Media and Journalism

As a priority area for Columbia University, journalism, press freedom and freedom of expression have been the focus of several programs at the Istanbul Center. Columbia Global Centers | Istanbul and the Columbia Global Centers | Amman co-convened the “Workshop on Geopolitical Developments and Press Freedoms in the Middle East and Turkey” in September 2013, which featured President Lee C. Bollinger, Professor Safwan M. Masri, Dean Steve Coll, former Dean Nicholas Lemann of the Columbia Journalism School and several distinguished global and regional experts on Turkey and the Middle East. In 2014, the Istanbul Center organized a training program for 24 students of media and journalism from the region and the United States on the theme of freedom of expression, with lectures given by Professor Anya Schiffrin, Director of the International Media, Advocacy and Communications specialization at Columbia University’s School of International Affairs, and by experts from Pro-Publica. The Center also works together with Professor Susan E. McGregor, Assistant Professor at Columbia Journalism School and Assistant Director of the Tow Center for Digital Media, on a project supported by the President’s Global Innovation Fund which entails conducting research on experiences of working journalists in Turkey as well as holding a series of workshops and trainings for journalists and citizen media practitioners that will take place in 2016.