Media in the Age of Contagions

At this symposium, journalists who have covered public and global health for print, television, radio, and digital media outlets including NPR, PBS, the New York Times, the Washington Post, STAT, and more will discuss the role of the media when an outbreak occurs, and the dangers of rumors and disinformation.

Cosponsored by The Harvard Global Health Institute and The Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School

REGISTER FOR THE EVENT HERE.

10:00am – 10:10 am – Welcoming remarks

• Nicco Mele, Director,Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Lecturer in Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School
• Ashish K. Jha, Dean for Global Strategy & K.T. Li Professor of Global Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health; Director, Harvard Global Health Institute
• Provost Alan M. Garber, Chief Academic Officer, Harvard University; Mallinckrodt Professor of Health Care Policy, Harvard Medical School; Professor of Economics,  Harvard Faculty of Arts and Sciences; Professor of Public Policy, Harvard Kennedy School of Government; Professor, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health

10:10am – 10:30am – Keynote address

• Michael Osterholm, Regents Professor; McKnight Presidential Endowed Chair in Public Health; Distinguished Teaching Professor in the Division of Environmental Health Sciences, School of Public Health; Professor, Technological Leadership Institute, College of Science and Engineering; Adjust professor Medicine; Director, Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy (CIDRAP) all at the University of Minnesota

10:30am – 11:45am – Panel I – “The Risk of Rumors & Disinformation”

• Cameron Hickey, Technology Manager, Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy; Journalist, cinematographer and software developer
• Aashka Dave, Research Reporter, Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy
• Peter Canellos, Editor-at-Large, POLITICO
• Moderator: Heidi Legg, Director of Special Projects, Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy

11:45am – 12pm – Break 

12:00pm – 1:00pm – Panel II – “Challenges and Opportunities in Covering Infectious Disease Outbreaks”

• Karen Weintraub, Independent Health/Science journalist 
• Lena Sun, National Reporter, Health, The Washington Post
• Michaeleen Doucleff, Reporter, NPR Science Desk and Goats and Soda, NPRs Global Health and development blog (via Skype)
• Helen Branswell, Senior Writer for Infectious Diseases and Public Health, STAT
• Moderator: Stefanie Friedhoff, Senior Editor and Assistant Director of Communications, Harvard Global Health Institute; Nieman Fellow ’01  

1:00pm – 1:10pm – Closing remarks

• Carmel Shachar, Executive Director, Petrie-Flom Center for Health Law Policy, Biotechnology, and Bioethics at Harvard Law School
• Setti Warren, Executive Director, Harvard Kennedy School Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics, and Public Policy; Former Mayor of Newton