Editors, photojournalists, and reporters will come together to discuss the challenges and rewards of their work during a panel discussion at Pitt-Greensburg on Wednesday, March 12, at 6 p.m. in the campus’s Fireside Lounge.
The panel discussion, which is free and open to the public, will include representatives from The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Pittsburgh City Paper, The Tribune Review, and more.
The participants include Colin Williams, news editor at Pittsburgh City Paper; Katie Green, deputy managing editor at The Pittsburgh Tribune Review and the Valley News Dispatch; Hanna Webster, health reporter at The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette; award-winning photojournalist and Pitt-Greensburg alum Justin Merriman; and more. Pitt-Greensburg faculty members and authors Lori Jakiela and Dave Newman will co-moderate the discussion. Jakiela is a professor of English and creative writing, and Newman is an assistant professor of creative & professional writing.
A Q&A session and reception will follow the event.
Organized by Dorothy Zilic, director of Career Services at Pitt-Greensburg, with help from Julia Sefcheck, alumni engagement officer, and the Pitt-Greensburg Alumni Association, the event is designed to give students and the public insight into the work journalists do every day and what a career in journalism might look like now and in the future.
“We are always looking for ways to connect our students to real-world opportunities and give them unique insights into their chosen careers,” Zilic says. “I’m especially excited to bring this panel together for our student journalists and our community. The work journalists do and the stories they convey are so important to our lives.”
Jakiela, a columnist for Pittsburgh Magazine whose work has been published in The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other publications, says the panel is also timely.
“Freedom of the press and freedom of speech are pillars of American democracy,” Jakiela says. “Taking these things for granted, undermining public trust in journalists, blurring the lines between truth and misinformation—all of that seems particularly dangerous. I’m grateful for this panel and the opportunity for our students to hear firsthand what it takes to be an ethical, devoted journalist in challenging times.”
For more information about the panel, contact Zilic at dmz17@pitt.edu or Jakiela at loj@pitt.edu.