By John Hecht
Paul Farhi, media reporter for the Washington Post, will be the keynote speaker at the Oppenheimer Ethics Symposium at the University of Idaho in Moscow Friday, March 28. The presentation is free and open to the public.
Farhi’s presentation is titled “Should the Press Report National Secrets?” His discussion will focus on news coverage of Edward Snowden, spying by the National Security Agency (NSA), and national security leaks.
“The symposium theme will be developed around media reporting of national security issues and information that potentially compromises national security,” according the UI.
On Saturday, there will be sessions for college and high school journalists and student media teachers covering scholastic press law, media ethics for scholastic journalists, and diversity reporting in student media.
Farhi is lead writer in the Post’s coverage of the ethical issues surrounding the Edward Snowden/Glenn Greenwald NSA leaks. He has been a Post staff writer for the past 25 years, during which time he has covered business, the presidential campaign and entertainment. Since 2010, he has covered the media and issues related to it for the paper.
Farhi also is a senior contributing writer to American Journalism Review, and has written for the publication since 1999. He has appeared frequently on CNN, NPR, PBS and the BBC to comment about media issues. Farhi is a three-time winner of the National Press Club’s annual Rowse Award for media reporting and criticism, having won it consecutively in 2011, 2012 and 2013. He holds a communications degree from UCLA.
The symposium is produced by the University of Idaho School of Journalism and Mass Media and is underwritten by a gift from university alumni Douglas F. Oppenheimer, president of Boise-based Oppenheimer Companies, and Arthur F. (Skip) Oppenheimer, chairman of the board.
The October 2012 symposium, held in Boise, featured Kelly McBride, lead ethicist at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies, whose keynote talk was titled “Politicians vs. the Press: A Social Media Cage Fight.” The Idaho Press Club was a co-sponsor.
