The report is an excellent compendium of information about contemporary national security reporting in America.  It draws some of its information from the book “Whistleblowers, Leaks and the Media: The First Amendment and National Security” that was published last year. The book was compiled and edited by Medill Adjunct Lecturer Paul Rosenzweig and Medill professors Ellen Shearer and Timothy J. McNulty.   Rosenzweig also was interviewed for the PEN/America report and is quoted in the report

The event is aimed at increasing the media’s knowledge of the Islamic State terrorist group. Taspinar is a leading expert on Islamic radicalization and the author of two books: “Political Islam and Kurdish Nationalism in Turkey” and “Fighting Radicalism with Human Development: Education, Employment, and Freedom in the Islamic World.” Andres is a former Defense Department official who specialized in defense planning, especially related to Iraq and Afghanistan. Dr. Andres is also a leading thinker on the role of cyber across the national security realm.

The February story of four teenage girls leaving Britain to join the Islamic State in Syria caught the world unaware but they were not unique. Young men and women have been joining ISIS, apparently after significant exposure to its message on social media. Andres and Taspinar are experts who will help the audience understand how this is developing. They will focus on how the Islamic radical movement in 2015 is using technology to appeal to youth to uproot themselves from relatively secure environments to join a radical movement in a distant land full of conflict.

Lunch will be served, but reservations are required.

The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, begun in January 2009 with the support of the Robert R. McCormick Foundation, offers a sequence of courses that equip graduate and
undergraduate journalism students with the knowledge and skills to report on national security issues, undertakes an annual student investigative project with a media partner and sponsors an annual conference for journalists featuring briefings on the most pressing national security issues. It also provides training and background materials on nationalsecurityzone.org as well as webinars for working reporters around the country.

The National War College, founded in 1946, educates future leaders of the armed forces, State Department and other civilian agencies for high-level policy, command and staff responsibilities. The national security policy curriculum emphasizes the joint, interagency, and the multinational perspectives. NWC is located on Fort Lesley J. McNair in Washington.

TO RSVP OR FOR QUESTIONS, PLEASE CONTACT TIFFANY K. ROBERTS BY PHONE AT (202) 661-0107 OR VIA EMAIL AT TIFFANY.ROBERTS@NORTHWESTERN.EDU.

The vote on March 2 means the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative is now part of the GIJN efforts to foster investigative journalism through training, conferences and other resources.

The National Security Journalism Initiative’s membership will provide Medill students with the opportunity to participate in collaborative international projects with fellow GIJN organizations, as well as give students and faculty access to an unprecedented network of global reporting contacts and resources.

“I’ve been watching GIJN’s rapid global growth and the excellent work of its many member organizations since it was first established, and in recent years it has become increasingly clear that it is one of the most important players in the world of international investigative reporting,” said Josh Meyer, the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative’s director of education and outreach, who first reached out to GIJN last year. “We’re honored and humbled to be accepted as one of its members.”

The 2015 cohort of inductees extends GIJN’s reach to include 114 reporting groups in 53 countries, according to its announcement. Other prominent GIJN members include the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Center for Public Integrity and the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma.

“It’s an honor and a great opportunity for Medill to be part of the Global Investigative Journalism Network,” said Ellen Shearer, co-director of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative and William F. Thomas Professor of the Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications at Northwestern University. “We look forward to participating in the network of great journalists.”

To learn more about the Global Investigative Journalism Network’s work in support of investigative journalists around the world, visit http://gijn.org/.

For more information about the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, visit http://www.nationalsecurityzone.org.

Government inspector general (IG) offices might be a journalist’s most promising but underutilized resource.

On Thursday, March 12, the National Press Club’s Young Members Committee and the Medill School’s National Security Journalism Initiative will host a panel discussion with IG public affairs officers on how journalists can improve their reporting based on IG resources.

The panel, to be held 6:30 to 7:30 pm in the Murrow Room at the Press Club, will feature public affairs officers from the Environmental Protection Agency, and the departments of Defense, State and Treasury.

Please note: This event will be held on background and panelists’ remarks will not be for attribution.

You MUST register for this event in order to attend. Click HERE to register.

