September 1, 2016 at 5:15 pm

Café Conversation | Publish and (maybe) Perish: The Dangers of Journalism in Shady Regimes, Sept. 28

Ohio University Professor David Mould.

Café Conversation features Media Arts and Studies Professor David Mould on Wednesday, Sept. 28, at 5 p.m. in the Baker Center Front Room. He will discuss “Publish and (maybe) Perish: The Dangers of Journalism in Shady Regimes.”

Watch live or later on A&S TV.

“In the past 20 years, as I’ve traveled in Asia and Africa, I’ve met and talked with many journalists,” says Mould. “In most countries, official censorship has disappeared, to be replaced by more subtle controls or indirect pressures. The cancellation of media buys by a major advertiser. A power cut at the television transmitter just before the investigative news program goes on the air. A sudden shortage of newsprint at the printing plant. The blocking of websites and blogs. A raid on a media office by the tax police to audit the books. Libel judgments with damages high enough to put a media organization out of business. The arrest of journalists on vague charges of ‘inciting social discord.’ A late-night visit to the journalist’s home by the police or security agents.

“I have a standard question that I ask every journalist in an interview. ‘Which are the topics, not specifically prohibited by law (such as military deployments or commercial intelligence), do you not report on, or report only with caution?'” Mould will discuss some of these answers during his Café Conversation.

Science Café and Café Conversations are held on Wednesdays at 5 p.m. in the Front Room at Baker University Center. They are free and open to students, faculty and staff. Science Café is a venue for students to share their interests informally during a conversation exchange in a friendly setting. Free coffee is offered to the first 50 attendees, and participants who ask questions will win a free t-shirt.

The Science Café is hosted by Dr. Sarah Wyatt, Professor of Environmental & Plant Biology and Vice President of the Ohio University Chapter of Sigma Xi, and Roxanne Malé-Brune, Director of Grant Development and Projects in the Office of the Vice President for Research and Creativity.

Science Café and Café Conversations are sponsored by the Office of Vice President for Research and Creativity and the Ohio University Chapter of Sigma Xi.