MCLA Announces Fall 2025 Hardman Journalist in Residence

Print Story | Email Story
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.

Tags: MCLA,   

If you would like to contribute information on this article, contact us at info@iberkshires.com.

Clarksburg Students Write in Support of Rural School Aid

By Tammy DanielsiBerkshires Staff

Mason Langenback calculated that Clarksburg would get almost $1 million if the $60 million was allocated equally.
CLARKSBURG, Mass. — Eighth-graders at Clarksburg School took a lesson in civic advocacy this week, researching school funding and writing letters to Beacon Hill that call for fulling funding rural school aid. 
 
The students focused on the hardships for small rural schools and their importance to the community — that they struggle with limited funding and teacher shortages, but offer safe and supportive spaces for learning and are a hub for community connections.
 
"They all address the main issue, the funding for rural schools, and how there's a gap, and there's the $4 million gap this year, and then it's about the $40 million next year, and that rural schools need that equitable funding," said social studies teacher Mark Karhan.
 
A rural schools report in 2022 found smaller school districts cost from nearly 17 percent to 23 percent more to operate, and recommended "at least" $60 million be appropriated annually for rural school aid. 
 
Gov. Maura Healey has filed for more Chapter 70 school aid, but that often is little help to small rural schools with declining or static enrollment. For fiscal 2027, she's budgeted $20 million for rural schools, up from around $13 million this year but still far below the hoped for $60 million. 
 
Karhan said the class was broken into four groups and the students were provided a submission letter from Rural Schools Advocacy. The students used the first paragraph, which laid out the funding facts, and then did research and wrote their own letters. 
 
They will submit those with a school picture to the governor. 
 
View Full Story

More North Adams Stories