Bridging the Military-Civilian Divide in Reporting

When

March 16, 2023

6:00 pm - 7:00 pm

Consumers of military-related journalism present an interesting paradox to media outlets. On the one hand, this highly selective group of readers says they want newsrooms to publish stories that hold the powerful to account for misdeeds. On the other hand, they believe that negative (i.e., partisan) stories about the military and those who have served lead to stereotypical views that not only contribute to the ever-widening military-civilian divide but may also threaten national security.

To put it another way: Readers want to be engaged—not enraged. Join The War Horse founder Thomas Brennan and director of writing seminars David Chrisinger for a discussion on research into the habits of military-related journalism consumers and solutions for reporters and newsrooms to address their concerns.

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About the Speakers

Thomas Brennan is the founder of The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit newsroom exploring the human impact of military service. He served as a Marine infantryman in Iraq and Afghanistan before studying investigative reporting at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. His reporting has appeared in Vanity Fair, the Center for Investigative Reporting, PBS Newshour, and on the front page of The New York Times. Thomas received two Fourth Estate Awards, three Edward R. Murrow Awards, and the Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Journalism Award.

David Chrisinger is the author of The Soldier’s Truth: Ernie Pyle and the Story of World War II and serves as the executive director of the Public Policy Writing Workshop at the University of Chicago’s Harris School of Public Policy. David also leads writing seminars for The War Horse and is the recipient of the 2022 National Council of Teachers of English George Orwell Award.