Lowell Lecture
The Enemy of the People? Freedom of the Press and Democracy
Date & Time
Feb. 6, 2019 at 6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m.
Location
Suffolk University - Modern Theatre
525 Washington Street Boston, MA 02111
Driving Directions
Speaker(s)
Marjorie Pritchard; Bryan Trabold
Presenting Organization
Ford Hall Forum at Suffolk University
Topics
Contact
Susan Spurlock (fordhallforum@suffolk.edu, 617-994-6899)
February 6, 2019, 6:00-7:30 p.m., Modern Theatre, 525 Washington Street, Boston
“The Enemy of the People? Freedom of the Press and Democracy,” A conversation with Suffolk University English Department Chair Bryan Trabold and Marjorie Pritchard, Deputy Managing Editor, Editorial Page, The Boston Globe.
In response to President Trump’s vilification of the media, The Boston Globe recently coordinated an initiative with newspaper editorial boards from across the country to promote the vital role that a free press plays in sustaining democracy. This forum will examine why The Boston Globe felt compelled to respond to President Trump’s attacks, the public response to this editorial initiative, and the challenges for journalists operating in this current climate.
It will also situate The Boston Globe’s resistance within broader historical and international contexts. What is the relationship between this editorial initiative to the long struggle for freedom of expression in the United States? How do President Trump’s efforts to discredit and undermine an independent press compare with other countries, such as the apartheid regime in South Africa, or the current governments in Turkey, Russia, and Hungary?
These are particularly timely questions to consider. As The Boston Globe noted in its editorial that was part of this larger national conversation, “The greatness of America is dependent on the role of a free press to speak the truth to the powerful.”
Bryan Trabold is an Associate Professor of English and department chair at Suffolk University, and a Research Associate at the Visual Identities in Art and Design Research Centre, University of Johannesburg. His recently released book from the University of Pittsburgh Press, Rhetorics of Resistance: Opposition Journalism in Apartheid South Africa, examines the tactics of resistance developed by those working for the Weekly Mail and New Nation published in South Africa in the mid-and late 1980s. Trabold has also published articles in South African Historical Journal, African Journalism Studies, College English, and College Composition and Communication.
Marjorie Pritchard is the deputy managing editor of The Boston Globe, where she oversees the Globe’s opinion page. She edits Globe staff columnists and regular contributors as well as commissioned pieces from thought leaders around the country.