Former Congressmen Set for Conference on Restoring Trust in Journalism

Adam Kinzinger, a Republican from Illinois, and Joseph Kennedy III, a Democrat from Massachusetts, are among the experts and thought leaders slated for “How the News Media Can Regain Public Trust.” The conference is hosted by the Jordan Center for Journalism Advocacy and Innovation, housed in the UM School of Journalism and New Media.

Kinzinger served six terms in the U.S. House of Representatives, where he served on the Energy and Commerce and Foreign Affairs committees. He was one of two Republicans on the Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol.

He founded the Country First movement, which has more than 100,000 members, serves as a senior political commentator for CNN and shares his perspectives through his Substack newsletter.

Kennedy served eight years in the House, and President Joe Biden appointed him as U.S. special envoy for Northern Ireland in 2022. He is one of the founders of the Groundwork Project, which does advocacy work in Alabama, Mississippi, Oklahoma and West Virginia.

Other speakers, panelists and moderators for the conference include:

• Brian Stelter, CNN’s chief media analyst
• Chris R. Vaccaro, national president of the Society of Journalists
• Clayton Weimers, executive director of RSF USA
• Rufus Friday, executive director of the Center for Integrity in News Reporting and former publisher of the Lexington Herald-Leader
• Graeme Joffee, investigative sports journalist
• Kathy Kiely, professor at the Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri
• Ellen McCarthy, founder-CEO of the Trust in Media Cooperative and a former U.S. assistant secretary of state for intelligence and research
• André Natta, executive director of the Alabama Initiative for Independent Journalism
• Wesley Muller, a staff writer at the Louisiana Illuminator and a former U.S. Army paratrooper
• Vivian Walker, co-president of the Public Diplomacy Council of America, an adjunct professor at Georgetown University and former executive director of the U.S. Advisory Commission on Public Diplomacy.

Conference sessions are scheduled for the Gertrude C. Ford Ole Miss Student Union. The event is free and open to journalists, academics, students and civic leaders, but registration is required.

Register Here