American Media Under the Boot: Free Speech, Objectivity and Complicity

The American press is facing a multi-front assault, from the Washington Post’s sudden pivot toward "neutrality" to high-profile settlements at ABC and Paramount—suggesting a media landscape increasingly cowed by legal and financial intimidation, all symptoms of deeper and older issues. Is the media's current posture a temporary challenge, or have the economic and political costs of conducting journalism finally become too high for the private sector to bear?

Featuring Ruth Marcus, former editor at the Washington Post and Oliver Darcy, author of the newsletter Status and former senior media reporter at CNN. Moderated by former co-anchor of the CBS Evening News and IOP Pritzker Fellow John Dickerson.

This event is the keystone for the IOP’s annual David S. Broder Journalism Week, which honors the legacy of a titan of journalism and University of Chicago alum who changed the game of political reporting in Washington. His columns for the Washington Post on the Watergate scandal inspired his nickname “Dean of the Press Corps” and earned him the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for commentary.

If you have any questions about accessibility, please contact iopevents@uchicago.edu.

Tuesday, April 21, 2026
Ida Noyes Third Floor Theatre
5:30 - 6:45 pm