July 1, 2015 — The Shorenstein Center bid farewell to Alex S. Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center for 15 years, on June 30. Today, the Center welcomes Bradlee Professor Thomas Patterson as acting director, who will also co-chair a search committee for the new director with HKS Acting Dean Archon Fung. Read Thomas Patterson’s welcome letter. 

June 27, 2015 — Michael Ignatieff, Edward R. Murrow Professor of Press, Politics and Public Policy, discusses David Cameron’s proposal to introduce a bill to limit the rights of British citizens to appeal to the European Court in an op-ed in The Guardian. Read more…

June 26, 2015 — Michele Norris, NPR host and special correspondent and Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Spring 2015), discussed the aftermath of the Charleston massacre and the renewed debates over the issues of race, gun violence and the Confederate flag, and the Supreme Court’s same-sex marriage ruling,  on “Washington Week with Gwen Ifill.”  Watch video on PBS’s website.

June 26, 2015 — Martha Joynt Kumar, professor of political science at Towson University and Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Fall 1998), has published a new book, Before the Oath: How George W. Bush and Barack Obama Managed a Transfer of Power. From Amazon: Kumar enjoyed unprecedented access to several incumbent and candidate transition team members, and she combines in-depth scholarship with

June 24, 2015 — Richard Parker, lecturer in public policy, discussed Greece’s economic crisis, possible deals and the future of the Eurozone on Minnesota Public Radio News. Listen to the story. 

June 23, 2015 — Susan Crawford, former Shorenstein Center visiting professor and current Harvard Law School professor, encourages New Hampshire voters to make last-mile Internet connectivity a campaign issue, as the state’s economic future depends on it. Read more on Backchannel. 

June 23, 2015 — Staff, faculty, fellows and friends gathered to bid farewell to Alex S. Jones, director of the Shorenstein Center for 15 years. Jones is the Center’s longest serving director (2000-2015), and will leave his post on July 1. Bradlee Professor Thomas E. Patterson will serve as acting director, and will co-chair a

June 22, 2015 — David Weinberger, senior researcher at the Berkman Center and Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Spring 2015), writes about how large platforms such as Facebook have changed the values of the Web. Read more in The Atlantic. 

June 22, 2015 — Matthew Baum, Marvin Kalb Professor of Global Communication, is quoted in The Boston Globe about opportunities for conservative media in Massachusetts. Read more…

June 15, 2015 — Celestine Bohlen, columnist at The International New York Times and Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Fall 2014), writes about the plight of Eritreans who migrate to Europe to escape conflict at home, and the role of Radio Erena, a radio program founded by an Eritrean journalist in exile. Read more in The New York Times. 

June 9, 2015 — The 12th Personal Democracy Forum (PDF) reunited public servants, scholars, activists, developers, journalists, and students in New York, NY on June 4 and 5, 2015. Organized by Micah Sifry (2012 visiting lecturer at the Harvard Kennedy School) and Andrew Rasiej, this year’s theme was “Imagine All the People: The Future of

June 8, 2015 — Yavuz Baydar, journalist and Joan Shorenstein Fellow (Fall 2014), writes about the implications of Turkey’s recent election, which ended a 13-year long rule by a single party, the AKP. Read more on Today’s Zaman.

June 4, 2015 — Judy Woodruff, PBS NewsHour anchor and visiting faculty member at the Shorenstein Center in 2005, speaks to Robert Rubin and Henry Paulson, both former secretaries of the Treasury, about U.S.- China relations. Watch the video on The Atlantic’s website.

Cambridge, MA —  The Shorenstein Center on Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard Kennedy School (HKS) is pleased to announce the appointment of renowned journalist Bob Schieffer as the newest recipient of the Walter Shorenstein Media and Democracy Fellowship. Schieffer’s fellowship will focus on the 2016 presidential election and extend over three semesters, beginning

May 28, 2015 — Maxine Isaacs, adjunct lecturer in government and an associate at the Shorenstein Center, writes about a new documentary about the late Richard Holbrooke as a call for working in public service. Read more in The Harvard Crimson.