On May 4th, 2020, the RBFAA kicked off its first virtual webinar series in collaboration with the American Council on Germany, Cultural Vistas, and the Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit. The first dialogue covered the topic of “The Role of Media in the Covid-19 Pandemic” You can watch the full conversation below.
The News Media in Germany and the United States During a Pandemic
The pandemic is the main topic in the news on both sides of the Atlantic – and indeed around the world. Citizens everywhere rely on the media to get critical information, as well as to ensure that leaders are being held accountable in how they address the challenges posed by the coronavirus outbreak. How does coverage compare and differ in Germany and the United States? Join Sumi Somaskanda and Daniel Lippman for a conversation about the role of the media in a pandemic.
Sumi Somaskanda (Bosch Fellow 2008-2009) is a freelance reporter, writer, editor, and news anchor who has lived and worked in Berlin for more than a decade. She is currently a senior news anchor at DW News (Deutsche Welle), Germany’s international broadcaster. She also reports on Germany for various international publications, including The Atlantic, Foreign Policy, Washington Post, Al Jazeera, Global Post, Newsweek, PRI, and USA Today. Ms. Somaskanda served as an editor at the Berlin Policy Journal, Germany’s premiere English-language foreign affairs magazine. She is an alumna of the Robert Bosch Foundation Fellowship program and part of the BMW Foundation Responsible Leaders Network.
Daniel Lippman (ACG Young Leader 2017) is a reporter covering the White House and Washington for POLITICO. He was previously a co-author of POLITICO’s Playbook and still writes Playbook’s “Great Weekend Reads” section on Saturdays and Sundays and the “Social Data” section of POLITICO New York Playbook. Before joining POLITICO, he was a fellow covering environmental news for E&E Publishing and a reporter for The Wall Street Journal in New York. He has also interned for McClatchy Newspapers and Reuters. During a stint freelancing in 2013, he traveled to the Turkish-Syrian border to cover the impact of the Syrian civil war for The Huffington Post and CNN.com. He graduated from The George Washington University in 2012.