in chaos.”
January 25 – The Industries of the Future, A Book Talk with Alec Ross Hosted in Partnership with The Hitachi Center
From the rise of the internet and mobile technologies to the growth of industries such as robotics and cybersecurity, digitization has led to a massive shift in how technology impacts human lives and social interaction. Leaders of industry, government, academia, and civil society all have a stake in understanding the significance of digitization for the international system and how to prepare for the industries of the future. To discuss these challenges, opportunities, and more, The Hitachi Center for Technology and International Affairs and the Murrow Center for a Digital World are pleased to host a book talk with leading innovation expert Alec Ross on his New York Times bestseller: The Industries of the Future. Drawing on his four years working as a special advisor to Secretary Hillary Clinton, The Industries of the Future discusses changes coming in the next ten years, highlighting the best opportunities for progress and explaining why countries thrive or sputter. He examines the specific fields that will most shape our economic future, including robotics, cybersecurity, the commercialization of genomics, the next step for big data, and the coming impact of digital technology on money and markets.
February 6 – A Conversation with David Rhodes, President of CBS News
As President of CBS News, David Rhodes oversees the news division and all news content for the CBS Television Network, CBS digital platforms and CBS News Radio. He is responsible for the “CBS Evening News,” “CBS This Morning,” “CBS Sunday Morning,” “Face The Nation,” “48 hours” and America’s most-watched news program “60 Minutes,” as well as CBS News.com and CBSN — the first-of-its-kind digital streaming news network available online and on all connected devices. While at CBS, Rhodes was the catalyst behind the creation of the highly-regarded “CBS This Morning,” a program that led a company-wide re-emphasis on serious news reporting under the storied CBS News brand. Since launch, the broadcast has added a million daily viewers and is delivering the Network’s largest morning news audience in nearly 30 years.
February 8 – Visuals for Awareness and Hope with Saskia Keeley, a Talk and Reception Hosted in Partnership with Tufts Hillel and Visions of Peace and The Fares Center
Saskia Keeley is a photographer-activist whose work has spanned from the West Bank to Sudan. She will present on her experience conducting photo-based workshops with Israeli and Palestinian Women in the West Bank. A reception to engage with the speaker and fellow attendees follows.
February 13 – News, Fake News and Propaganda: Prospects for the Press in a Post-Truth Era, A Roundtable with Patricia Bauer
What’s the state of the press today? It’s in crisis, as financially weakened and distrusted news organizations struggle to serve as a check on a new president who is promoting himself and enhancing his power by creating his own “truth.” Fueled and amplified by social media, fiction masquerades as fact and the public is unable to tell the difference. We wonder: How did we get here, and where are we going? Patricia E. Bauer will tackle these questions in a roundtable with students and faculty. Ms. Bauer is a journalist who has served as senior editor of the Los Angeles Times Magazine; reporter, bureau chief and special assistant to the publisher at the Washington Post, and pundit on Los Angeles public television. During the Carter Administration, Ms. Bauer served in the White House Press Office as editor of the White House News Summary.
March 29 – Twitter Diplomacy: A Fireside Chat with Colin Crowell, Vice President of Global Public Policy and Philanthropy at Twitter & Dean Alan Solomont of the Tisch College of Civic Life
Twitter is leading a game-changing trend in digital diplomacy and global communications. Its open, real-time, 140-character platform is changing the way that policymakers communicate with civil society and accelerating diplomats’ ability to gather information and react to events. Twitter has been praised as a tool that will open the world to a global conversation and greater understanding. However, it has also been criticized as design that favors speed over analysis, aggression over reflection, and shock over depth. We welcome Colin Crowell, Vice President of Global Public Policy & Philanthropy at Twitter, to share his insights with the Fletcher School and Tufts community. The event is sponsored by Tufts’ Tisch College, the Murrow Center, the Hitachi Center, and the Office of the Senior Associate Dean.
April 4 – From Page to Pixel: Dragging Media Into the Digital Age, A Conversation with Dan Maccarone
The Murrow Center welcomes Dan Maccarone, co-founder of Charming Robot – a NYC-based product design company – to discuss how digital media arrived at its current state and which are the most important trends to watch. What people want from news organizations often clashes with what the business of those companies want from their audience. This talk traces the history of how the world of digital media evolved to where it is today, what the biggest challenges are, and where things are going next. Maccarone draws on user research he has conducted while working on launching redesigns for The New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Tribune Media, and CNN, as well as recent user research he has completed around the news space in the past year.
