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2022 Event Schedule

10-10:15 A.M. – Welcome Message

10:15 – 11 A.M. – Opening Keynote

A dangerous job: Journalism in a time of violent rhetoric and the legacy of slain reporter Jeff German

Steve Sebelius, longtime politics editor and columnist, talks about the dangers facing journalists as they pursue the truth in the wake of the murder of his friend and colleague investigative reporter Jeff German.

11:30 A.M. – 12:15 P.M – Panel Sessions

The $100M problem on Ash Street

How reporters exposed a deal that put millions into the pocket of a City Hall insider and cost taxpayers a fortune.

Moderator:
Lora Cicalo, managing editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Panelists:
Lisa Halverstadt, senior investigative reporter, Voice of San Diego
Jeff McDonald, investigative reporter, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Arturo Castañares, publisher and editor at large, La Prensa San Diego

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Dying behind bars: Scandal in San Diego’s jails

San Diego has the highest jail mortality rate among large California counties. What’s driving these deaths and what will stop them?

Moderator:
Dana Littlefield, public safety editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Panelists:
Kelly Davis, freelance investigative reporter
Julia Yoo, civil rights attorney, Iredale and Yoo, APC


Hate, white supremacy and both sidesism

How do reporters cover the ugly, the intolerant and the deceitful without amplifying toxic ideas? Does mainstream journalism have the tools to tell the truth?

Moderator:
Kristina Davis, enterprise editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Panelists:
Matthew Hall, editorial and opinion director, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Tania Thorne, North County reporter, KPBS
Brooke Binkowski, journalist and managing editor, TruthOrFiction.com
Jade Hindmon, producer and co-host, KPBS Midday Edition
Andrew Dyer, reporter, The San Diego Union-Tribune

12:30 - 1:15 P.M. – Mid-day Keynote

Capturing the collapse of a country

Marcus Yam, one of the last western journalists to leave Afghanistan after the country fell to the Taliban, shares his account of being on the frontlines of conflict and examples of his Pulitzer Prize-winning work.

1:30 – 2:15 P.M. – Panel Sessions

Documentary Screening of “Journalism at Risk,” a U-T Studio Production

In one week in January, photojournalist Margarito Martínez Esquivel and reporter Lourdes Maldonado were assassinated outside their homes in Tijuana. The high-profile murders — in a city with a long history of crimes against the press — were a gruesome reminder of the dangers of reporting in Mexico, where about 150 journalists have been killed in the past 20 years. “Journalism at Risk” tells the stories behind the people who tell Tijuana’s story.


Pursuing the truth in an age of propaganda

How to find your way past fake news, spin and what you see on social media.

Moderator:
Mark Rochester, managing editor, inewsource

Panelists:
Matthew Hall, editorial and opinion director, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Terence Shepherd, news director, KPBS
Laura Castañeda, editorial and opinions deputy editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune


The importance of community journalism

Dozens of small newspapers, websites, newsletters and blogs serve San Diego’s diverse communities. Why these outlets are crucial to telling the real story of America.

Moderator:
Lilia O’Hara, editorial director, The San Diego Union-Tribune en Español

Panelists:
Susan Delos Santos, publisher, The Filipino Press
Cora Oriel, president, Asian Journal Publications Inc.
Cheryl Morrow, publisher, San Diego Monitor News
Fanny Miller, president and editor, El Latino San Diego Newspaper

2:30 – 3:15 P.M. – Panel Sessions

The future of print

How long will print newspapers be with us? Does it matter? And should people have to pay for digital news?

Moderator:
Dean E. Nelson, Journalism Program director, Point Loma Nazarene University

Panelists:
Jeff Light, editor and publisher, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Scott Lewis, CEO and editor in chief, Voice of San Diego
Wendy Warren, assistant news director, NBC San Diego
Deanna Spehn, co-founder, Tierra Times
Fanny Miller, president and editor, El Latino San Diego Newspaper


Democracy at risk: The murders of Mexican journalists

First-hand accounts from journalists who work in one of the world’s most dangerous environments for local news.

Moderator:
Lilia O’Hara, editorial director, The San Diego Union-Tribune en Español

Panelists:
Vicente Calderón, editor in chief, Tijuanapress.com
Gilberto Dorrego, journalist, Telemundo San Diego
Inés García Ramos, journalist, Punto Norte
Gabriela Martínez, journalist, El Universal
Gustavo Solis, investigative border reporter, KPBS


An accusation of gang rape: A football team and 7 months of silence.

Allegations of a horrific gang rape were kept quiet for nearly a year. Reporters brought the story to light.

Moderator:
Dana Littlefield, public safety editor, The San Diego Union-Tribune

Panelists:
Lindsay Winkley, reporter, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Teri Figueroa, reporter, The San Diego Union-Tribune
Colleen Shalby, reporter, Los Angeles Times
Robert J. Lopez, investigative reporter, Los Angeles Times
Alexander Nguyen, multimedia producer, KPBS

3:45 - 4:30 P.M. – Closing Keynote

You might go to prison, even though you’re innocent

Justin Brooks, who has exonerated more than 30 innocent people, including former NFL player Brian Banks, discusses how biases and misinformation can cost people their freedom and, in some cases, their lives.