On Monday, October 16, at 11 a.m. in the Zenger Room, the National Press Club Headliners Newsmaker event will host the launch of a new Journalist Safety Task Force. The panel will include Diane Foley, founder and president of the James W. Foley Legacy Foundation, representatives from the New York Times and the Voice of America, and journalism educators formerly from Marquette and Northwestern. The discussion will focus on journalist safety training as correspondents continue to work in active war zones, and the Gaza region is currently experiencing conflict. The Club President, Eileen O’Reilly, will start the event with opening remarks and introduce the panelists.
Speaking at the Newsmaker are:
- Ellen Shearer, Board Chair of the Foley Foundation and Emerita Professor, Medill School of Journalism
- Eric Phillips, Program Manager, Office of Language Programming at Voice of America
- Jason Reich, Vice President of Safety and Security at The New York Times
- Tom Durkin, Director of Journalist Education and Safety Training, Foley Foundation and Marquette Center for Peacemaking
- Diane Foley, Founder & President, Foley Foundation
Moderating and leading the panel will be academics associated with Marquette University and Northwestern University, where Jim Foley attended journalism schools. Foley was brutally murdered by ISIS on August 19, 2014, after 21 months in captivity. He had been covering the Syrian civil war for Global Post and Agence France Presse at the time of his capture. The Foley Foundation advocates for the safe return of all Americans held hostage and provides journalist safety education.
The National Press Club is located on the 13th Floor of the National Press Building at 529 14th St., NW, Washington, D.C.