The National Press Club is located at:
National Press Club
529 14th Street, NW
Washington, DC 20045

For more information on this event, please contact:

Sean Lyngaas sean.lyngaas@gmail.com

Contest period: Winner receives a $5,000 prize and a medal bearing the likeness of Joseph Medill, who spent more than 40 years during the mid-19th century as editor, publisher and owner of the Chicago Tribune. The award is shared for a team entry.

Entry fee: $40 (Northwestern’s Federal Tax ID Number is 36-2167817). Please make check payable to “Northwestern University.” The fee will ensure the continuation of the award.

Entries become the property of Medill and will not be returned.

Deadline: Postmarked by Feb. 28, 2015

Visit the award’s website.

Entries: Print entries should be submitted in 8.5×11 format for easy handling by the judges. Include four copies of all material. Television entries should submit four DVDs. Radio entries should submit four CDs. Online entries should provide a URL. Please include a brief description of how the entry displays courage, a biography of the nominee, as well as who to contact (and contact information) in case the entry is selected.

Send entries to:
Robyn Schuster
Medill – Northwestern University
1845 Sheridan Road
Evanston, IL 60208-2101
Phone: (847) 467-0726
E-mail: robyn.schuster@northwestern.edu 

In 2014, the name of the award was changed to honor Medill alumni James Foley (MSJ08). Foley was captured in Syria in 2012 while working as a freelance journalist and, two years later, was murdered by militants. Foley’s tireless work to report on difficult stories in a dangerous region “endures for us as a beacon reminding us of the risks implicit in shedding light where inhumanity can take hold,” said Medill Dean Brad Hamm.

A discussion about the book will be held at the Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW, at 2 p.m. on Dec. 1. RSVP here.

CHICAGO, Oct. 15, 2014 — A new book from the American Bar Association’s Standing Committee on Law and National Security and Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University offers in-depth analysis of the balance of secrecy, security and transparency in our democracy. This fundamental tension, which was clearly intended by the Founding Fathers to ensure an effective and accountable government, lies at the heart of challenges for those who seek to protect our nation’s borders and interests and those whose job it is to inform and enlighten the public about the activities of its government.

“Whistleblowers, Leaks, and the Media: The First Amendment and National Security” delves into the various areas of law surrounding the recent and well-known cases of NSA contractor Edward Snowden, Private First Class Chelsea (formerly Bradley) Manning and WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange, among others. Are these individuals whistleblowers, exposing the inner workings of an overreaching government? Or are they traitors, inhibiting America’s ability to defend itself against threats?

Edited by experts in the fields of journalism and national security, the book features contributions from lawyers, government officials, heads of public interest organizations, First Amendment scholars, members of the press and law professors. It offers a fascinating and detailed look at the fundamental and necessary tension between secrecy and transparency in American society.

Title                 “Whistleblowers, Leaks, and the Media: The First Amendment and National Security”
Publisher:       ABA Standing Committee on Law and National Security
Pages:             296
Product Code: 3550025
ISBN:               978-1-62722-825-1
Size:                6 x 9
Binding:          Paperback
Price:               $39.95
Orders:            Order the book at ShopABA.org or call 800-285-2221.

What others are saying about “Whistleblowers, Leaks, and the Media: The First Amendment and National Security”

“Finally, a clear and sober explanation of the issues involved in balancing secrecy, security and transparency in our democratic society. This book should help replace overheated rhetoric with reasoned debate.”

— David Wood, Senior Military Correspondent, The Huffington Post; 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner for national reporting

“If knowledge is power, then the distribution of information lies at the core of politics. This thorough but accessible book provides a trove of valuable material for social scientists—and there should be many—who wish to investigate the relationship between secrets, journalists, the public, and the state.” — Jonathan D. Caverley, Research Associate in Political Science at Massachusetts Institute of Technology; author of “Democratic Militarism: Voting, Wealth, and War.”

