The Center for Journalism Ethics will host a public event – “Under Pressure: Covering Election 2024” – at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, Oct. 22, at the Memorial Union Play Circle on the UW–Madison campus. In conversation with award-winning journalist Mike Gousha, POLITICO’s Jonathan Martin will engage in a public discussion of media ethics and the challenges of covering politics and Election 2024 in polarized times. The event is co-sponsored by the UW–Madison Elections Research Center and the Office of Strategic Communication.
The program is free but registration is appreciated. To attend virtually, please join our livestream.
- Jonathan Martin is the politics bureau chief and senior political columnist at POLITICO, where he writes a reported column. Prior to starting his column in 2022, Martin was the national political correspondent for The New York Times. Covering elections in all 50 states, he served as the publication’s top political reporter for nearly a decade. He is the co-author of the New York Times bestseller This Will Not Pass: Trump, Biden, and the Battle for America’s Future, which gave readers in-the-room access to the extraordinary events of the 2020 election and its aftermath. Martin regularly provides on-air political analysis for ABC, NBC and CBS.
- Mike Gousha serves as senior advisor in law and public policy at Marquette University Law School. An award-winning journalist, Gousha served as distinguished fellow in law and public policy from 2007 to 2021, and helped lead efforts to create the Law School’s Lubar Center for Public Policy Research and Civic Education. Gousha spent 25 years as anchor and reporter for WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee and 11 years as a political analyst for WISN-TV, where he hosted the statewide public affairs program UpFront with Mike Gousha. He has moderated numerous televised political debates in Wisconsin, including the final debate of Wisconsin’s historic 2012 recall election for governor. Gousha is also the co-producer of a PBS documentary that aired nationally in 2020, recounting the nearly half-century that Milwaukee was led by socialist mayors.
“Journalists face so many ethical issues and so much scrutiny in these contentious times,” Culver said. “With political polarization influencing perceptions of news coverage, I’m eager to hear Jonathan’s perspectives and experiences.”
Martin’s visit is part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Sharon Dunwoody Journalist-in-Residence program, which offers the world’s top journalists an opportunity to share their expertise, engage with the campus community and collaborate with university scholars. The Journalist in Residence program is sponsored by the Office of Strategic Communication and campus partners, including the La Follette School of Public Affairs, the Wisconsin School of Business, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Center for Journalism Ethics, with support from the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.
The Center for Journalism Ethics, housed in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW-Madison, provides an international hub for the examination of the role of professional and personal ethics in the pursuit of fair, accurate and principled journalism. Founded in 2008, the Center offers resources for journalists, educators, students and the public, including internationally recognized annual conferences exploring key issues in journalism.
For information, contact Krista Eastman, Center for Journalism Ethics administrator, at krista.eastman@wisc.edu.