Fall 2016 EVENTS:
November 10 – Roundtable Discussion with Vasily Gatov, 1:30-3:00pm
The Eurasia Club and The Murrow Center host a luncheon discussion with Russian media expert Vasily Gatov. Topics include media censorship in Russia and, just 48 hours after Election Day, the impact of Russian propaganda on the 2016 U.S. presidential election. Gatov’s extensive experience includes reporting on the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, the 1991 failed coup’d’état, Boris Yeltsin’s presidency, and the first Chechen war. He later served as an executive and strategist for several Russian media companies, including RenTV network, Media3, and RIA Novosti, a national multimedia news agency. Gatov is now working on a book about the re-emergence of totalitarian censorship of the Russian media. He currently serves as a Visiting Fellow at the USC Annenberg Center on Communication Leadership & Policy.
November 3 – Faces of Our Community, 6:00-8:00pm
At Faces of Our Community, star alums from The Arts of Communication course recreate some of the most memorable 5-minute speeches to date. The event is held in “TEDx” style with opportunities for speakers and audience to interact and reflect on the wealth of topics presented.
November 2 – International Security Studies Luncheon Lecture with Thom Shanker, 12:00-2:00
The Murrow Center was pleased to join the Fletcher International Security Studies Program in welcoming Thom Shanker, Assistant Washington Editor of The New York Times, for the latest installment of their luncheon lecture series. Shanker discussed national security media relations with a group of Fletcher students, reflecting on his storied career covering such issues. He was named an Assistant Washington Editor of The New York Times in 2014, after covering the Pentagon, the military and national security for 13 years. For the war in Afghanistan, he was the first to embed with Army Special Forces after the fall of Kandahar. He also has written extensively on European security, cyberwarfare, Pentagon budgets, and the integration of women into combat roles. Before joining The Times, Shanker served as foreign editor of The Chicago Tribune, and previously reported on the wars in former Yugoslavia, the Gorbachev era, and the fall of the USSR.
October 31 – On-Camera Workshop with David Gregory, 12:30-1:15
Students learned pro tips for speaking on-camera from acclaimed journalist and Tisch College Professor of the Practice David Gregory. He shared insights from a successful career in television media, including as NBC chief White House correspondent and “Meet the Press” moderator, as well as his current role as a CNN political commentator.
October 25 – Fletcher Ideas Exchange, 6:00-8:00pm
The Fletcher Ideas Exchange (FIE) is an annual forum for public speaking held at the Fletcher School. Modeled as a “TED-type” event, the FIE features engaging speeches by students, faculty, and alumni around a theme that is relevant and thought provoking. A dynamic lineup of speakers is on deck for the October event, each addressing the challenges and opportunities for bridging the academic-policy gap. The program is made possible with generous support from the Carnegie Foundation, and hosted by the Institute for Human Security in collaboration with the Murrow Center. A reception will follow in the Hall of Flags.
October 19 – Fletcher Presidential Debate Watch, 8:30pm
The Murrow Center has joined Fletcher Students of Color and Allies, Ginn Library, and 12 other student clubs to host a viewing of the final Presidential debate of 2016. Following the debate, The Murrow Center’s Deputy Director Mihir Mankad will lead students in a meaningful and wide-ranging discussion of issues raised by the candidates and other topics of interest to the Fletcher student community in this year’s election.
EVENTS: Spring 2016
April 22 – Brownbag Workshop on Global Communications and Communications Leadership with Sandra Coyle
April 20 – Civics in an Age of High Mistrust in Institutions, a Conversation with Ethan Zuckerman, Director of the Civic Media Lab, M.I.T.
April 19 – The Murrow Center Presents: A Conversation with Jeff Fager, Executive Producer, 60 Minutes
April 14 – The Second Annual Fletcher Ideas Exchange, a TED-styled event featuring speeches by faculty, students, alumni, and guests around the theme “Human Security in Peacebuilding Initiatives.”
April 11 – Cyber Working Group Speaker Series, A Conversation with Jay Healey, Nonresident Senior Fellow for the Cyber Statecraft Initiative of the Atlantic Council and Senior Research Scholar at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs
April 11 – The 11th annual Edward R. Murrow Forum featuring Anderson Cooper, anchor of CNN’s Anderson Cooper 360
March 30 – Cyber Working Group Speaker Series, A Conversation with Andrea Glorioso, Counselor for the Digital Economy, Delegation of the European Union to the United States
March 29 – Faces of Our Community, Arts of Communication Symposium
March 15 – PhD student Opinion Writing Workshop II with Edward Schumacher-Matos, Director of the Murrow Center
March 10 – Cyber Working Group Speaker Series, A Conversation with Ulrich Schlie, former German Defense Minister
March 8 – UX Design Workshop with Dan Maccarone, CEO of Charming Robot
March 7 – Insights from a Career Diplomat: Conversation with Ambassador D. Bruce Wharton, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary, Africa Bureau
February 25 – Annual Murrow Network and Tech @Fletcher Happy Hour, Fletcher Washington Career Trip
February 19 – Cyber Working Group Speaker Series, A Conversation with Max Schrems, Austrian privacy activist
February 10 – PhD student Opinion Writing Workshop with Edward Schumacher-Matos, Director of the Murrow Center and former NPR ombudsman