GUEST LECTURES – Spring semester 2021 – DMJX international

All lectures can be attended online. See info and preparation material via the links. Contact person is Asbjørn Jørgensen.

Monday 1 March: 9.30-11.30:
“Corona, states and leadership” by/ Jean Monnet-professor Hans-Henrik Holm, DMJX.

Monday 1 March: 12.30-14.00:
“Russian State Duma election 2021: a turning point?” by/ Ekaterina Sivyakova, Associate Professor, School of Journalism at Moscow State University.

Wednesday 24 March: 13.15-15.00:
“Misinformation & Covid19 in an African perspective”, by/ professor Herman Wasserman, UCT University of Cape Town, SA.

Thursday 25 March: 10-12:
“Pressures on the modern war reporter“, by/ Kevin Williams, professor emer of Swansea University in Wales.

Friday 26 March: 13.45-15.30:
“The US presidential election and the news media”, by/ Bradley Gorham, director Media Studies, Syracuse University, New York, USA.

Thursday 8 April: 14.00-15.30:
“Gender in the newsroom – bias, glass ceiling, and stereotypes”, by/ Jad Melki, asso.professor, LAU Lebanese American University in Beirut.

Monday 3 May: 9.00-12.00:
“Safety for journalists“, by/ asso. professors Roger Buch and Asbjørn Jørgensen, DMJX. With guests.

Corona leadership – and the media’s “critical trust” dilemma

1 March 2021. Slides from the lecture here.

“Corona, leadership and the media” by/ professor Hans-Henrik Holm.

(please read pages 72-84 of the 2021 WEF risks report beforehand).
The corona crisis has exposed the importance of leadership and trust, and has similarly exposed a difficult situation for the media:
How to be critical and build trust at the same time.
The lecture will raise this important issue for all of us.

Hans-Henrik Holm is Jean Monnet Professor, and professor emeritus of DMJX. Professor Holm has been a driving force behind the internationalisation of DMJX and the creation of our worldwide network, and is a ‘founding father’ behind two flagship international programmes: the Erasmus Mundus Masters programme and the Europe in the World programme.
Although officially retired from his position at the school, he is still active in different roles, a.o. serving as chair of the advisory board for Nordic Journalism Center.

Elections in Russia – voters, media, and a new era

1st of March 2021. See info about literature below. The slides are here.

“Russian State Duma election 2021: a turning point?”.
* What will happen at September’s elections to the 450 seats Russian parliament?
* Are demonstrations, pressure and opposition this time different?
* Why is the public perception of reality and politics so different, depending on age, education and geography?
* And will Navalnij be able to play any role from his prison?

Our guest lecturer from Moscow will look into these questions:

  • With the important elections 2021 really change the political landscape?
  • Are mass media ready to be the moderator of the public discussion in the pandemic era of post-truth?
  • What are other rising social requests and expectations for media covering politics in Russia?

Ekaterina Sivyakova is an Associate Professor of the School of Journalism at Moscow State University. She received a Ph.D. after defending a thesis on the role of mass media in public policy. Her courses at MSU are related to Russian political journalism, political and civic agenda, and the public political process. 

Stuff to read (not all in detail, but do look through)
here is some reading in English (some of the materials are related to Gen Z and its role in Russian politics): 
–– A commentary by Andrei Kolesnikov https://carnegie.ru/commentary/83724 – about Russian protests––
A commentary by Tatiana Stanovaya https://carnegie.ru/commentary/83641  – predictions for Russia in 2021. 
–– A research by Maria Snegovaya, Denis Volkov, and Stepan Goncharov https://cepa.org/russian-youth-and-civic-engagement/(just read first half of it)
and their commentary for the FP https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/10/06/russian-millennial-putin-regime-dissatisfied-apolitical-reform/ – about political differences related to age, openness, confidence etc. 

–– And 2 texts of the project, founded by the University of Helsinki: 
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/elmarb-project/2020/11/05/smart-vote/ About the ‘smart vote’ concept
https://blogs.helsinki.fi/elmarb-project/2020/04/23/electioneering_covid19/ About elections in many countries during the pandemic (just browse this one)

Misinformation & Covid19 – an African perspective

24 March: The lecture is online.

Here are the slides from the lecture.

“Misinformation & Covid19 in an African perspective”, by/ Herman Wasserman, University of Cape Town (UCT) in South Africa, SA. UCT is a partner of DMJX and the Erasmus Mundus Masters programme.

Herman Wasserman is professor of Media Studies. He will will take us through the latest insights on how misinformation has framed the Covid-19 pandemic, seen from an African perspective.
Read about the lecturer here and here.

Here are materials for preparation:

Article written by the lecturer, feb.2021: https://theconversation.com/public-trust-in-the-media-is-at-a-new-low-a-radical-rethink-of-journalism-is-needed-155257?

Interview with prof. Wasserman about “the infodemic“, July 2020.

Browse, get an overview, read the About section and check the News on the project website: http://disinfoafrica.org/

Article from Int.Journal of Communication, 2021: https://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/14801/3378. (Read pages 1200-1206 and 1214-125.)

Slides are here.

War and conflict reporting in modern times

March 25: here is the link to this online lecture. See preparation material below.

Kevin Williams is professor emeritus from Swansea University, Wales. 
He is one of the founding fathers of the Erasmus Mundus journalism programme, and a close and longterm relative of DMJX.

In this lecture “Pressures on the modern war reporter”, Professor Williams will discus War and Conflict reporting in contemporary media conditions – but with perspective to war reporting dating centuries back, based on his vast knowledge and profound analysis of warfare, journalism and their interdependence.

