MCLA Announces Fall 2025 Hardman Journalist in Residence

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NORTH ADAMS, Mass —  Massachusetts College Of Liberal Arts (MCLA) announce that Jodie Ginsberg will deliver the Hardman Journalist in Residence Lecture, "Defending Journalism in an Age of Rage," on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 7 p.m., in MCLA's Feigenbaum Center for Science and Innovation atrium. 
 
The lecture is free and open to the public.
 
Jodie Ginsberg is the chief executive officer of the Committee to Protect Journalists, a U.S.-based non-profit organization that defends press freedom worldwide. A journalist by profession, Ginsberg joined CPJ in 2022 from Internews Europe, where she was the chief executive officer. Ginsberg began her career as a graduate trainee with Reuters news agency, working as a commodities reporter before taking up a posting as a foreign correspondent in Johannesburg, South Africa, where she focused on the region's financial sector. She subsequently worked as Reuters' chief correspondent in Ireland, based in Dublin, and then bureau chief for the U.K. and Ireland. As bureau chief, Ginsberg managed coverage of the 2008 financial crisis, U.K. riots and 2010 general election, as well as overseeing the merger of the Thomson and Reuters U.K. newsrooms. In 2014, Ginsberg was appointed chief executive of London-based freedom of expression group Index on Censorship, which she led until 2020.
 
An internationally respected campaigner on issues of media freedom and freedom of expression, Ginsberg is a regular speaker on journalist safety and issues involving access to information. From 2020 to 2022, she was chief executive of Internews Europe, a media development nonprofit, and serves on the board of The Trust for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and as a Council member of IFEX, the international network for freedom of expression organizations. Ginsberg earned her bachelor's degree in English literature from the University of Cambridge and a postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.
 
"An American journalist with international experience, Jodie Ginsberg actively works to protect journalists around the world," said Hannah Haynes, MCLA Professor and Communication and Intercultural Studies Department Chairperson. "Her experience as a journalist and advocate for freedom of speech engages with some of the most polemical issues of our time, making her an ideal candidate for the Hardman Journalist in Residence. Responding to MCLA students' interests, Ginsberg's keynote lecture will cover global topics impacting journalists today. Her visit includes a student-journalism workshop focusing on journalism ethics and careers in the field."
 
MCLA's Hardman Lecture Series presents in-depth discussions with some of the leading journalists of our time and is made possible through the Hardman Family Endowment.

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Q&A with State Representative Challenger Andrew Fitch

By Stephen DravisiBerkshires Staff
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — On Sept. 1, voters in the First Berkshire District will decide whether they want to send a new representative to Beacon Hill in Boston.
 
Andrew Fitch, currently a city councilor in the district's largest municipality — and the commonwealth's smallest city — is challenging former North Adams Mayor John Barrett III, who won the First Berkshire seat in a 2017 special election, in the Democratic Party primary.
 
There is no Republican on the primary ballot for the First Berkshire seat so the primary will effectively be the election for the seat. 
 
The two candidates met for their only debate on Aug. 13 at Williams College. iBerkshires.com reached out to both candidates to follow up on some of the points raised in the debate and get their thoughts on some other issues facing the district.
 
Below are excerpts from a conversation with challenger Andrew Fitch:
 
Question: From the very beginning, you talked about the campaign as a listening experience, and this week you're continuing that with the bike tour …
 
Andrew Fitch: Knocking on doors that have never been knocked on before. … I was riding through, I believe it was Hinsdale coming into Windsor, and they started to yell at me, 'No!' And then the guy was like, 'Wait a second. That's Andrew Fitch.' They actually knew who I was, and they were actually wanting to chat with me.
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