“At last, a comprehensive exploration of national security laws and the tensions between the public’s right to know and the government’s right to protect its interests. This book will be an invaluable resource for journalists and lawyers as well as students studying to enter these professions. A compilation of thoughtful essays that explores the Constitutional foundations and limitations of the U.S. government in a contemporary context, the book examines how laws and freedoms collide in cases when individuals leak information to the news media. The book clearly explains Supreme Court interpretations of law that pit press freedoms against government interests and considers how big data is affecting privacy. It is a practical, easy to understand guide for journalists, lawyers and government officials.” — Dr. Barbara Barnett, Associate Professor and Associate Dean, Undergraduate Studies, William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Kansas

Editor’s note: Author interviews and review copies are available by sending an email to Dean Pappas at Dean.Pappas@americanbar.org. If you publish a review of this book, please send tear sheets or a copy for our files to Dean Pappas, c/o ABA Publishing, 321 N. Clark St., Chicago, IL 60654.

With nearly 400,000 members, the American Bar Association is one of the largest voluntary professional membership organizations in the world. As the national voice of the legal profession, the ABA works to improve the administration of justice, promotes programs that assist lawyers and judges in their work, accredits law schools, provides continuing legal education, and works to build public understanding around the world of the importance of the rule of law. View our privacy statement on line. Follow the latest ABA news at www.ambar.org/news and on Twitter @ABANews.

The graduate students selected to receive the McCormick scholarships are Cat Boardman, Alexandra Hines, Michelle Kim, Eliza Larson, Rachel Menitoff, Melanie Saltzman, Matthew Schehl, Tammy Thueringer, Chris Walljasper and Kjerstin Wood. Two students have been designated as alternates: Carolyn Freundlich and Matthew McKinney.

The winners of these $7,500 graduate student scholarships will work under the supervision of Josh Meyer, director of education and outreach of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, to report on the national security implications of landmines and other “explosive remnants of war.”

“I’m very excited to have the opportunity to work with such a talented and enthusiastic group of student reporters in tackling an issue of such huge national – and international – importance,” said Meyer, a 20-year veteran of the Los Angeles Times who joined Medill in 2010 and who is also the McCormick Lecturer in National Security Studies.

“As armed conflicts rage across the globe and the wars wind down in Afghanistan and Iraq, this topic couldn’t be more timely. We expect to deliver a series of innovative stories of real importance to the American public.”

Ellen Shearer, William F. Thomas Professor of Journalism and co-director of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, said she is “thrilled by the possibilities for great reporting and storytelling that this terrific group of students affords us.”

This year’s effort will be the fifth in which Medill collaborates with national media partners to publish a project across all media platforms while emphasizing the use of innovative multimedia and interactive journalistic techniques.

The project, formally known as the National Security Reporting Project, will focus on the deadly legacy of landmines, cluster munitions and other military materiel that have been deployed – and are still being deployed – in more than 65 countries, killing and maiming untold thousands of innocent men, women and children. It will also focus on why the U.S. government has refused to sign landmark treaties governing the use and cleanup of these weapons.

The fifth quarter specialization program in national security reporting is part of Medill’s larger National Security Journalism Initiative, which is funded by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation. The National Security Reporting Project launched in 2010 and its first effort, Global Warning, on the national security implications of climate change, won a prestigious national award from the Online News Association.

The 2011 project on the challenges facing the military reserves, including the National Guard — Hidden Surge — also garnered national attention. Both were published by The Washington Post; the 2010 project also was distributed by McClatchy News Service. The 2012 project on energy security, Oil Change, was published by GlobalPost and featured on The Post’s website, and the 2013 project on global food security was done in conjunction with USA Today.

The report and recommendations from the president’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies will be discussed by a member of the Review Group as well as legal, journalism and technology experts at a Jan. 24 event hosted by the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press.

The discussion will be held on Friday, Jan. 24 from 9-10:30 a.m. in the Holeman Lounge at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.  Panelists for the event, which will include discussion of how the report’s recommendations affect journalists, will be:

Geoffrey R. Stone, the Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor at the University of Chicago and a member of the president’s Review Group on Intelligence and Communications Technologies.

• Barton Gellman, a senior fellow at the Century Foundation and contributor to The Washington Post.
• Siobhan Gorman, a reporter for The Wall Street Journal covering terrorism, counterterrorism and intelligence.
• Karen Kaiser, associate general counsel for The Associated Press.
• Sascha Meinrath, vice president of the New America Foundation and director of the Open Technology Institute.

