How much do you trust the media? A famous editor will lead FIU livestream discussion
Marty Baron, the recently retired Washington Post executive editor, returns to familiar territory — South Florida — albeit virtually.
Florida International University booked Baron to lead an online discussion on the critical role the media plays in democratic societies in a digital age in a new series launching Friday.
The Steven J. Green School of International & Public Affairs and the FIU School of Communication + Journalism plan to present the first episode of the series, “The Role of Media in Contemporary Society,” via a livestream event through its Facebook at facebook.com/fiusipa at 2 p.m. Friday.
Baron led the Miami Herald as its executive editor in 2000, a tumultuous year in South Florida’s history for which he oversaw coverage of the disputed 2000 presidential election — recently the subject of a documentary film, “537 Votes,” by Miami-based director Billy Corben that aired on HBO in October — and the Elián González case.
Baron left the Herald in 2001 to join the Boston Globe, where he led a Pulitzer-winning team in an investigation into child sex abuse in the Catholic Church. That series became the subject of the 2015 Oscar winner for best film, “Spotlight.”
At the Post, Baron led reporters to uncover a pattern of deceptive, fraudulent activities concerning then-candidate President Donald Trump on the 2016 campaign trail. The paper’s work led officials in New York to shut down Trump’s charitable foundation, the Post reported.
“The founders of this country did not embrace a free press with the notion that it should shut up, or be shut down,” Baron said at a conference for Penn State students and faculty in 2017, Centre Daily Times reported. “They imagined just the opposite, a press that would speak up, and in speaking up, would contribute to the self-governance of our republic.”
FIU said in a release for its Friday livestream series, “At a time when some political leaders declare journalists ‘the enemy of the people,’ understanding the role of a free press is more important than ever.
The conversation plans to explore how journalists covered the Trump administration, racial tensions and the pandemic, according to FIU. The livestream also aims to look at the public’s level of trust in media organizations, the impact of social media and the future of news gathering.
This story was originally published March 11, 2021 at 1:42 PM.
