Everyone reads the news, but how do journalists actually determine what’s new and true? A piece of news can quickly feel like it’s always been circulating. But the gap between hearsay and truth requires more than a bit of digging. In this workshop, we’ll be exploring how reporting happens, focusing on demystifying the process from the question through publication. How do journalists follow their instincts? How do they weigh fact and fiction? How do they know when to publish? Ideal for aspiring journalists and avid news readers alike, this masterclass will reveal the hidden secrets of the trade, helping us all become better readers, thinkers, and citizens.

In partnership with the Dial.

About the speaker: 

Madeleine Schwartz lives in Paris, where she writes about the rise of the far right, urban politics and art fraud. Her work appears in the London Review of Books, the New Yorker and the New York Review of Books, where she previously worked as an editor. In 2019, her article “The End of Atlanticism: Has Trump killed the ideology that won the cold war?” won the European Press Prize. She teaches journalism at Sciences Po.

Learn more:

Madeleine recently appeared in conversation with the editors-in-chief of Forbidden Stories, an organization dedicated to publishing the stories journalists were silenced for writing. Rewatch the conversation. 

“The world’s little magazine,” The Dial is a new online magazine of culture, politics, and ideas with a focus on locally sourced writing from around the world. A space where daring writers stage global conversations unconstrained by geography, the publication spotlights writers who write the world as they see it—from wherever they might be. Check out their most recent issue, whose theme is ‘weapons.’ 

Important information: The discussion will be available both online and in person. While the conversation will happen in person (Schwartz will appear in the Reading Room), the Library will stream the conversation on Zoom for a live viewing experience. Both in-person and online attendees will be able to pose questions.

Attendance at this event constitutes permission for your photograph or video to be taken at the event and used by the American Library in Paris for marketing, promotional, pedagogical, or other purposes.