From 
a political, technological, financial and economic standpoint these are times of great change. The accompanying uncertainty invariably leads to heavy debate in which the content does not always win the day.
Stichting Democratie en Media (Foundation for Democracy and Media) proposes that independent high quality journalism is one of the guarantees for a democratic society. The conference 'Power and Responsibility' is aimed at stimulating the debate on the important role of journalism.
Speakers
Seymour Hersh
Seymour Hersh is regarded as one the most foremost journalists of our time. His work received worldwide acclaim in 1969 when he broke the story of the My Lai Massacre and the ensuing cover-up during the Vietnam War. He was subsequently awarded the Pulitzer Prize for international journalism in 1970. Since his first publication in The New Yorker in 1971, Hersh has been a regular contributor to the magazine. In 2004, he published a series of articles in which he exposed the Abu Ghraib scandal.
Mark Lee Hunter
Mark Lee Hunter is a Paris based author, journalist, researcher and academic. He focuses on a blend of investigative journalism, scientific research, training and consultancy. He is the author of over 200 research reports and articles, published in The New York Times Magazine, Le Figaro, Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics and Columbia Journalism Review. Hunter has won prizes from one of the most important professional organizations, The Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc., for his work in the field as well as his research into journalism.
Eric Klinenberg
Erik Klinenberg is an American professor of sociology at New York University and a researcher in the field of urban studies, culture and media. In his second, highly acclaimed book Fighting for Air: The Battle to Control America’s Media he describes developments in the American media. The American Congress invited him to elaborate on the conclusions in his book. In addition to his academic publications, Klinenberg has written for The New York Times Magazine, Rolling Stone, The Guardian and The Washington Post.
Clement Kjersgaard
Clement Kjersgaard is a Danish television producer, presenter and journalist. In his work he attempts to create television journalism under the watchful eye of an increasingly impatient and sceptical audience. He achieves this by combining various genres; from satire and pop culture to diverse debate and interview formats. In addition to his work as a presenter, he is co-founder of RÆSON, an independent politics magazine. In 2011, prestigious "Publicistprisen" ranked him as Denmark’s most powerful journalist.
Frank van Vree
Frank van Vree has been professor of Journalism and Culture at the University of Amsterdam since 2001. He read history and philosophy at the Rijksuniversiteit Groningen and defended his PhD thesis entitled The Dutch Press and Germany 1930-1939. He is editor and co-author of a large number of bundles and texts including Journalism Culture in the Netherlands (2002), and Shifting Boundaries; The Freedom of Journalism in a Changing Media Landscape (2004). In 1999, he set up the Master's programme in Journalism and Media at the
Linda Polman
Linda Polman is a Dutch author and investigative journalist. Her work has been published in the Volkskrant, NRC Handelsblad, The Times and The Guardian. She specializes in international military and humanitarian interventions and has spent long periods in East and West Africa, Afghanistan and Haiti. In addition to her work as a journalist Polman is a guest lecturer at the Utrecht School of Journalism and other educational establishments.
Frits van Exter
Frits van Exter was editor-in-chief of Dutch newspaper Trouw for nine years. He was also a board member of Stichting Jaarprijzen voor de Journalistiek (Dutch Foundation for Annual Journalism Awards). He advised the then PCM Uitgevers on subjects such as improving the free daily newspaper DAG. Van Exter is editor-in-chief of opinion weekly Vrij Nederland.
Cornelis van den Berg
In 2001, Cornelis van den Berg completed his management degree at Rotterdam's Erasmus University by undertaking a research project for free newspaper conglomerate Metro International, where he worked as a trainee in London until 2003. He then went on to work as a trainee at newspaper conglomerate Wegener. In early 2007, Van den Berg launched the free daily newspaper De Pers (The Press), where he worked as the publisher before his departure in May 2008. His book The Conspiracy, in which he describes the origin
Jim Stolze
Jim Stolze is a Dutch author, businessman and speaker. He conceived the free regional magazines 010 and 020, and started online advertising agency Toscani. After his Master's thesis on the consequences of digitalization and its impact on wellbeing he abstained from the Internet for 40 days, which resulted in the book How To Survive Your Inbox?. He is also known as the organizer of TEDxAmsterdam. In early 2011 he published his second book Sold Out! in which he describes the rise of the attention economy.
Day chairman
Jeroen Smit
Jeroen Smit is an investigative journalist and author of The Ahold Drama and The Prey: Blind pride breaks ABN Amro. He studied business management in Groningen and started off his career in consulting. In 1990 he made the transition to journalism. He worked as an editor at Het Financieele Dagblad and the Algemeen Dagblad, before becoming editor-in-chief and publisher of FEM/De week in 1998. Smit has been a professor of Journalism at Groningen University's Faculty of Arts since September 2011.