Look forward! You will learn from one of the best in the field!

Be ready! It’s going to be concrete, condense and controversial.

— — — —

Please watch these You Tube clips in advance:

Isis, the war in Syria and the dangers facing freelance journalists | Guardian Explainers/ https://youtu.be/0SWxxbO6mWo

Christiane Amanpour on Regrets in War Reporting in African conflicts/ https://youtu.be/wGWjskMUKk4

Correspondent Details Dangers of Reporting in Iraq https://youtu.be/g5HCcaPQb_M/

What News Organizations Get Wrong About Conflict Reporting, According To A Veteran War Reporter/ https://youtu.be/8AD9Ct8nOpc

Additional reading, suggestions: Books by prof. Williams:
Reporting War & Conflict, 2018, Harris & Williams:
https://www.taylorfrancis.com/books/9781315750286
A New History of War and Conflict, 2019, Williams:
https://www.routledge.com/A-New-History-of-War-Reporting/Williams/p/book/9780415694988

The US presidential elections – and the news media

March 26, 2021. Online lecture.

“The election and the media”. Bradley Gorham will show us how the US presidential election is closely lined to the news media – with a view two months into the new presidency, and what has happened since the attack on the Congress in Washington DC.

Professor Gorham is director of Media Studies, Newhouse, Syracuse University, New York. 
He brings the famous Newhouse School to Denmark, this time via videolink.

— — – –

Please read this text before the lecture; it is rather short, but with substantial use of links to background and further reading:

From Columbia Journalism Review: https://www.cjr.org/business_of_news/re-examining-the-journalism-crisis.php

Slides from the lecture are here.

– – – –

Would you like to know more? Here are a couple of older analysis pieces, from Columbia Journalism Review and New York Times:

Columbia JR-article
https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/yes-were-doing-it-all-over-again.php

New York Times-article.
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/magazine/free-speech.html

Gender in the newsroom – bias, stereotypes, glass ceiling

April 8, 2021: Here is a videolink to the lecture.
About Texts to read, see below.

We are proud of once again being able to welcoming associate Professor Jad Melki from Lebanon to Aarhus, unfortunately only via Zoom.

In this lecture “Gender in the newsroom – bias, glass ceiling, and stereotypes“, Professor Melki will share insights about the role and traditions concerning men’s and women’s positions in the news media – and how this affects news flow, stereotypes and the politics in the Middle East and beyond.
Jad Melki will suggest solutions, actions and changed attitudes.
As a bonus, we will also discuss how reporters have different advantages, depending on their sex – for example in war areas, demonstrations and conflict zones.

These journal articles will prepare you for the lecture by Jad Melki:

Melki-Mallat-Arab-Women-JornalistsDownload
Melki-Hitti-DomesticTetheringArabWomenJournalists-2020Download

Bonus material, optional reading below here:

Melki-Mallat-BlockHerEntry-2014Download
Palmer-Melki-ShapeShiftingConflictZone-2016Download

Safety for journalists

3 May at 9.30. Online lecture, link will be posted here.

“Safety for journalists“, by/ asso. professors Roger Buch and Asbjørn Jørgensen, DMJX. With guests.

This lecture looks at ‘safe reporting’ in different understandings:

Safety for the reporter herself, and for stringers and helpers; the safety of the sources; safety for the audience.

The main focus is on issues abroad, in other countries – with a clear view to issues relevant for the travelling reporter working in other countries, in new environments, and covering potential conflict zones or controversial topics. Perspectives of gender, culture and experience are included.

The lecture will also show tips, tricks, guidelines, and resources from reporters, NGOs and experts.

Guest lectures – Oct 2020: how-to-attend and what-to-know

All lectures can be attended via this video conference link – use the zoom app, or attend via browser – bit.ly/dmjx-pp20

See headlines, info and preparation material below. Some lectures have been recorded for temporary viewing.

monday19 Oct13.00-15.00: Gender in the newsroom – bias, glass ceiling, and stereotypes, by/ Jad Melki, asso.professor, LAU Beirut, Lebanon. 
Two articles here for prep., plus bonus material.
We are proud of once again welcoming prof. Melki to Aarhus, this time unfortunately only via Zoom.
Slides and video from the lecture are here.
tuesday13.00-15.00: “Trump vs Biden – presidential election in a crisis-hit democracy”, by/ Annegrethe Rasmussen, editor-in-chief POV International, foreign correspondent.
Read this Atlantic news analysis beforehand.
Ms Rasmussen is former editor Berlingske a.o.; correspondent, analyst and foreign reporter for Danish media in London, Paris and since 2008 Washington DC.
Recording from the lecture is here.
wednesday21 Oct13.00-15.00: Media policies and regulations, seen from Egypt, by/ Rasha Allam, AUC Cairo and President’s Media Office, Egypt. 
See these papers for preparation.
AUC Cairo is one of DMJX’ close partner universities, with a high number of student and faculty exchange over the past decade.
Video recording here.
thursday22 Oct13.00-15.00: War and conflict reporting, by/ Kevin Williams, professor emer. Swansea Univ, Wales. 
Please watch here for preparation.
Prof. Williams is one of the founding fathers of the Erasmus Mundus journalism programme, and a close and longterm relative of DMJX.
Video recording and book titles here.
friday23 Oct14.00-15.30: The US presidential election and the news media, by/ Bradley Gorham, director Media Studies, Newhouse, Syracuse University, New York. 
Read these analysis pieces from CJR.
Mr Gorham brings the famous Newhouse School to Denmark, this time via videolink.
Video recording and slides here.