Global media sustainability is more imperiled, now more than ever, with the threat of disinformation and misinformation dominating social streams and journalists confronting censorship, violence and mistrust.
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and Equis Institute, a hub for leaders in the Latino community working to increase civic participation in American democracy, are teaming up to find solutions to these issues.
In partnership with the U.S. Department of State, the Cronkite School and Equis Institute are hosting the Media Summit of the Americas, a first-of-its-kind event which will invite policymakers, government representatives and accredited journalists covering the week-long Summit. The conference will address the serious challenges our information environment faces in the hemisphere and hear from leading experts and keynote speakers from Latin America and the U.S., including U.S. Secretary of State Antony J. Blinken.
The Media Summit is part of the larger Ninth Summit of the Americas, the only hemispheric meeting of leaders from the countries of the Americas which serves as a forum to address our region’s shared challenges and opportunities. The Summit has met every three years since 1994.
The theme of this year’s Summit of the Americas is “Building a Sustainable, Resilient and Equitable Future.”
The multilingual Media Summit event, which will take place on Tuesday, June 7 at the ASU California Center at the historic Los Angeles Herald Examiner Building, will feature a series of conversations and breakouts with a focus on fact-checking best practices; platform accountability; reporting under high stakes and more.
“In the face of these challenges, providing trustworthy news to readers and viewers is vital. We must work together to be more resilient in the fight against disinformation,” said Dr. Battinto L. Batts Jr., dean of the Cronkite School. “I am so proud of our collaboration with the U.S. Department of State and Equis Institute to strengthen the critical role that the media plays in democracy.”
In addition to fact-based reporting, press freedom and media literacy are essential to a healthy, thriving democracy, said Juan Mundel, director of Global Initiatives at the Cronkite School.
And because culture and media transcend borders, Mundel believes communicators, journalists and community members around the world are united in their shared values.
“Strategic partnerships and collaborative efforts between nations, like the Media Summit of the Americas, are key to the fight against misinformation,” Mundel said. “Working together will put our global mission into action.”
Additional speakers for the Media Summit of the Americas include:
- OAS Secretary General Luis Almagro
- Facebook Whistleblower Frances Haugen
- Editor in Chief of La Prensa Gráfica (El Salvador) Claudia Ramírez
- Director and Co-Founder of Efecto Cocuyo (Venezuela) Luz Mely Reyes
- Full event agenda.
The Media Summit of the Americas is not open to the public. All media inquiries should be directed to Allison Otu, executive director of brand engagement and communications at the Cronkite School and Arizona PBS, at allisonotu@asu.edu. For general questions about the event, contact Jan Holland-Malcom, Media Summit event manager, at JanHM@asu.edu.
About the Cronkite School
The Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier professional journalism programs and has received international acclaim for its innovative use of the “teaching hospital” model. Rooted in the time-honored values that characterize its namesake — accuracy, responsibility, objectivity, integrity — the school fosters journalistic excellence and ethics in both the classroom and in its 13 professional programs that fully immerse students in the practice of journalism and related fields. Arizona PBS, one of the nation’s largest public television stations, is part of Cronkite, making it the largest media outlet operated by a journalism school in the world. Learn more at cronkite.asu.edu.