News. Fake news. Disinformation. Fact-checking. Sourced news. Unverified sources. Social media incursions by foreign nations. Cleverly disguised mass propaganda that masquerades as a heartfelt message from a friend…….who knows what to believe anymore when even undeniably true facts are in dispute? This question is at the heart of the upcoming WorldCanvass discussion, when the topic is “Journalism and a Free Press in the Age of Fake News.” The live event takes place from 5:30-7 p.m. on October 18 at MERGE, 136 South Dubuque Street, and is hosted for UI International Programs by Joan Kjaer. We invite you to come at 5 and join us for a pre-show catered reception!

Welcome to my first blog! Hopefully that doesn’t scare you away -- we are, after all, just amateurs. As far as I’m concerned, we shouldn’t be concerned about it. If being an amateur, poet, singer, songwriter, actress, writer, and human has taught me anything, it’s that we must all go through this stage on our path to greatness. Or, in my case, heightened mediocrity.

We live in an age of new technology, expecting any day to wake up to yet another jaw-dropping device or a discovery that simply changes everything about the way we live and work. The rate of innovation in the modern age can be breathtaking, but technological advances have jolted humans into new and unfamiliar territory since the dawn of humankind. On the next WorldCanvass, we’ll contemplate the larger implications of the adoption of new technologies—how do they change the ways in which individuals interact, the sharing of information, the movement of people and ideas from place to place, and what does all of this mean to the shape and form of a culture? WorldCanvass guests will discuss “Encountering New Technology” at FilmScene on February 9, beginning at 5 p.m. The program is free and open to the public.

A symposium to highlight the evolution of photojournalism, “From Local to Global — Photojournalism in the New Millennium,” will introduce the work of noted international photographers and distinguished scholars to the University of Iowa campus and community. The symposium, with presentations on topics ranging from representations of rural Iowa and rural China to documentation of global events to cutting-edge digital photo projects will take place on Friday, April 3, 2015, 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m in the rotunda of the Adler Journalism Building.