“Right now, I think there’s a lot of discussion on the value of news reporting, and what is good news reporting and what isn’t. So, anytime that you allow people to interact and give their opinions and experiences, it’s always good,” said Jack Dominic, executive director of the National VOA Museum of Broadcasting.
The virtual event series, “Journalism: The Oxygen of Democracy,” will feature Voice of America journalists and leaders and will be held on the third Thursday of each month beginning on Thursday through Jan. 19 from 7 to 9 p.m.
Audiences will meet at the VOA museum in West Chester, view a documentary film or presentation in the museum’s Clyde Haehnle Hall, then interface live via video on a big screen with VOA journalists and leaders located remotely on select Thursdays.
“Journalists, like any other vocation are different people, and they have different perspectives, but a good journalist will try his or her best to convey the complete story and let the viewer or the reader come to the conclusions as opposed to coming to a conclusion and then, reporting facts that support it,” Dominic said.
The first program in the series will be a screening of the 30-minute VOA documentary, “Journalists on the Run,” which chronicles the harrowing flight of three Afghan journalists as they escape the Taliban during the final days of the U.S. military withdrawal in 2021, eventually settling in the U.S.
Special guests Lauren Kawana, film producer, and Hasib Danish Alikozai, VOA Afghan Service chief, will discuss the film and provide an update on Afghanistan today.
Kawana is senior producer of “Journalists on the Run,” and a commissioned editor for Voice of America’s “52 Documentary” series, which connects viewers with the global community though human-interest stories.
Alikozai is chief of the VOA Afghan Service and executive producer of “Journalists on the Run.” He oversees VOA’s news and information content to Afghanistan on radio, digital, locally- affiliated TV stations and satellite in both Dari and Pashto languages.
Other topics covered in the series will include a discussion of VOA journalistic standards when reporting the news; how video, recordings and social media shape breaking news; and an update on the Ukrainian invasion. Sebaly, Shillito and Dyer, with offices in West Chester and Dayton, Ohio is the series sponsor.
How to go
What: “Journalism: The Oxygen of Democracy”
When: The third Thursday of each month, Thursday through Jan. 19 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: National Voice of American Museum of Broadcasting in West Chester, 8070 Tylersville Road.
Cost: Admission is free, but seating is limited to 100 people. RSVPs for the first program are requested by Tuesday and can be made by emailing admin@voamuseum.org, or calling 513-777-0027. Although the events are free, donations will be accepted.
More info: For more information, visit www.voamuseum.org.