The Morningside Post’s 2nd Annual Conference on Digital Media

Friday, February 25 · 3:00pm – 8:00pm

Room 1501, International Affairs Building, Columbia University – 420 West 118th Street, New York

To tweet about this conference, please use #tmp2011

Topic:

The Internet and digital technologies are changing power structures internationally everyday. The secrecy of US diplomacy was recently hit by WikiLeaks, digital tools are used to organize mass protests against autocrats in the Middle East, journalists seek out blogs, tweets and mobile phone generated videos for new ideas and information and ordinary people organize relief efforts where the state fails to do its job. All of this because technology and information has become readily available to almost everyone, leading us to the democratized media we have today.

The conference is open to the public.

Schedule:

• 3:00 Opening & Keynote Address
• 3:40 Panel One: Who is a Journalist? The Impact of Digital Media, Social Media and Citizen Journalism
• 4:40 Coffee Break
• 5:00 Panel Two: New Media as a Stage for Collective Action
• 6:00 Coffee Break
• 6:15 Panel Three: Diplomacy in the Age of WikiLeaks
• 7:15 Post-Conference Reception

Keynote Address:

Eben Moglen, Professor of Law, Columbia Law School, and Founding Director of Software Freedom Law Center.

Professor Moglen will be introduced by Tom Glaisyer, Knight Media Policy Fellow, Open Technology Initiative, New America Foundation.

Twitter: @tglaisyer

You can also check out Live: Keynote Address for the live blogging coverage of the keynote address.

Panel One: Who is a Journalist? The Impact of Digital Media, Social Media and Citizen Journalism

The panel will discuss the effects of citizen journalism on the field, both beneficial and harmful. Has the very nature of a journalist changed? With information prevalent, what is a journalist’s role? What is the current state of the field of journalism, after the turbulence of late 2008 and 2009, as it has somewhat stabilized now, balancing the old “iron core” of the field, with new media and citizen journalism.

Emily Bell, Professor of Professional Practice; Director, Tow Center for Digital Journalism, previously Director of Digital Content for Britain’s Guardian News and Media.

Twitter: @emilybell

Vadim Lavrusik, Community Manager and Social Media Strategist at Mashable.com, Adjunct Professor teaching social media at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Twitter: @lavrusik

Rob Fishman, Social Media Editor at the Huffington Post, graduate of the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism.

Twitter: @rbfishman

You can also check out Live: Panel One for the live blogging coverage of panel one speakers.

Panel Two: New Media as a Stage for Collective Action

The dramatic events unfolding in the Middle East remind us how easily access to information becomes a call to collective action. As the world´s networked population grows, digital tools are used to share facts, generate ideas and coordinate response to problems facing communities and nations – spanning the spectrum from nonpolitical action to social upheaval. Yet is this availability of information a guarantee of effective social movements? Does democratized media invariably lead to democracy?  This panel will examine the topic from several critical viewpoints.

David Karpf, Assistant Professor in Rutgers University School of Communications and Information, Faculty Associate in the Eagleton Institute of Politics, and Visiting Fellow at the Yale Information Society Project

Twitter: @davekarpf

Anne Nelson, Author, Adjunct Associate Professor Lecturer of International and Public Affairs at Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs

Twitter: @anelsona

Anas Qtiesh, Syrian Blogger, Translator and Tech Enthusiast.

Twitter: @anasqtiesh

You can also check out Live: Panel Two for the live blogging coverage of panel two speakers.

Panel Three: Diplomacy in the Age of Wikileaks

Diplomacy has been called a shadowy art. Some of its most important work is hidden from public view, but late last year, diplomatic secrets hit the front pages of newspapers around the world. The cables released by WikiLeaks were fairly mundane, yet they sent shock waves through the U.S. State Department, strained bilateral relationships, and some even claim that they helped instigate political upheaval in Tunisia.

This panel will examine how easy access to information, even secret information,  will change the way governments deal with each other. Panelists will discuss some of the following questions: 
Will other governments trust the U.S. with sensitive diplomatic information the way they used to?
Should the U.S. continue trust other nations?  How much secrecy do democratic governments deserve? Has diplomacy as we knew it come to an end?

Carne Ross, Executive Director of Independent Diplomat, former diplomat and Middle East expert at the British Foreign Office.

Twitter: @carneross

Micah Sifry, co-founder and editor of the Personal Democracy Forum and TechPresident.com, and a senior technology adviser to the Sunlight Foundation. Sifry recently authored the book WikiLeaks and the Age of Transparency (OR Books).

Twitter: @Mlsif

Gabriel Escobar, Political Officer in the Foreign Service of the U.S. Department of State, Davis Fellow

Ambassador John L. Hirsch, Senior Adviser, International Peace Institute

You can also check out Live: Panel Three for the live blogging coverage of panel three speakers.

The conference is co-hosted by SIPA Communiqué; In partnership with The Guardian‘s Comment is Free America; Sponsored by SIPA’s International Media, Advocacy and Communications Specialization (IMAC) the Arab Student Association at SIPA, SIPA’s Economic and Political Development Concentration (EPD) and the Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR).

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