Elections 2024 : What Happened in New York?

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The following write-up is an excerpt of “Reporters Share Trump-Era Fears in Panel Organized by WP Professor,” written by Susmita Majumder for The Beacon. A graduate student journalist, Majumder is the vice president of the SPJ chapter at William Paterson University.

Political reporters opened up about their fears for press freedom in a second Donald Trump presidency during a panel in Manhattan on Monday, Dec. 2, organized by a William Paterson professor.

A month after Election Day, journalists from THE CITY, Politico, and City & State raised questions about the future of their profession during the event at the Cornell Tech campus on Roosevelt Island. Dr. Nick Hirshon, an associate professor of communication at William Paterson, organized the panel in his role as vice president of student affairs for the Deadline Club, the New York City chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

“How is it going to play out?” asked Alyssa Katz, the executive editor of THE CITY, a nonprofit digital news outlet that covers New York. “Is it going to play out in First Amendment fights, right, where we’re going to have to then be in court all the time, and then everything else that’s politicized and thrown into the courts creates a really chaotic and frightening situation? How much does that manifest in self-censorship?”

The panel was moderated by Erin King Sweeney, the senior associate director of Cornell University’s Institute of Politics and Global Affairs. Sweeney prodded the journalists on how they will shift during Trump’s second term.

“We will do our jobs the best we can,” Katz said. “I know this sounds very like truth, justice, and the American way, but I really believe that very sincerely. We just do the work and do it accurately and forcefully, without fear or favor, and we’ll deal with each challenge as it comes up.”

Panelists

Alyssa Katz is the executive editor with THE CITY, where she leads high-impact accountability reporting on New York City, including investigations, data projects, and economic coverage.
Sally Goldenberg is the senior New York editor at POLITICO. She joined the team in 2013 to cover the administration of New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, with a focus on budget and labor contracts.
Austin Jefferson is the associate state politics reporter for City & State, who covered several New York congressional and Assembly races this year.

Moderated by Erin King Sweeney, former Hempstead town councilwoman who is the senior associate director of Cornell’s Institute of Politics and Global Affairs.

Introductory remarks by Nick Hirshon, an associate professor of journalism at William Paterson University in New Jersey. A former reporter for the New York Daily News, Hirshon is the vice president of student affairs for the Deadline Club.