MU School of Journalism launches Olive Lundgren Lecture to support international press freedom
Maria Ressa
COLUMBIA, Mo. (Aug. 29, 2023) — The Missouri School of Journalism today announced the establishment of the Olive Lundgren Lecture on Press Freedom, funded by friends of the School interested in supporting a thriving global free press. It will be inaugurated by Nobel Peace Prize laureate Maria Ressa at a Sept. 5 National Press Club luncheon.
Ressa, a former CNN bureau chief who co-founded the Filipino news outlet Rappler, has been widely honored for continuing her outlet’s investigative journalism in the face of legal threats and a social media trolling campaign.
“By leading the way forward in support of exiled and oppressed journalists, the School of Journalism and these generous donors demonstrate the international impact of the Missouri Method,” said David Kurpius, dean of the School. “Journalists have the power to change the world, and I’m thrilled to have the support to extend that impact even further.”
Professor Kathy Kiely, the Lee Hills Chair in Free-Press Studies at the School of Journalism, is organizing the lecture program, which seeks to boost awareness of the plight of journalists facing violence, harassment, propaganda and other forms of censorship and reprisal. She wants the lecture to be more than rhetoric: For this year’s event, the Lee Hills Chair is sponsoring exiled journalists to travel and attend Ressa’s speech. Afterwards, Kiely will host an event to bring them together with leaders of civil society for a conversation about supporting journalists who have been forced to flee their home countries.
“We need to build ladders to success by connecting these journalists with news organizations, funders and government officials who can help them with visas and work papers,” Kiely said.
By leading the way forward in support of exiled and oppressed journalists, the School of Journalism and these generous donors demonstrate the international impact of the Missouri Method. Journalists have the power to change the world, and I’m thrilled to have the support to extend that impact even further.
David Kurpius, dean of the Missouri School of Journalism
“This is a great example of how the power of philanthropy supports our mission as the world’s School of Journalism,” added Stefanie Gray, Senior Director of Advancement at the School. “Friends and alumni who want to give back have so many opportunities to not only help students but support journalism all over the world.”
The lecture is far from the first effort from the School to support journalists in crisis. Last year, Kiely brought Afghani journalist Zabihullah Ghazi to campus to study for a master’s degree in journalism in the wake of the Taliban’s crackdown on press freedoms and civil rights. He continues work at Mizzou while Kashmiri photojournalist Masrat Zahra arrived this fall to teach.
The Lee Hills Chair also hosted Jene-Anne Pangue of Rappler, which continues to face legal threats, and funds from the chair support a non-governmental organization in Costa Rica providing assistance to Nicaraguan journalists in exile. In addition, Kiely helped Ahmad Noorani, a Pakistani reporter and former Alfred Friendly Research Fellow at the School’s Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute, who faced violence and intimidation in his home country. Following his Friendly Fellowship, Kiely provided a grant to the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project, a 2023 Missouri Honor Medal recipient, to hire Noorani.
Kiely believes connecting exiled journalists with people who can help them at the Olive Lundgren Lecture represents the next step forward.
“Journalism in exile is a growth industry,” Kiely said, noting not only a trending global decline in press freedoms but current events like the war in Ukraine, which has resulted in journalists fleeing Russia. “They lose family, culture, language. The least we can give them is their jobs.”
Purchase tickets for the inaugural lecture here. To buy a table, email the National Press Club. The deadline to purchase tickets is Monday, September 4.
To make a gift to support the Olive Lundgren Lecture or the Missouri School of Journalism, contact Stefanie Gray at stefaniegray@missouri.edu.
Updated: August 31, 2023