Medill National Security Reporting Project
Medill/GlobalPost investigation sheds new light on $3.2 billion U.S. mine clearance and victim assistance effort.
→ Visit the project site
→ Read more about the project
Medill/USA TODAY investigation of U.S. international food aid programs finds significant, entrenched problems
Read about the project.R.I.P. James Wright Foley, 1973-2014
#MedillRemembers James Foley, One Year Later
Remembering James Foley's life and legacy one year after his death at the hands of the Islamic State.
→ Continue to the story.
→ James Foley: A legacy that lives on (VIDEO)
Major TV networks sign onto freelancer safety compact
Read about the compact, which was signed by Medill NSJI Co-Director Ellen Shearer at Columbia University in September, here.McCormick Foundation renews grant for Medill National Security Journalism program
EVANSTON, Ill. — The Robert R. McCormick Foundation has renewed a $1 million grant to fund the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative at Northwestern University over the next two years.
The NSJ program provides journalists-in-training and working journalists with the knowledge and skills necessary to report accurately, completely and with context on events and issues related to defense, security and civil liberties. The initiative began in January, 2009 with an initial three-year, $1.3 million McCormick Foundation grant. The grant was also renewed for $1 million over two years in 2011.
Posts by Gina Harkins
Handling of terror detainees still unclear 10 years after 9/11
(Aug. 05, 2011)WASHINGTON – The debate on how to detain terror suspects continues to be so complicated nearly 10 years after the attacks on 9/11 that even Bush administration Attorney General Michael Mukasey said there is no coherent policy for dealing with … Continue reading
City emergency preparedness not solely dependent on funding
(Jul. 14, 2011)WASHINGTON–The Department of Homeland Security announced in May that 34 small-sized cities will be losing federal grants for emergency management programs. But is it money that makes a city well-equipped to deal with emergency situations? Some city leaders fear having … Continue reading
The future of public surveillance
(Jun. 08, 2011)As technology advances, the imagination can run wild with all of the ways information can be gathered electronically. Some of the means by which the public and private sectors obtain information today are things we would’ve only expected in James … Continue reading
Government turns to social networking sites for surveillance
(Jun. 07, 2011)No matter how high your privacy settings are on Facebook, the government might still have access to everything you post. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, based in San Francisco, teamed with the Samuelson Law, Technology and the Public Policy Clinic at … Continue reading
Reaction to renewal of the PATRIOT Act
(May. 31, 2011)Shahid Buttar is the executive director of the Bill of Rights Defense Committee, a grassroots organization that defends the rights and freedoms challenged by national security and counter-terrorism policies. Buttar responds to the four-year extension to the PATRIOT Act, signed … Continue reading
Cameras track what kids eat in Texas elementary schools
(May. 31, 2011)Moms aren’t the only ones wondering what their kids are eating at school, and cameras in some elementary schools are tracking their choices. The Social and Health Resource Center, based in San Antonio, Texas, received a $2 million dollar grant … Continue reading
License Plate Recognition databases—good for cops or invasion of privacy?
(May. 11, 2011)License Plate Recognition cameras can do what an officer can do, but faster and more effectively. According to security experts, if done manually, officers could only review 100 to 150 plate numbers on a shift. But plate recognition technology can … Continue reading
Smile, Chicago – you’re on CCTV
(May. 11, 2011)Chicago officials have not confirmed the number of cameras that can be found around the city, but no one has disputed the claims that 10,000 exist according to a recent report released by the American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois. … Continue reading
Supreme Court to hear case on warrantless GPS tracking
(May. 10, 2011)The Department of Justice is asking the Supreme Court to undo a decision that finds warrantless GPS tracking by law enforcement agencies to be unconstitutional. Antoine Jones of Maryland was convicted to life in prison in a drug case after … Continue reading
Public surveillance: better safety or less privacy?
(May. 02, 2011)New cameras on the Chicago Transit Authority are so powerful that they can tell what you’re reading while standing on the platform. The new biometrics surveillance the FBI contracted out might be able to recognize faces, scars, tattoos or perform … Continue reading
