colorful flags hanging in the sky in latin america

UT Faculty and Alumni Discuss Journalism in Latin America at Inaugural Texas Global Dialogues

Sep 1, 2020
Jenan Taha

More than 100 alumni representing 11 countries across Latin America gathered virtually for the Texas Global Dialogues: Journalism in Latin America, the first event in a new series for UT alumni covering critical global issues.

The Texas Global Dialogues, a collaboration between Texas Global and the Texas Exes, brings together UT Austin’s leading academic experts and distinguished alumni around the world to share their expertise and insights on topics with broad appeal that transcend borders. The dialogues connect UT’s academic mission to the global community and provide an opportunity for alumni to engage in meaningful conversations with each other, UT faculty and regional specialists.

Featuring the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas, the first Texas Global Dialogues examined journalism in Latin America, convening four expert panelists who discussed their experiences reporting on COVID-19, dealing with misinformation in journalism and working in foreign correspondence.

Guests were welcomed by Chuck Harris, Texas Exes executive director, and Sonia Feigenbaum, senior vice provost for global engagement and chief international officer, who moderated the event.

Rosental Alves, the Knight chair in journalism and founder of the Knight Center, opened the discussion by sharing his thoughts on the need for journalists in a democracy.

“The ways we gather information are changing, but the value of journalism to a democratic society hasn't changed,” he said. “In our polarized societies, that value has never been more important. Journalists are at work investigating and discovering the truth.”

Other panelists included Patricia Campos Mello, reporter and columnist for Folha de São Paulo in Brazil; Javier Garza, founder of Mexican local news platform EnRe2Laguna; and Fernando Paulsen, a prominent news radio host in Chile.

Watch the discussion on journalism in Latin America, highlighting the importance of unbiased reporting, the reporters' experiences watching the pandemic unfold and the spread of misinformation through social media since the start of the pandemic, among other topics.