Courage in Media Symposium explores press freedom and journalist resilience.

The School of Journalism and Media Studies hosted the Courage in Media Symposium on Oct. 13, where journalists from around the world spoke about the challenging conditions they have faced and how they persisted in their work. The symposium was organized and moderated by Dr. Peggy Peattie, a lecturer in the School of Journalism and Media Studies.

Guest speakers Clavel Rangel Jimenez, Samiulla Mahdi and Patrick Butler brought different professional and international perspectives to the discussion, addressing censorship, threats to journalists and the challenges of reporting in restrictive environments.

Jimenez is an investigative journalist from Venezuela whose work has focused on the political economy of mining in the country’s Guayana region. She has also covered extractive industries, labor movements, corruption, migration, Latino communities and human rights in Latin America and the United States.

Mahdi is the co-founder and former editor-in-chief of Amu, an Afghan news organization. A former university professor who witnessed government violence firsthand, he spoke about the importance of journalists persisting in their work despite difficult conditions.

Butler is a senior strategist at the International Center for Journalists and has spent more than 26 years overseeing journalism programs around the world. A former newspaper reporter and editor, Butler works to support journalists and independent media around the world. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has documented numerous attacks on journalists in the United States in recent years, underscoring the challenges journalists can face while doing their work.

Peattie said the symposium gave students and others in attendance an opportunity to hear directly from journalists with firsthand experience confronting threats to press freedom.

“Students, faculty and local journalists who attended the symposium shared with me how impacted they were by the presentations, and how grateful they were to hear directly from people with lived experience as journalists facing down authoritarian regimes and powerful corporations,” Peattie said. “Being able to offer an event like this speaks volumes about JMS and SDSU's commitment to expose students to knowledge and information that will best prepare them for success.”

Students interested in learning more about the challenges journalists face around the world can continue exploring these issues in Courage in Media, a course Peattie will teach during the Spring 2027 semester. The course will meet Mondays and Wednesdays from 11:30 a.m. to 12:45 p.m.