The panel will be introduced by Bruce Brown, executive director of the Reporters Committee. The moderator will be Ellen Shearer, the William F. Thomas Professor in the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University, based in the school’s Washington Program, and co-director of the school’s National Security Journalism initiative and interim director of the Washington Program.

To RSVP online go to http://www.evite.com/l/Zjx643Xa8E. For more information, contact Shearer at shearer@northwestern.edu or 202-661-0102.

About the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative:

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 has created unique undergraduate and graduate classes in various aspects of national security coverage, a post-graduate three-month investigative project, a fellowship in cooperation with the Center for Public Integrity, a series of webinars and events to help educate or train professional journalists and an annual conference with top national security experts. For more information, go to www.nationalsecurityzone.org or @natseczone.

About the Reporters Committee

Founded in 1970, the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press offers free legal support to thousands of working journalists and media lawyers each year. It is a leader in the fight against persistent efforts by government officials to impede the release of public information, whether by withholding documents or threatening reporters with jail. In addition to its 24/7 Legal Defense Hotline, the Reporters Committee conducts cutting-edge legal research, publishes handbooks and guides on media law issues, files frequent friend-of-the-court legal briefs and offers challenging fellowships and internships for young lawyers and journalists. For more information, go to www.rcfp.org, or follow us on Twitter @rcfp.

A $1,000 award, created by the RTDNF Board of Trustees in honor of the names it bears. Barney and Vada served in WWII and both had illustrious military careers. Barney’s long and impressive career included a stint as a Hollywood studio publicist, WWII Army and post-war Air Force public relations officer, author, lecturer, businessman and philanthropist who founded over 40 private foundations including RTDNF. This award is given annually to a reporter or producer in radio or television news to help them cover national defense and security issues.

In addition to the $1,000 award, winners are invited to attend the Excellence in Journalism conference.

Full details, including link to apply, at the Radio Television Digital News Association site.

Mattie will work under the supervision of R. Jeffrey Smith, the managing editor for national security at CPI and a Pulitzer Prize-winning former writer and editor at The Washington Post. She will contribute to the center’s “Up in Arms” blog and also write short and long-term investigative projects. She was selected by a Medill committee led by Josh Meyer, director of education and outreach of the Medill National Security Journalism Initiative. She comes to Medill from Arkansas, where she was the managing editor of a daily newspaper, and as a Medill student has reported on urban affairs in Chicago and health and science issues in Washington, D.C. She recently traveled to South Africa on a grant to report on lightning safety.

“We’re very excited to be able to give one of our students the opportunity to work at such a storied Washington institution as the Center For Public Integrity,” said Meyer. “Mattie is a talented journalist with tremendous promise, and we can’t wait to see what kind of important national security stories she’ll find while working with an editor of Jeff’s stature.”

“Mattie will help us hold national security decision-makers and lawmakers accountable for their work, and participate in our probes into government waste, fraud and abuse,” said Smith. “We’re thrilled to get one of Medill’s best. She joins our national security reporting team when all these defense accountability issues have moved higher on the national agenda.”

“The McCormick Foundation has a long tradition of supporting journalists who cover national security issues,” said Clark Bell, the foundation’s Journalism Program Director. “We believe this partnership enhances CPI’s coverage, while providing an invaluable learning opportunity for an accomplished Medill student.”

The first National Security Reporting Fellow, Rebecca LaFlure, did ground-breaking work on topics such as threats to nuclear facilities, arms trading, whistleblowers and military security clearance processes.

The National Security Reporting Fellowship at the Center is funded by the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.

The Medill National Security Journalism Initiative, also funded by the McCormick Foundation, has been working since 2009 to find better ways of teaching, and covering, national security topics in this changing and challenging media environment.

Founded in 1989 by Charles Lewis, the Center for Public Integrity is one of the country’s oldest and largest nonpartisan, nonprofit investigative news organizations. Its mission: To enhance democracy by revealing abuses of power, corruption and betrayal of trust by powerful public and private institutions, using the tools of investigative journalism.