SOME IMPRESSIONS
On the occasion of the International Day of the Freedom of the Press, the Austrian Press and Information Service and the Austrian Cultural Forum in Washington, DC are organizing a Salongespräch/panel discussion entitled: “Freedom of the Press: Still the 4th Estate?”. In view of a perceived partisan erosion of trust in and credibility of the media, the discussants will look into the state of play on both sides of the Atlantic.
PANELLISTS
Paul FARHI, news media reporter at the Washington Post
Eric FREY, Chief Content Editor of the Austrian newspaper Der Standard
Evan MCMORRIS-SANTORO, Correspondent, VICE News Tonight on HBO
John WALCOTT, Editor-in-Charge for National Security and Foreign Affairs at Reuters
Moderated by Hannelore VEIT, Washington Bureau Chief Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF)
Introductory presentation by Katerina MATSA from the Pew Research Center
The debate will be followed by a Q&A session and an Austrian wine and cheese reception.
When: Thursday, May 3, 2018 | 7.00 pm
Where: Austrian Cultural Forum/Embassy of Austria, 3524 International Court, NW, Washington, DC. 20008
PAUL FARHI | WASHINGTON POST
Photo | (c) Paul Farhi
Paul Farhi has been a reporter for the Washington Post for the past 30 years. During that time he has covered business, national politics, general features and (since 2010) the news media. He has also been a contributing editor to the American Journalism Review and has freelanced numerous stories to national magazines and publications.
ERIC FREY | DER STANDARD
Photo | (c) Eric Frey
Eric Frey is senior editor and chief content editor at the Austrian daily Der Standard, a position he has held since April 2018. Before that, he was managing editor for 16 years. He has worked as a Vienna correspondent and stringer for the Financial Times for over 20 years and contributes regularly to the Economist. He received a B.A. and a M.P.A. in International Relations from Princeton University and a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of Vienna. He worked for AP-Dow Jones News Service in Frankfurt and as foreign editor and business editor for Der Standard. In 2001/2, he held the Marshall Plan Chair in Austrian Studies at the University of New Orleans, where he lectured on European politics and economics. He also teaches international political economy at Webster University in Vienna and is a blogger on economic and political issues. He is the author of six books on international affairs, US politics and the world economy.
KATERINA EVA MATSA | PEW RESEARCH CENTER
Photo | (c) Katarina Matsa
Katerina Eva Matsa is an associate director at Pew Research Center. She is an expert on journalism and media, specifically the U.S. broadcasting sector, news consumption and politics and the role of technology in news. Matsa is the author of studies on searching for news, network and local television, political polarization and media habits, Millennials and news and long-form reading on mobile devices. She is currently pursuing a doctorate in communications at American University, and also holds a bachelor’s degree in political science from Panteion University in Athens, Greece; a master’s degree in politics and government in the European Union from the London School of Economics; and a master’s degree in communication, culture and technology from Georgetown University. Matsa is fluent in English and Greek, and regularly discusses her research in print and broadcast media.
EVAN MCMORRIS-SANTORO | VICE
Photo |
(c) Evan McMorris-Santoro
Evan McMorris-Santoro is a correspondent for “VICE News Tonight” - the Emmy award-winning nightly newscast from VICE Media and HBO. A veteran political reporter and covering the campaign trail since 2007, he was previously the White House correspondent for BuzzFeed News where he created ‘No One Knows Anything,’ a hit political podcast focused on explaining how politics works for general audiences. McMorris-Santoro started his journalism career as an award-winning local newspaper reporter in his native North Carolina. Based in VICE News’ DC bureau, McMorris-Santoro was instrumental in VICE News Tonight’s Alabama senate race coverage, making national headlines for his reporting of Roy Moore’s controversial campaign.
HANNELORE VEIT | ORF
Photo |
(c) ORF, Thomas Ramstorfer
Hannelore Veit has been the bureau chief of the Austrian Broadcasting Corporation (ORF) in Washington D.C. since 2014. She received an M.A. in American Studies (Fulbright Scholarship) from the University of Notre Dame and a Magister in Philosophy in Translation Science from the University of Vienna. The former prime time Austrian news anchor worked as Far East correspondent in Tokyo and as East Europe correspondent for Voice of America.
JOHN WALCOTT | REUTERS
Photo | (c) John Walcott
John Walcott is Editor-in-Charge for National Security and Foreign Affairs at Reuters and an adjunct professor in the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service. Previously, he was Team Leader for National Security at Bloomberg News and Washington Bureau Chief for the McClatchy Co., and Knight Ridder, Inc.. Knight Ridder's coverage of the Bush administration’s false allegations about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction is the subject of the Rob Reiner film Shock and Awe, due out this summer, in which Mr. Reiner portrays Mr. Walcott. Mr. Walcott also was the Chief Diplomatic Correspondent at Newsweek, National Security Correspondent at The Wall Street Journal and Foreign Editor and National Editor of U.S. News & World Report. He was awarded Georgetown's Viennial Medal for Distinguished Service and the inaugural I.F. Stone Medal for Journalistic Independence from the Nieman Foundation at Harvard University. He also has won the Edward Weintal Prize for Diplomatic Reporting from Georgetown, the Edwin M. Hood Award for Diplomatic Correspondence and the Freedom of the Press Award from the National Press Club, the James K. Batten Prize for Journalism Excellence, and five Overseas Press Club awards. With CBS News Pentagon correspondent David C. Martin, he is the co-author of Best Laid Plans: The Inside Story of Americas War Against Terrorism, published in 1987 by Harper & Row. In addition, Mr. Walcott served in the Office of the Secretary of Defense as senior counselor to the Federal Advisory Commission on Gender-Integrated Training and Related Military Issues and as the United States representative to the United Nations Roundtable on the New World Information and Communication Order in Igls.
