The Fall Safety Series

JPI Fall Safety Series – Confirm Your Spot!

Amidst the escalating crackdown on free expression in the United States, the JPI is organizing the Fall Safety Series focusing on the critical challenges.

Immigrant and non-citizen journalists face unique risks—visa denials, border restrictions, arrests, and deportations. An October 6 panel featuring leading experts will explore the evolving legal landscape and ask the critical question: What are the First Amendment rights of Non Citizen journalists?

Panelists Include:

• Mazin Sidahmed – Executive Director and co-founder of Documented.
• Esha Bhandari – Deputy Director, ACLU’s Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project; represents Rümeysa Öztürk, a Turkish doctoral student detained over an op-ed, and Mario Guevara, an immigrant journalist arrested in Georgia.
• Alfredo Corchado – Executive Editor and Correspondent, Puente News Collaborative in El Paso, TX.
• Dana Green – Vice President and Assistant General Counsel at The New York Times.

The panel will take place on October 6 from 5:30 to 7 pm. You must register to attend.

Reserve your sport here.

On October 14, we will gather again to address a second related question. Is the US still a safe haven for persecuted journalists from around the world? For decades the US served that role as journalists under threat found refuge in the U.S. through fellowships and temporary stays. Today, restrictive visa policies and mounting pressures are reshaping that reality. Journalists from across the globe will share their experiences in this off-the-record conversation.

Panelists Include:

• Gustavo Gorriti – Investigative journalist from Peru, director of IDL-Reporteros, known for exposing government corruption; currently a Knight Press Freedom Fellow.
• Yasmine El Rashidi – Egyptian journalist and writer (joining via Zoom from Cairo), contributing writer, New York Review of Books.
• Baktygul Chynybaeva – journalist from Kyrgyzstan, specializing in human rights, and former correspondent with Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty.
• Mikhail Zygar – journalist, historian, and best-selling author, known for his work on Russian politics, propaganda, and authoritarianism.

The panel will take place on October 14 from 5:30 to 7 pm. You must register to attend. Reserve your spot here.

The Fall Safety Series is cosponsored by the Newmark J-School’s Center for Community Media.

A Risk Assessment for America Right Now

That’s the headline of my latest column for CJR and my conclusion is that in the aftermath of the Charlie Kirk murder and the Trump’s administration’s crackdown on its critics the US is becoming a more dangerous and difficult place for journalists to cover. The risk of violent attack is growing. I offer some basic guidance on how to cover the US more safely.