New York State Writers Institute: Complete Fall 2017 Visiting Writers and Film Series schedules

Telling the Truth in a Post-Truth World

A multi-event symposium of topics crucial to an open democratic society.

Telling the Truth In a time when �fake news� and �post-truth� have become common phrases, the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany examined what it really means to tell the truth through a series of events, including movies and discussions, culminating in a two-day seminar on journalism, media and democracy.

The seminar, �Telling the Truth in a Post-Truth World,� was held Oct. 12-14 at the University at Albany. 30 prominent journalists, editors, nonfiction authors, historians and First Amendment scholars engaged in in-depth panel discussions about �matters that are under attack and that are central to a free and open and functioning democratic society,� said Writers Institute Director Paul Grondahl.

�My mentor and Writers Institute founder William Kennedy and I had been talking about organizing this symposium since the early days of the presidential campaign, when the terms 'fake news' and 'alternative facts' began to gain traction,� Grondahl said. The seminar recalled the Writers Institute�s 1991 event, �Telling the Truth: A Symposium on the Craft of Nonfiction,� which brought in 35 high-profile nonfiction writers to take a deep dive into the practical and ethical problems of writing nonfiction.

�We felt it was imperative to convene a symposium in 2017 for a deep examination into what constitutes truth in an era that has been dubbed 'post-truth' � selected the international word of the year by Oxford Dictionaries in 2016,� Grondahl said.

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Panel discussions

Friday, October 13, 2017
Media in the Age of New Technology: Fake News, Information Overload, & Media Literacy

(CBS News veteran Bob Schieffer and panelists Tim Wu, Maria Hinojosa, David Goodman and Franklin Foer at Page Hall at the University of Albany. Photo credit: Anthony Tassarotti / www.tassarotti.com)

Moderator: Bob Schieffer, moderator of three presidential debates, former anchor of CBS Evening News and Face the Nation, and author of Overload: Finding the Truth in Today�s Deluge of News (2017)
Panelists:
Franklin Foer, staff writer of The Atlantic and former editor of The New Republic, and author of World Without Mind: The Existential Threat of Big Tech (2017)
David Goodman, contributor to Mother Jones magazine and co-author with his sister Amy Goodman of the book Democracy Now! Twenty Years Covering the Movements Changing America (2016)
Maria Hinojosa, trailblazing journalist and talk show host, anchor and executive producer of Latino USA and founder of the Futuro Media Group, dedicated to promoting diversity in American media
Tim Wu, professor at Columbia Law School, originator of �net neutrality� and author of Master Switch: The Rise and Fall of Information Empires (2010), and The Attention Merchants: The Epic Scramble to Get Inside Our Heads (2016)

(CBS News veteran Bob Schieffer and panelists Shane Goldmacher, Harry Rosenfeld, Amy Goodman and Douglas Brinkley on Friday, Oct. 13, 2017 at Page Hall at the University of Albany. Photo credit: Anthony Tassarotti / www.tassarotti.com)

Moderator: Bob Schieffer, moderator of three presidential debates and former anchor of CBS Evening News and Face the Nation
Panelists:
Douglas Brinkley, CNN Presidential historian and biographer of Teddy Roosevelt, FDR, Jimmy Carter and Gerald Ford
Amy Goodman, investigative reporter, host and producer of the award-winning news program, Democracy Now! that airs on over 1,400 public television and radio stations worldwide
Harry Rosenfeld, Times Union editor-at-large, and former Metro Editor at The Washington Post who oversaw the paper�s coverage of Watergate
Shane Goldmacher,, Chief political correspondent for the Metro desk of the New York Times.

(Victor Asal and panelists Kelley Vlahos, James Steiner, David Daley and Russell Banks Saturday, Oct. 14, 2017 at Page Hall at the University of Albany. Photo credit: Suzanne Lance)

Moderator: Victor Asal, UAlbany faculty expert in terrorism and homeland security and Chair, Department of Public Administration
Panelists
Russell Banks, bestselling novelist, past President of the International Parliament of Writers, and founder and President of Cities of Refuge North America
David Daley, Digital Media Fellow at the University of Georgia, and author of Ratf**ed: The True Story Behind the Secret Plans to Steal America�s Democracy (2016)
James Steiner, ex-CIA official and Program Coordinator for Homeland Security, Cyber Security and Emergency Management at UAlbany�s Rockefeller College
Kelley Vlahos, Managing Editor of The American Conservative, longtime political writer for FoxNews.com, and journalist specializing in national security, war policy, and civil liberties