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About the Summit

As a partnership between the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative at the University of Delaware Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration and the incubator for Media Education & Development (iMEdD), the Media & Democracy Summit explores the role and relationship between media and democracy.

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12:30-7:30 p.m.

Registration Opens

Registration is free.

Pre-registration online is required.

Entrance to the event is granted on a first-come, first-served basis. 

1:50-2:00 p.m. 

Opening Remarks

Speakers: Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou (iMEdD, incubator for Media and Education Development; SNF Dialogues) and Timothy Shaffer (Biden School of Public Policy and Administration)

2:00-2:45 p.m

From Fake News to Viral facts: Using Short-Form Video to Promote Media Literacy

Presentation: Enrique Anarte Lazo (Thomson Reuters Foundation) and Carmela Boykin (Washington Post)

 

3:00-3:40 p.m. 

Lights, Camera, Impact! Scripting Social Videos that Resonate

 

Workshop: Enrique Anarte Lazo (Thomson Reuters Foundation) and Carmela Boykin (Washington Post)

 

3:00-3:55 p.m. 

Transparent Governance: What is FOIA and How to Do It 

 

 

Workshop: Karl Baker (Spotlight Delaware)

 

4:10-4:40 p.m.  

Making the Complex Understandable: Multimedia Storytelling Through Digital Media, Multimedia, and Design

 

Workshop: Sarah Grace (CSIS) 

 

4:40- 5:15 p.m.

College Students' Relationship with the Media

Student-led session: University students, including SNF Ithaca and SNF Paideia students

 

5:20-6:15 p.m.
Real Talk: The Birth of New Media in Challenging Times and Learning How to Make It

 

Fireside chat: Tara Palmeri (independent journalist, "The Red Letter")

6:30-7:30 p.m.

Byline: Covering National Politics in 2025*

 

Keynote: Astead W. Herndon (New York Times) and Domenico Montanaro (NPR)

 

*This Byline event is supported by the UD Journalism program's E. A Nickerson lecture fund and the SNF Ithaca Initiative. 

 

7:30-9:00 p.m.

Reception

8:45 a.m.

Registration Opens

Registration is free.

Pre-registration online is required.

Entrance to the event is granted on a first-come, first-served basis.

 

9:35-10:00 a.m.

Opening Remarks

Speakers: Anna-Kynthia Bousdoukou (iMEdD, incubator for Media and Education Development; SNF Dialogues) and Timothy Shaffer (Biden School of Public Policy and Administration)

10:00-10:55 a.m.

Engaging People Where They Are: Leveraging Tech to Build and Inform Community

Panel: Rudy Fraser (Blacksky app), Emma Restrepo (2Puntos), Lynda Woolard (Louisiana Lefty), Johnny Perez-Gonzalez (WHYY), Kendall Schrohe (Design it for Us)

 

 

11:10-11:20 a.m.
iMEdD in Focus

 

 

Speaker: Dimitris Bounias (iMEdD)

11:20 a.m.-12:30 p.m.

OSINT and Misinformation: How to Navigate Ethics and Limitations

Presentation/Workshop: Gianluca Mezzofiore (CNN OSINT editor, London)

 

 

12:30-1:15 p.m.

Lunch

1:20-2:05 p.m.

Losing Local News and Trustworthy Information

Panel: Johanna Dunnaway (Syracuse University), Danilo Yanich (University of Delaware), John McManus (independent scholar and journalist)

 

2:20-3:00 p.m.

Local News Reimagined

Panel: José Ignacio Castañeda Perez (Spotlight Delaware), Tom Byrne (Delaware Public Media), Jed John Hope and Peter Bailey (Yellow Cedar Media)

 

3:00-3:40 p.m.
Documenting Reality: Telling Real Stories of People and Communities

 

Screening/Discussion: Ben Stillerman (Social Cohesion Lab) and Benjamin Wagner (Wagner Brothers Films)

 

3:55-5:00 p.m.
Sustaining Journalism for Democracy



Panel: Josh Shepperd (University of Colorado, Boulder), Josh Scacco (University of South Florida), Jeralynn Miller (NPR)

 

5:15-6:15 p.m.
Politics in Nonpolitical Spaces: The Rise of Podcasts, Online Shows, and Streaming

Presentation/Fireside chat: Kayla Gogarty and Julie Millican (Media Matters)

 

 

6:30-7:30 p.m. 

Free Speech and Big Ideas

 

 

Keynote Speaker: David Rubin (The Rubin Report)

7:30-9:00 p.m.

Reception

meet this year's Speakers

Composed of keynote presentations, one-on-one interviews, and panel discussions, the summit includes speakers who are local, national, and international media professionals and journalists; scholars who study media and pursue engagement, and civic leaders who advance democratic engagement in communities. Experts from diverse backgrounds shed light on different aspects of a common topic: relevance, challenges, and sustainability of the fourth estate in an increasingly fragmented political and social landscape.

 

Speaker details coming soon.

Faq

As a partnership between the incubator for Media Education and Development (iMEdD) and the University of Delaware Biden School of Public Policy and Administration’s Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF) Ithaca Initiative, the Media & Democracy Summit explores the role and relationship between media and democracy.

This year's Summit will engage participants in urgent conversations about the media’s role in shaping informed citizenship and democratic resilience. The program will also feature workshops on digital storytelling and short-form video, panels on misinformation, and discussions about rebuilding trust and reimagining journalism for a new generation.

No. Open and free to all, this Summit is an opportunity to listen, learn, and engage with others on issues that affect us all.

All sessions are held in English. 

This year's Summit will be held at the Trabant University Center at the University of Delaware, 17 W Main Street, Newark, DE 19716.

Pay-by-plate parking is available in the Trabant University Center Parking Garage.

You can travel by Amtrak or SEPTA train: https://www.amtrak.com/stations/nrk. The station is located on South Campus and a short walk from Central Campus. Additional Amtrak and SEPTA stops are available at the Wilmington station: https://www.amtrak.com/stations/wil

Public transportation by bus is available through the DART Bus and the University of Delaware Shuttle service.

A cost-free, dedicated Wi-Fi connection will be provided for attendees.

No. This year's Summit will not be live streamed.

All updates related to the Summit will be available on this page.

SNF Ithaca, an initiative of the University of Delaware's Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy & Administration, seeks to advance democracy by equipping students with the civil discourse and civic engagement skills necessary to navigate the mediated public square. Supported by the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF), SNF Ithaca is named after the home of Odysseus—one of Greek mythology's greatest heroes. For Odysseus, Ithaca represents not only the beginning of a journey but the ultimate destination. Likewise, the SNF Ithaca Initiative serves as both the beginning of the Biden School students' journey toward becoming engaged and effective citizens and as the ultimate destination for students across the country to come together and work in partnership to develop policy solutions.

Established in 1961 and named in 2018 for the University of Delaware’s most distinguished alumnus, the 46th President of the United States, the Joseph R. Biden, Jr. School of Public Policy and Administration prepares students with the knowledge and skills necessary to engage in research and public service to improve the quality of life in communities around the world. Biden School faculty, staff, students, and alumni create and use interdisciplinary, nonpartisan research, and empirically based analysis to inform effective decision-making and policy and to improve leadership and administration. The Biden School partners with organizations from all sectors to discover innovative and equitable solutions to the critical challenges of our time.

iMEdD (incubator for Media Education & Development) is a non-profit organization in an effort to enhance transparency, credibility, and independence in journalism, founded in 2018 with the exclusive donation of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation (SNF).