Commentary
AI Violence: Thick Fakes and the Need for Grounded Policies
Visiting Lombard Lecturer
Rick Kaplan is currently executive producer of “The CBS Evening News with Katie Couric.” He was the Visiting Lecturer in the Lombard Chair during the spring 2001 semester at the Shorenstein Center. He has been a broadcast journalist for more than 30 years. As president of CNN-US (1997–2000), he was responsible for all news and programming at the CNN News Group. Kaplan galvanized CNN’s ability to provide extensive and up-to-the-minute live coverage and analysis of both breaking and on-going news events, such as the 100 hours of live, global “Millennium 2000” coverage, and several series, including “Investigating the President,” “Showdown with Iraq, Ground Zero,” and “Investigating the President: Media Madness?” Kaplan joined ABC News in 1979 as a senior producer for World News Tonight; from 1979 to 1997, he was executive producer for a variety of ABC News and ABC television network programs, including Good Morning America news, Nightline (1984–89), Primetime Live (1989–94), World News Tonight, (1994), and, finally, ABC-TV Special Projects. Prior to joining ABC, Kaplan was a producer for The CBS Evening News with Walter Cronkite. He is the recipient of many awards, including 34 Emmy awards, three Alfred I. duPont-Columbia University awards, Overseas Press Club awards and two George Polk awards. Kaplan will be teaching a module on “Do American Media Meet the Needs of a Modern Democracy?”
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Media Mention
A webinar to help inform reporting on the budget deficit in the United States
Event
Zoom webinar
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Media access to the White House has become an increasingly important topic of discussion ahead of the midterm elections. To break this down, we welcome Don Lemon, an award-winning journalist who spent thirty years at CNN, NBC, and MSNBC before leaving network television to build his own media company, along with Fall 2026 IOP Resident Fellow Chris Whipple.
Event
JFK Jr. Forum
6:00 PM – 7:00 PM ET
Olivier Sylvain will discuss how decades of communications policy shaped today’s internet, drawing on his new book, Reclaiming the Internet, to explore what this history means for online platforms and AI. This event is part of The Misinformation Speaker Series.
Event
Zoom & Northeastern University, 216 Massachusetts Ave, 3rd floor
4:00 PM ET
Shorenstein Center fellow Sylvia Chou will discuss the challenges facing health misinformation research, including pressures on federal funding and scientific inquiry, and identify priorities for advancing the field. This event is part of The Misinformation Speaker Series.
Event
Zoom & Northeastern University, 216 Massachusetts Ave, 3rd floor
12:00 PM ET
Talia Stroud will discuss new research on whether correcting people’s perceptions about how widespread misinformation is can change their attitudes and behaviors. This event is part of The Misinformation Speaker Series.
Event
Zoom & Northeastern University, 216 Massachusetts Ave, 3rd floor
11:00 AM ET
Experts will break down key federal benefit and tax policies, including Medicaid, Social Security, and the tax treatment of tips and overtime income.
Event
Zoom webinar
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Join The Journalist’s Resource and technology and government expert, Erie Meyer, to learn specific techniques to interrogate corporate chatbots
Event
Zoom webinar
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM ET
Learn how election officials are beginning to work with social media influencers and creators to provide accurate, accessible and engaging civic information.
Event
Zoom webinar
4:00 PM ET
Get an inside look at how U.S. elections work after voters cast their ballots and the processes that shape how votes are counted.
Event
Zoom webinar
1:00 PM – 2:00 PM ET
Join Meghan O’Sullivan, Joe Pfeiffer, Admiral Mike Mullen, and Shorenstein Center Director Nancy Gibbs as they reflect on the legacy and lasting impact of the September 11 attacks, 25 years later.
Event
JFK Jr. Forum, Harvard Kennedy School
6:00 PM ET