Where is America heading as we approach the 2018 midterm elections? And what is the role of the media? Join Pulitzer Prize winning reporter and editor Jonathan Kaufman as he looks at the issues facing the media and the country, from increasing polarization to the battle over fake news to President Trump’s ongoing war with the media. How can the media rebuild the trust of readers and viewers and what can we expect in the coverage of the fall elections?

Kaufman will take us inside the nation’s newsrooms as they prepare to cover the midterm elections and avoid the mistakes of 2016. Every election tells us something about where America is headed and this election is shaping up as a referendum on both Trump personally and his policies. Kaufman will also discuss the economic and political changes facing The Boston Globe, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, CNN, NPR and Fox News, as well new media outlets like Politico, Vox and BuzzFeed.

Jonathan Kaufman has held senior positions at Bloomberg News, The Wall Street Journal and The Boston Globe. He is currently Director of the School of Journalism and Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University. Kaufman began his journalism career at The Boston Globe in the early 1980s, where he won a Pulitzer Prize as part of a team examining racism and job discrimination in Boston. As Bloomberg’s Executive Editor for Company News, based in New York, Kaufman oversaw more than 300 reporters and editors worldwide. Under his leadership, Kaufman’s team at Bloomberg won numerous awards including a 2015 Pulitzer Prize, several George Polk Awards, the Overseas Press Club Award and a Gerald Loeb Award.

Kaufman is the author of two well-reviewed books, A Hole in the Heart of the World: Being Jewish in Eastern Europe and Broken Alliance: The Turbulent Times Between Blacks and Jews in America, which won the National Jewish Book Award. As the director of the School of Journalism and a Professor of Journalism, Kaufman leads an accomplished team of faculty, oversees the school’s undergraduate program serving 225 students, and its growing graduate programs in journalism, media innovation and media advocacy.

Talks in this series are sponsored by Brotherhood, and include a delicious buffet breakfast of assorted bagels, smoked salmon, pickled herring, whitefish salad, tabbouleh, desserts and more. Breakfast begins at 9:15 a.m. The presentation runs from 9:45 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and is usually followed by a question and answer session. Admission is $10; free to Brotherhood members. For more information, email brotherhood@templeisaiah.net.