The HFPA along with the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), and International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ), hosted a special panel, “Safeguarding the Truth: Press Freedom and the Fight for Accountability” in partnership with the University of Southern California (USC) Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism on the USC campus. The lively and informative panel featured award winning journalists including Ramzi Malouki (HFPA member and Los Angeles-based correspondent for Canal Plus), Bastian Obermayer (ICIJ member and deputy head of the investigative unit of Süddeutsche Zeitung), Marina Walker-Guevara (ICIJ deputy director), Joel Simon (CPJ executive director), and Sheila Coronel (director of the Toni Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia Journalism School). The event was moderated by Gordon Stables, Director of USC Annenberg School of Journalism. The evening highlighted the many trials facing the media today and also celebrated the triumphs in difficult times, and the needs to uphold the values and tenets of a free press. 

HFPA members Katherine Tulich and Mirai Konishi were there to speak with the panelists for this report.