Mexico Events to Analyze Internet Freedom, ‘Digital Tensions’ in Trump Era

Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, in partnership with the journalism program at the Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas (CIDE), is holding a workshop in Mexico City this week on the challenges of the digital revolution and what it means to journalism and freedom of speech.The daylong workshop, “Digital Tensions and Journalism in the Era of Trump,” for journalists and students will explore how the rise of fake news, mainstream media missteps and the mistrust of journalists and political institutions are shaping world events and impacting cross-border relations between the U.S. and Mexico following the election of President Donald Trump. The workshop will be held in the Casa Lamm Cultural Center on Thursday, Feb. 23.The event marks the second session co-hosted by the Cronkite School and CIDE in the past two years. This year’s workshop will bring together prominent media figures and academics from both countries.  “Digital technology is taking us in an unchartered direction, where we are only now beginning to see its impact and consequences,” said Cronkite School Dean Christopher Callahan. “We are very proud to join CIDE in examining the topic of ‘digital tensions’ in-depth through discussion panels with top professionals from Mexico and the United States.”The workshop will feature five different panels on the following topics: journalism in a post-truth environment; surveillance vs. privacy; the need to hold opaque governments accountable; the challenge of covering the U.S.-Mexico border and the bilateral relationship in this environment; and what journalists should do to protect themselves online.”It’s essential to learn from each other across borders, and to nurture a strong culture of principled journalism in both our countries,” said Carlos Bravo Regidor, associate professor and coordinator of the master’s degree program at CIDE. “We look forward to deepening our relationship with the Cronkite School to continue advancing these objectives.” More than 20 speakers will share their insights at the workshop, including policy analysts from Google and Mexico’s Red en Defensa de los Derechos Digitales. Other speakers include journalists from The Wall Street Journal, Slate, Reason, Bloomberg News, NPR, Univision, El Universal and Horizontal.CIDE professors — Bravo Regidor, Ricardo Raphael, Jimena Moreno and Grisel Salazar — and Cronkite faculty members — Alfredo Corchado, Dan Gillmor, Angela Kocherga and Andrés Martinez — also will speak at the event. Following the Cronkite-CIDE workshop, ASU is also hosting an evening Future Tense discussion at Casa Lamm, exploring the question of various aspects of internet freedom. It will feature some of the daytime speakers and other Mexican thought leaders. Future Tense is a partnership between ASU, Slate magazine and the New America think tank in Washington, D.C.A reception for university alumni living in Mexico and other guests will follow the evening discussion