The Media and Intelligence Accountability

The Intelligence Studies Program, with the Institute for Human Ecology, is pleased to host a panel discussion to explore the additional role that the media plays in keeping U.S. intelligence accountable. Nicholas Dujmovic, Assistant Professor of Politics and the Director of The Catholic University of America’s Program in Intelligence Studies, will moderate the discussion of four journalists with extensive experience reporting on national security: Julian Barnes of The New York Times, Ellen Nakashima and Peter Finn of The Washington Post, and Steve Coll, the dean of Columbia University’s School of Journalism and a former correspondent for The Washington Post.

Issues to be discussed include:

• Is the “public’s right to know” a blanket justification to reveal any secret a journalist might discover, or are there limits?
• On what basis do members of the media judge that information ought to be shared with–or withheld from–the public?