ProPublica’s Melissa Sanchez to discuss journalism ethics and covering immigration
The Center for Journalism Ethics will host a public event – “Reporting on immigration in times of crisis: Wisconsin and beyond” – at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday, March 3, at the Memorial Union Play Circle on the UW–Madison campus. In conversation with Wisconsin Watch reporter Natalie Yahr, ProPublica immigration reporter Melissa Sanchez will engage in a public discussion of media ethics and the challenges of covering immigration in times of crisis. The event is co-sponsored by the UW–Madison Office of Strategic Communication and the Program in Chicanx/e & Latinx/e Studies.
The program is free and open to the public but registration is appreciated. To attend virtually, register so that you receive the livestream link.
- Melissa Sanchez is a Chicago-based investigative reporter at ProPublica, where she writes about immigration and labor. Her reporting on Chicago’s punitive ticketing and debt collection system helped prompt major reforms, including the cancellation of 55,000 driver’s license suspensions and millions of dollars in debt forgiveness. She was part of a team of reporters who examined conditions at shelters for unaccompanied immigrant children and was among the first reporters to document the growing number of Central American teenagers who work in factories. Later she and her colleague, Maryam Jameel, examined conditions for immigrant workers on Wisconsin dairy farms; that reporting prompted a federal civil rights investigation and led to the creation of an $8 million fund to build housing for farmworkers.
- Natalie Yahr is a Madison-based reporter for the statewide news nonprofit Wisconsin Watch, where she writes about how Wisconsin’s schools and institutions are preparing people for family-sustaining jobs, and how they could do better. Before that, she covered the Madison-area economy for the Cap Times, where she tracked local union drives, explored why home care workers in Wisconsin make so little, investigated a moving company whose surprise bills sometimes topped $30,000, and profiled more than 60 local entrepreneurs Natalie has won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club, the Society for Professional Journalists and the Wisconsin Newspaper Association, and she’s published work in Wisconsin Watch, WWNO-FM, Scalawag, Columbia Journalism Review and the New York Times.
“I cannot imagine a more critical moment to be diving into ethics and immigration coverage,” Culver said. “Melissa’s work gives us the voices and perspectives we need to understand the impact of the broken U.S. immigration system, from the violence unfolding in Minnesota to the everyday realities of dairy farming in Wisconsin.”
Sanchez’s visit is part of the University of Wisconsin–Madison’s Sharon Dunwoody Journalist-in-Residence program, which offers the world’s top journalists an opportunity to share their expertise, engage with the campus community and collaborate with university scholars. The Journalist in Residence program is sponsored by the Office of Strategic Communication and campus partners, including the La Follette School of Public Affairs, the Wisconsin School of Business, the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and the Center for Journalism Ethics, with support from the Wisconsin Foundation and Alumni Association.
The Center for Journalism Ethics, housed in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at UW-Madison, provides an international hub for the examination of the role of professional and personal ethics in the pursuit of fair, accurate and principled journalism. Founded in 2008, the Center offers resources for journalists, educators, students and the public, including internationally recognized annual conferences exploring key issues in journalism.
The Program in Chicanx/e and Latinx/e Studies advances interdisciplinary research and teaching on Chicanx/e and Latinx/e peoples, cultures, and collectivities within the United States. We also examine the transnational dimensions of Chicanx/e and Latinx/e lives, arts, and societies. The program strives for excellence in research and teaching, supporting our undergraduate and graduate students and contributing to the university’s mission to serve all students, advance knowledge, serve residents of Wisconsin and advance education beyond the university in line with the Wisconsin Idea.
For information, contact Krista Eastman, Center for Journalism Ethics administrator, at krista.eastman@wisc.edu.