Targets of Distrust: Rights, threats and consequences of documenting dissent
Channel: HKU Journalism & Media
Date: 2021-03-30

Time:  9:00 – 10:30am Hong Kong Time, GMT +8  (9:00-10:30pm, 29 March, EDT)
Date:  Tuesday, 30 March 2021
Live on Zoom

At a time of civil unrest around the world, animosity against the media has been growing, with journalists no longer seen as objective truth tellers. At times, the distrust has been fuelled by autocratic governments who accuse the media of spreading “fake news.” On the other side, protesters often see the media as part of the power establishment, or treat reporters with suspicion unless they explicitly back their cause. Re-establishing trust and reducing cynicism is one of the largest challenges facing journalists today. They need to protect their right to document events, while also protecting themselves and those they report on from harm and retribution. Obtaining consent of their subjects is often floated as a solution. But in a fast-moving event like a protest or march, is it even practically possible for journalists, especially visual journalists, to get consent from the people they are documenting?

An expert panel of journalists, academics and press freedom advocates will address all these complex questions, in the context of the Black Lives Matter movement in the U.S., the 2019 Hong Kong protests, and other social movements worldwide.

Panelists
Laurel Chor, journalist, photographer and filmmaker
Tara Pixley, photographer and professor at Loyola Marymount University
Courtney Radsch, Advocacy Director, Committee to Protect Journalists
Akili Ramsess, Executive Director, National Press Photographers Association (NPPA)
 
Moderator
Keith Richburg, Director, Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong

Speaker bios at https://bit.ly/2QLj8FX

Resources and info for journalists from Committee to Protect Journalists and the National Press Photographers Association:
https://cpj.org/safety-kit/
https://cpj.org/emergency-response/pre-assignment-preparations/
https://nppa.org/health-safety
https://nppa.org/nppa-code-ethics