The role of the media as the "fourth estate" of public life and international politics has long been defined by its role as a provider of information and a check on state power. Emerging challenges to freedom of the press worldwide, alongside changes in the production and consumption of media, are threatening to reshape this role. The Editorial Board of The SAIS Review of International Affairs was pleased to host a roundtable lunch and discussion on the role of the media in international affairs with three expert contributors to SAIS Review's Fall 2018 issue.
Author Biographies
Madiha Afzal is a visiting fellow in the Foreign Policy program at Brookings. Dr. Afzal is the author of Pakistan Under Siege: Extremism, Society, and the State, and writes regularly for Pakistani and international publications including Dawn, The Cairo Review, Foreign Affairs, Foreign Policy, and the Washington Post.
Patrick Butler is president and chief executive officer of America's Public Television Stations. He previously served as senior vice president of The Washington Post Company, and was a founder of the Times Mirror Center for the People & the Press.
Dr. Steven Livingston is a professor in the George Washington University School of Media and Public Affairs and the Elliott School of International Affairs and a senior fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy at the Harvard Kennedy School.