CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — The challenges for journalism in a whirlwind of tweets, leaks, investigations and altered norms of governance under President Trump will be the subject of an April 12 panel discussion featuring prominent journalists Dan Balz and Roger Simon, both University of Illinois alumni.
Titled “Disruption, Disinformation and Democracy: Political Reporting in the Trump Era,” the panel will run from 3 to 4:30 p.m. in Room 404 of the Illini Union, 1401 W. Green St., Urbana.
Balz and Simon will be joined on the panel by U. of I. political science professor Tracy Sulkin and journalism professor Stephanie Craft, who will serve as moderator.
The event is free and open to the public.
Balz, the chief correspondent for The Washington Post, has been on the front lines of political journalism as a reporter or editor throughout his 40 years at the paper, spanning nine presidencies. Balz also has covered 10 presidential campaigns and written New York Times’ best-sellers on two of them: “Collision 2012” and “The Battle for America 2008,” the latter with co-author Haynes Johnson. Balz earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism from Illinois.
Simon has been a political columnist and reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times, the Chicago Tribune, Politico and U.S. News & World Report, among others, and his commentary has won numerous awards. He retired as Politico’s chief political columnist in 2017. His books include “Reckoning,” “Divided We Stand,” “Show Time” and “Road Show,” about the 2012, 2000, 1996 and 1988 presidential campaigns, respectively. Simon earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Illinois.
Sulkin is a Romano Professorial Scholar in the College of Liberal Arts and Sciences, as well as interim executive associate dean in the College of Media. She has written extensively on the U.S. Congress and legislative style.
Craft researches news literacy and journalism ethics.
