Day 7 : Friday 7 December

The conclusion

Friday, our last day at CSIS, could not have started in a better way. At first, our team along with the CSIS coordinators visited The Washington Post. Tom Hamburger, an investigative reporter on the national desk of the newspaper, welcomed us warmly and took us on a tour at newspapers’ offices and newsroom. There, we also met Marty Barron, the editor in chief of WP. We discussed with them about the challenges journalism is facing and the future of the media.

The main question of our discussion was how disinformation is threatening democracy and how newspapers and the media in general, can and should respond. “Democracies are dying in darkness” was the conclusion highlighting that as journalists, “we are not in war, we are at work”. After going back to CSIS headquarters we elaborated with Colm Quinn on social media latest insights and its impact on audience’s behavioral patterns. Then, Sara Fisher, a reporter of AXIOS, introduced to us the current American media companies’ landscape. Next, we worked hard on our presentation, the last part of our work.

During a ceremony that fascinated us with the commitment to higher values, we presented our work before the president and CEO of CSIS, Dr John Hamre and his wife, along with our CSIS mentors and editors. During our dinner, we recalled our lifetime experience for the last week, confirming our strong intention in protecting our Democracies, while combining the ideals with meaningful actions.