Free Speech and the Press: Balancing Power and Responsibility

T. Becket Adams

T. Becket Adams is the program director of the National Journalism Center, where he trains the next generation of reporters. His courses emphasize journalism ethics and standards as much as meticulous investigative methods. He is also a contributing columnist for The Hill, National Review, Spectator, and the Washington Examiner. Adams served as both a reporter and editor, initially at TheBlaze and later at the Washington Examiner. Over his 15 years in the industry, Adams has worked as a business reporter, business editor, media reporter, campaign reporter, senior commentary writer, and editorial writer. He has reported on presidential campaigns, Congress, the economy, and media scandals. He has authored hundreds of fact-checks. He has interviewed union laborers and cabinet secretaries. Adams also has extensive television experience, including serving as a lead panelist for CNN. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, the New York Post, RealClearPolitics, and Insider. Adams was born and raised in South Bend, Indiana. He earned a B.A. in history from Christendom College and a master’s degree in business analytics from The Catholic University of America.

Jodie Ginsberg

Jodie Ginsberg is the chief executive officer of the Committee to Protect Journalists. A journalist by profession, Ginsberg joined CPJ in 2022 from Internews Europe, a media development non-profit, where she was the chief executive officer. Ginsberg began her career with Reuters news agency, working as a commodities reporter before taking up a posting as a foreign correspondent in South Africa. She subsequently worked as Reuters’ chief correspondent in Ireland, and then bureau chief for the U.K. and Ireland. In 2014, Ginsberg was appointed chief executive of London-based freedom of expression group Index on Censorship. Ginsberg has served on the boards of the Global Network Initiative and The Trust for the Bureau of Investigative Journalism and as a Council member of IFEX. Ginsberg has a BA in English Literature from the University of Cambridge and a postgraduate diploma in newspaper journalism from City, University of London.

Jacob Mchangama

Jacob Mchangama is the Founder and Executive Director of The Future of Free Speech. He is a research professor at Vanderbilt University and a Senior Fellow at The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). In 2018, he was a visiting scholar at Columbia’s Global Freedom of Expression Center. He has commented extensively on free speech and human rights in outlets including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, The Economist, Foreign Affairs and Foreign Policy. Jacob has published in academic and peer-reviewed journals, including Human Rights Quarterly, Policy Review, and Amnesty International’s Strategic Studies. He is the producer and narrator of the podcast “Clear and Present” Danger: A History of Free Speech and the critically acclaimed book Free Speech: A History From Socrates to Social Media, published by Basic Books in 2022. He is the recipient of numerous awards for his work on free speech and human rights.

Debi Ghate (moderator)

Debi Ghate is Partner at Steadfast and Initiative Director for the Liberty & Law Center’s “Voices for Liberty: Free Speech, Civil Rights and Social Progress” program. She also serves as Executive Fellow at the State Policy Network. Ms. Ghate is a trained lawyer, previously practicing civil litigation in Ontario, Canada before moving to California to join the Ayn Rand Institute. At the Institute, she oversaw the education and policy programs before serving on leadership teams at two Foundations, including the Charles Koch Foundation and the Anthem Foundation for Objectivist Scholarship. She was previously the Senior Director of Grant Strategy at The Snider Foundation and most recently the Vice President of Strategy and Programs for Philanthropy Roundtable. Ms. Ghate serves on the boards of FAMM and the National Education and Empowerment Coalition. She also serves on the Advisory Boards for the National Liberty Museum and the Center for Equal Opportunity.

Ms. Ghate received a Bachelor of Science in Psychology, Biology and French at the University of Toronto and a Bachelor of Laws at the University of Calgary.