Journalism in a Post-Truth World

Presented by EWTN News and Franciscan University

“Journalism does not come about by choosing a profession, but by embarking on a mission … Your mission is to explain the world, to make it less obscure, to make those who live in it less afraid of it and look at others with greater awareness, and also with more confidence. It is not an easy mission.” —Pope Francis

The mission of journalism remains an important calling today especially in the face of so many challenges and crises in what is now being called a Post-Truth World. Journalists contend with threats to freedom of speech from a cancel culture, political and ideological bias shaping coverage, the rise of celebrity journalists, and hostility by the mainstream media to people of faith.

Journalism today requires a commitment to the truth and the highest journalistic principles, even though that commitment brings ridicule and attacks by many in legacy media and other journalists more interested in advocacy and ideology than truth and fact. As conservative writer Selwyn Duke famously wrote, “The further a society drifts from Truth, the more it will hate those who speak it.”

What is journalism today in a Post-Truth World, and how can it not just function but thrive in such a difficult media moment?

Franciscan University and EWTN News are delighted to present a two-day conference on the state of journalism today. Join renowned journalists and experts in the field of journalism and digital media as they gather in Washington, D.C.’s Museum of the Bible to discuss the challenges of modern media, ethics, bias, and covering the Catholic Church. Join us!